Overview

A custom domain is a web address you own, something like janedoe.com, that visitors use instead of your artsites.ca address. Pro accounts can connect one to their website.

Before you start

Two things need to be true:

• You have already registered the domain. That means you bought it from a registrar: the company you buy domain names from, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Hover. We can't connect a name you'd merely like to have.
• You can sign in to that registrar account. Connecting a domain means changing a setting or two there, so you need access to it.

Your domain stays registered to you. Connecting it here doesn't hand ownership to us.

Don't have a domain yet, or was yours registered by someone else, a family member, a gallery, or a web designer years ago? Use Ask us about a domain at the bottom of the Custom Domain card. We work through domains as a conversation rather than a checkout form, so we can help you choose and register one, or work out who controls the one you have.

Steps to set up a custom domain

1. Add the domain

1. Go to Settings → Domain in your admin panel
2. Click Add a custom domain
3. Enter your domain name (e.g., janedoe.com); leave off the www, we take care of that for you
4. Click Next

2. Choose how to connect it

We check your domain and offer one of two paths:

• Point your nameservers to ArtSites (recommended): sign in at your registrar and replace its nameservers with the four we show you. We manage everything from there, including the bare domain.
• Set up DNS records yourself: keep your current DNS provider (the service that manages your domain's DNS settings, usually the same company you bought the domain from) and add the CNAME records we show you, for both the bare domain and the www version.

We don't give out a raw IP address for an A record. If your DNS provider can't put a CNAME on a bare domain, we'll recommend the nameserver path instead, which handles it properly.

3. Check

1. After making the change, click Check nameservers or Check DNS records
2. We look up your domain and confirm the change has landed

If we can't find it yet, that usually means the change is still spreading across the internet. It can take up to 48 hours, though it's often minutes. It can also mean the change hasn't been made yet, or that this isn't a domain you can sign in and change. If it's either of those, use Ask us about a domain and we'll sort it out with you.

4. SSL certificate

Once your domain is verified, ArtSites provisions an SSL certificate so your website is served over HTTPS. This is automatic and usually completes within minutes.

Primary and secondary domains

• Primary domain: the main address for your website. Everything else redirects here.
• Secondary domains: additional addresses that redirect to your primary one. The www version of your domain is always a secondary and is managed for you.

You can promote a secondary domain to primary at any time.

Tips

• The bare domain (janedoe.com) is the primary address; www.janedoe.com redirects to it automatically
• Test your domain after setup by visiting it in a private browsing window
• Your artsites.ca address keeps working; adding a custom domain never takes it away