Setting up DNS yourself (BYO domain)

If you bought your domain through us, skip this — we manage DNS for you automatically and you’re done.

If you registered your domain elsewhere (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, Google Domains, Squarespace, etc), you’ll need to add one DNS record so the public internet knows your domain points at our servers.

## What to add

A single CNAME record with these values:

• Name / Host: @ (or your full domain — different registrars label this differently)
• Value / Points to: mantelmarketing-sites.pages.dev (we’ll show your exact target on /app/domain)
• TTL: 300 seconds (5 minutes) is fine — lower TTL means changes propagate faster

Some registrars don’t allow CNAME records on the apex (the bare domain — yourbusiness.com rather than www.yourbusiness.com). If yours doesn’t, use A records instead with our Cloudflare Pages IPs — the pre-flight checker will tell you which IPs to use, and the help link below covers the apex-CNAME problem in detail.

## Step-by-step by registrar

### GoDaddy

1. Sign in and open My Products → DNS.
2. Find your domain, click DNS next to it.
3. Under Records, click Add.
4. Select CNAME as the type.
5. Host: @ for the apex, or www for the www version.
6. Points to: the target we show on /app/domain.
7. TTL: 300 seconds (or "Custom" → 300).
8. Save. Repeat for both @ and www if you want both to resolve.

### Namecheap

1. Sign in and open Domain List.
2. Click Manage next to your domain.
3. Open the Advanced DNS tab.
4. Under Host Records, click Add New Record.
5. Type: CNAME Record.
6. Host: @ for the apex (Namecheap calls this "ALIAS Record" sometimes), www for the www version.
7. Value: the target we show on /app/domain.
8. TTL: 5 min.
9. Save.

### Cloudflare (you registered there but want to bring it to us)

1. Sign in and pick your domain from the Websites list.
2. Open the DNS tab.
3. Click Add record.
4. Type: CNAME.
5. Name: @ for the apex, www for the www version.
6. Target: the target we show on /app/domain.
7. Proxy status: turn the orange cloud OFF (DNS only). Cloudflare’s proxy in front of our Pages would double-proxy.
8. TTL: Auto (Cloudflare picks 300).
9. Save.

### Google Domains (now Squarespace Domains)

Google Domains migrated to Squarespace; the steps are now identical to the Squarespace flow below.

### Squarespace Domains

1. Sign in and open the Domains dashboard.
2. Click your domain, then DNS Settings.
3. Scroll to Custom Records and click Add Record.
4. Type: CNAME.
5. Host: @ for the apex, www for the www version.
6. Data: the target we show on /app/domain.
7. TTL: 5 minutes.
8. Save.

## After you save

DNS changes take a few minutes to propagate — sometimes longer if your old TTL was high. Hit Re-check DNS on /app/domain. The pre-flight checker will tell you exactly what it sees and what needs fixing.

## Common pitfalls

• TTL too high. A TTL of an hour or a day means your DNS changes take that long to propagate. Lower it to 300 seconds before you make any changes.
• A vs CNAME confusion. A CNAME points one name at another name. An A record points a name at a numeric IP. We prefer CNAME because if our IPs change you don’t have to update anything; A records work if your registrar refuses CNAME on the apex.
• `@` vs the apex. @ means "the bare domain" at most registrars, but a few want you to type the full domain literally. If @ doesn’t work, try the full domain.
• Old hosting still attached. If you migrated from another hosting provider, double-check there isn’t a leftover A record pointing at them. The pre-flight checker calls this out as "wrong target".
• Both apex AND www. Most customers want both yourbusiness.com and www.yourbusiness.com to work. Add the CNAME for both — the pre-flight checker queries both and tells you if one’s missing.

## When in doubt

Message us at /app/messages — your project manager can walk you through your specific registrar. Dashboards differ from registrar to registrar, but the records are the same everywhere — we’ll get you sorted.