How to Connect a Domain to Your Website, Step by Step

How to connect a domain to your website comes down to two small entries in your domain's DNS settings: one that proves the domain is yours, and one that points visitors to the server where your website lives. The work itself is short. Most of the frustration comes from not knowing where those settings are, or from a typo nobody sees.

This guide walks you through it in order, explains the two records you will meet, and lists the mistakes that keep a domain offline for days.

What "connecting a domain" means

Three parties are involved, and it helps to keep them apart:

• The registrar is where you bought the domain. You usually pay it once a year to keep the name.
• The DNS provider holds the records that say where the domain points. Often this is the registrar, but not always.
• The host is where your website actually runs. It tells you which records to add.

Connecting a domain means copying records from your host into your DNS provider. Nothing moves, and you do not transfer the domain anywhere.

Before you start

Have these three things ready:

1. Your login at the registrar. If someone else bought the domain for you, a web designer or a relative, get access first. Without it, nothing else works.
2. Where your DNS is managed. Look for "nameservers" in your registrar account. If they point to another company, that company holds your DNS records, and that is where you make the change.
3. Which address you want visitors to see. Most businesses use www.yourbusiness.com and send the bare yourbusiness.com to it. The reason is in the next section.

The two records you will add

TXT record: proof that the domain is yours

A TXT record is a short line of text stored with your domain. Your host gives you a unique value. When the host finds that value in your DNS, it knows you control the domain and may use it. Visitors never see it.

What is a CNAME record?

A CNAME record says: "this name is another name for that one." When you add a CNAME for www that points to your host's address, every visitor who types www.yourbusiness.com is sent to your website.

DNS rules do not allow a CNAME on the bare domain itself. The DNS standard (RFC 1034, section 3.6.2) says that a name with a CNAME should carry no other data, and the bare domain always carries other records: the ones that say who manages your DNS, and usually the ones for your email. That is why the www address is the usual choice. Many registrars offer a forwarding setting that sends yourbusiness.com to www.yourbusiness.com. Check your registrar's help pages for "domain forwarding" or "redirect".

How to connect a domain to your website, step by step

1. Enter your domain at your host. Type the full address you want, for example www.yourbusiness.com. Your host then shows the records to add.
2. Copy the records exactly. Use the copy buttons rather than typing. One wrong character and the check fails.
3. Open the DNS settings at your DNS provider. The page is usually called "DNS", "DNS records" or "Zone editor".
4. Add the TXT record and the CNAME record. Use the host or name field and the value field exactly as shown.
5. Remove old records that conflict. If an old record for www already exists, for example from a previous website, delete or replace it. Two records for the same name confuse the system.
6. Leave your email records alone. Records of the type MX, and TXT records with values like v=spf1, belong to your email. Delete them and your email stops working.
7. Run the check at your host. Once the records are found, the host requests a security certificate so your website loads with HTTPS. Then it goes live.

Why it is not live yet

DNS changes are not instant everywhere. Each record has a TTL, short for "time to live". It tells other servers how long they may keep the old answer before asking again. Until older answers expire, some visitors may still reach the old destination. If your check fails right after you saved, wait a little and check again before you change anything.

The mistakes that keep a domain offline

• The domain added twice. Many DNS providers add your domain to the name field by themselves. If you type www.yourbusiness.com there, the record becomes www.yourbusiness.com.yourbusiness.com. Type only www.
• Changes in the wrong place. You edit DNS at the registrar, but the nameservers point to another provider. The change is saved and has no effect.
• A leftover record. An old record for www still points to your previous website.
• A space or quotation mark copied with the value. Some providers add quotes to TXT values by themselves. Paste the value without extra characters.
• Email records deleted while cleaning up. If email stops after the change, restore the MX records first.
• Only one version set up. People type www.yourbusiness.com and yourbusiness.com interchangeably. Whichever one you connect, make sure the other forwards to it, or part of your visitors will see an error or a browser security warning instead of your website.

Connecting a domain in the AI Website Builder

In the AI Website Builder, the domain assistant does the checking for you:

• It checks what you type before it starts, so a typo in the domain is caught early.
• It recognizes your DNS provider, so you know where to log in.
• It shows the TXT and CNAME records with buttons to copy them.
• "Check now" looks for the records and shows where you are: registration, DNS, certificate, live.
• The certificate is created for you once the records are found, and your website goes live with HTTPS.

Connecting your own domain depends on your plan. If you do not have a domain yet, or want to go live today, your website can also go online on an address on kimisuite.si at no extra cost, with a small "Made with KIMISUITE" note in the footer. trettly suggests a name from your business name, and you see at once whether it is available.

See your publishing options, from the kimisuite.si address to your own domain

FAQ

How to connect a domain to your website without transferring it?

You do not transfer anything. The domain stays with your registrar, and you only add the records your host gives you in its DNS settings.

How long does it take until the domain works?

Adding the records takes a few minutes. The domain works once the records are found and the certificate is issued. If old DNS answers are still cached, that can take longer, depending on the TTL of your previous records.

Will connecting a domain affect my email?

Not if you only add the TXT and CNAME records and leave the MX records alone. Your email records are separate from the records for your website.

Why does my domain work with www but not without it?

The bare domain needs its own setting, usually forwarding to the www address. Set up forwarding at your registrar or DNS provider.

Can I use my domain for a website and keep my old site running?

Not on the same address. Once the CNAME for www points to your new host, visitors see the new website. Prepare the new site fully before you switch.

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