Connecting a custom domain
Point your own domain at your website: the DNS records, the two ways to verify it, and what each status means.
Your website already has a free address on vpress.app. Adding your own domain under Domains doesn't replace anything or move your content — it just gives your site a second, better address.
The two DNS records
Add a domain and you're given two records to create at whoever hosts your domain's DNS. Both matter — adding only one leaves the domain verified but serving nothing.
| Record | Name | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
TXT | _vpress-challenge.www | Proves you control the domain. |
CNAME | www | Actually routes visitors to your website. |
Once they're in place, press Check DNS. DNS changes can take a little while to spread, so a check run right after adding the records may not see them yet — that's worth trying again rather than a sign that something's wrong.
What each status means
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Added; the DNS records aren't there yet. |
| Verifying | A check is in progress. |
| Verified | Ownership is proved — but it isn't serving your site yet. |
| Active | Live, with a certificate. |
| Failed | The last check found a problem; the message says what. |
Verified and active are deliberately different: proving you own a domain is one thing, and issuing it a certificate so browsers trust it is another, and the second can take a little longer.
An alternative: pointing your nameservers at us
On some plans, adding a domain offers a second option — pointing your registrar at nameservers we give you, instead of adding the two records above. It covers the domain and one label under it (so acme.com and www.acme.com, but nothing deeper), and the trade is that every other DNS record for that domain — mail included — is now hosted with us too.
Making a domain your primary address
A domain has to be active before it can be made primary — your primary domain is what every link and every search result for your site is built from, so it has to actually be serving your site first. Removing a primary domain falls back to your free vpress.app address, which can never be removed.