Connect a custom domain to your ScaleEdges store

Your store is available on its ScaleEdges address from the moment you create it. Connecting a custom domain lets customers reach it at an address you own, such as shop.yourbrand.com or yourbrand.com. ScaleEdges shows you the exact DNS records to add at your domain provider, checks them, and then activates a free HTTPS certificate automatically.

This guide explains the complete process and works with any provider. If your domain is managed by one of the companies below, you can also follow the guide written for its interface:

Before you start

You need a domain that you already own. You can buy one from any registrar.
You need access to the account where the domain's DNS is managed. This is usually the company where you bought the domain, but not always: if the domain uses another company's nameservers, its DNS is managed by that company. See Find where your DNS is managed.
In a team, only the store owner and members with the Sensitive settings permission can connect or disconnect a domain.
Each store uses one custom domain at a time.
You never need to buy an SSL certificate. ScaleEdges provides and renews HTTPS for free once your DNS is correct.

Choose a root domain or a subdomain

Decide which address your store should use before you change anything:

A subdomain, such as shop.yourbrand.com or store.yourbrand.com, is the best choice when you already have a website on yourbrand.com that you want to keep. You add one CNAME record and the rest of your domain is unchanged.
The root domain, also called the apex or naked domain, such as yourbrand.com, is the best choice when your ScaleEdges store is your main website. You add one A record. Any website currently shown at yourbrand.com is replaced by your store.
www.yourbrand.com is technically a subdomain. It uses a CNAME record, like shop.

yourbrand.com and www.yourbrand.com are two different domains. Because a store uses one custom domain, connecting one does not make the other show your store. To send visitors from the other address to your store, create a redirect at your domain provider (often called web forwarding, URL redirect or domain forwarding) to https:// followed by your connected domain. Some forwarding services only work over http://, so after setting it up, open the other address in a private window with both http:// and https:// to confirm it redirects correctly.

Step 1: Add your domain in ScaleEdges

In your dashboard, open Settings and select the Storefront tab.
Scroll to the Custom domain card. You can also type "custom domain" in the settings search field.
In Domain you own, enter the domain or subdomain exactly as customers should type it, for example shop.yourbrand.com. If you paste a complete URL, ScaleEdges removes https://, the path and the port for you.
Select Connect domain.
Wait for the DNS records to add table to appear. If ScaleEdges says the destination is still being prepared, select Check DNS configuration again after a few moments.

The status badge now shows Waiting for DNS. Keep this page open in a separate tab: you will copy the values from it.

Step 2: Read the records shown by ScaleEdges

Each row of the table contains a Type, a Name / host and a Value. Use the Host and Value copy buttons on each row to avoid typing errors.

CNAME appears when you connect a subdomain. It makes your subdomain an alias of your store's hosting address.
A appears when you connect a root domain. It points the domain to an IPv4 address.
TXT appears only when an additional ownership check is required, usually because the domain was previously used by another website on the same hosting network. Its name usually starts with _vercel and its value with vc-domain-verify=.

ScaleEdges serves custom domains through the Vercel edge network. This is why a value can contain vercel-dns and why a verification record can start with _vercel. Always copy the values displayed in your own dashboard, never values from an example or from another website, because they can change over time.

Convert the name to your provider's format

ScaleEdges shows the complete host name. Most DNS providers automatically add your domain to the end of what you type, so they expect only the part that comes before your domain:

shop.yourbrand.com: enter shop
www.yourbrand.com: enter www
yourbrand.com: enter @, or leave the field empty if your provider asks you to
_vercel.yourbrand.com: enter _vercel

If you type the complete name in a provider that adds the domain automatically, the record is created as shop.yourbrand.com.yourbrand.com and ScaleEdges will never detect it. After saving, check the name shown in your provider's list of records.

Copy the value exactly

Paste the value without adding https://, a path or a trailing slash.
A CNAME value can end with a dot. This final dot marks a complete domain name. Keep it when your provider accepts it; some providers, such as Gandi, require it. If your provider rejects the dot, remove it: that provider already treats the value as a complete name.
Keep the default TTL, or choose a short value such as 5 minutes (300 seconds) or 1 hour. A short TTL makes later corrections spread faster.

Step 3: Add the records at your DNS provider

Sign in to your DNS provider and open the DNS zone of your domain. Depending on the provider, it can be called DNS records, DNS settings, DNS zone, Zone editor or Manage DNS. Then:

Remove conflicting records for the same name. For the host you are connecting, delete or edit any existing A, AAAA or CNAME record, including the parking-page, "coming soon" or website-builder records created when you bought the domain. A CNAME record cannot coexist with any other record on the same name, and an old A or AAAA record would send some visitors to the wrong server.
Add the traffic record, CNAME or A, with the name and value shown by ScaleEdges. For a root domain, keep exactly one A record on @: the one displayed by ScaleEdges.
Add the TXT record, if ScaleEdges displays one. Add it as a new record. Do not replace your other TXT records, such as SPF (v=spf1 …) or site verification records.
Keep everything else. MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC and records used by other services are not part of the store connection. Deleting them can stop your email or other tools.

Do not add an AAAA (IPv6) record for your store's host. ScaleEdges provides an IPv4 address only, and an AAAA record left on the same host sends visitors using IPv6 to another server.

If your provider offers a proxy, CDN or acceleration option on the record, such as Cloudflare's orange cloud, turn it off: the record must be DNS only. HTTPS can only be activated when your domain points directly to your store.

Step 4: Check the configuration in ScaleEdges

Return to Settings → Storefront → Custom domain.
Select Check DNS configuration. If ScaleEdges asks you to wait before checking again, wait for the number of seconds shown.
Follow the status badge at the top of the card.

The main statuses are:

Waiting for DNS: ScaleEdges cannot see the expected records yet. Compare the records at your provider with the table, then allow time for propagation. The message under the table tells you what is missing.
Configuring HTTPS: your DNS is correct and the certificate is being prepared. This usually takes a few minutes. Select Check DNS configuration again to refresh the status.
Active: your store is available on your domain with HTTPS. The Open domain button appears.

DNS changes are often visible within minutes, but they can take up to 48 hours to reach every network, depending on the TTL of the records you replaced. The Last checked line shows when ScaleEdges last checked your domain, and the HTTPS line shows the certificate status. There is nothing to install: HTTPS is activated automatically after validation.

What changes once the domain is active

Your storefront, product pages, cart and checkout are served on your domain over HTTPS.
ScaleEdges tells search engines that your custom domain is the main address of your store pages.
Keep the DNS records in place for as long as you use the domain. Removing them takes your store offline on this address, and proxying them can prevent the automatic renewal of the certificate.

Find where your DNS is managed

Your DNS is managed by the company that runs your domain's nameservers. To find them, enter your domain on Google Public DNS with the record type NS, or run this command in a terminal:

dig NS yourbrand.com +short

On Windows, use nslookup -type=NS yourbrand.com. The names returned tell you which company manages your DNS:

…ns.cloudflare.com: Cloudflare
…domaincontrol.com: GoDaddy
…registrar-servers.com: Namecheap
…ovh.net: OVHcloud
…infomaniak.ch: Infomaniak
…ui-dns.com, …ui-dns.de, …ui-dns.org or …ui-dns.biz: IONOS
…gandi.net: Gandi
…dns-parking.com: Hostinger
…porkbun.com: Porkbun
…awsdns-…: Amazon Route 53
…wixdns.net: Wix

Add your records with this company, even if you bought the domain somewhere else. Records added with a company that does not run your nameservers have no effect.

Change or disconnect your domain

To use another domain, select Disconnect domain, then connect the new one. Only one custom domain can be connected to a store at a time.
After you disconnect a domain, your store remains available on its ScaleEdges address. You can then delete the records you added for ScaleEdges at your DNS provider.

Something is not working?

Read Custom domain troubleshooting for the most common causes: records added in the wrong place, duplicated names, old records, proxies, CAA records and propagation delays.