When you connect your own domain on Website → Domain, the Add these DNS records at … table lists the records to add: A records for a root domain like yourbrand.com (usually two), a CNAME record for a subdomain like courses.yourbrand.com, and sometimes a TXT record that proves you own the domain. Always use the values from the table on your domain page. This article shows where to add them at the most common domain hosts. Start with Connect your own domain if you haven't connected the domain yet.
Who can do this
- Owners and admins can connect and verify the domain in Zinstruct.
- You also need a login at the company that manages your domain's DNS. That's usually where you bought the domain, unless you moved its nameservers somewhere else.
Find out who manages your DNS
On the Custom domain panel, the line above the table says Setup guide for a company when we recognise it from your domain's nameservers. Add the records there. If the heading is Setting up your DNS and it says We couldn’t identify your DNS host with a nameserver, the company in that nameserver's name is where your DNS lives (for example, ns1.bluehost.com is Bluehost).
If your domain was bought at one company but uses another company's nameservers, edit the records at the company the nameservers point to. Records added anywhere else are ignored.
What to type in the Name or Host box
Our table's Name column shows exactly what to type. The notes under the table give each record's full name (such as courses.yourbrand.com). Most hosts add your domain to the end for you, so type only the part in front of it, as the table shows:
- Root domain (yourbrand.com): type @. At DreamHost, leave Host empty instead.
- Subdomain (courses.yourbrand.com): type courses.
- TXT record named _vercel.yourbrand.com: type _vercel.
If you type the whole name, some hosts add the domain again and create courses.yourbrand.com.yourbrand.com, which never verifies. Copy the Value exactly as shown: click it in our table to copy it.
Before you add anything: clear the old records
Most "it still shows the old page" problems come from a record that was already there:
- Delete any existing A or AAAA record with the same name that isn't in our table. A leftover A record next to ours sends some visitors to the old place. When our table lists two A records, add both.
- Delete any existing CNAME with the same name. A name can have only one CNAME.
- Turn off forwarding, URL redirect and parking for that name. Connecting a subdomain? That means the subdomain only: leave the root (@) records and any parking on the root alone, because they run your main website.
- Leave your MX records (email) and other TXT records alone. Connecting your domain doesn't change your email.
Cloudflare
- Sign in to Cloudflare, click your domain, then go to DNS → Records.
- Click Add record.
- Choose the Type from our table, put the name in Name (@ for the root, courses for a subdomain) and paste the value into the target or address box.
- Set Proxy status to DNS only (grey cloud), not Proxied (orange cloud). A proxied record stops your certificate from being issued and can cause a "too many redirects" loop.
- Click Save. Add the TXT record the same way if our table lists one; TXT records are never proxied.
If you must keep the orange cloud for another reason, set SSL/TLS to Full, not Flexible. Cloudflare lets a root domain use a CNAME, but the A records from our table work too.
GoDaddy
- Sign in to GoDaddy and open your Domain Portfolio. Select the domain, then open its DNS tab.
- Connecting a root domain (yourbrand.com): if you see a site or template connected above the records (for example a GoDaddy website), choose Remove next to it first, because a connection locks the A record. Then delete the A record whose value shows Parked, and turn off any forwarding. Forwarding has to go before you can delete the record it controls.
- Connecting a subdomain (members.yourbrand.com): skip step 2. Leave the @ records, any Parked record and any domain forwarding exactly as they are: they run your main website. Only delete an existing record whose Name is the same as your subdomain, and remove any Subdomain forward for it under Forwarding.
- Click Add New Record, pick the Type, and fill in Name (@ for the root, courses for a subdomain) and Value. Leave TTL at its default.
- Click Save. If you add several records, click Save All Records.
GoDaddy doesn't allow a CNAME on the root domain, so a root domain always uses the A records. If Domain Protection is on, GoDaddy asks for a verification code before saving.
Namecheap
- Sign in to Namecheap and open Domain List. Click Manage next to your domain, then open the Advanced DNS tab.
- If you don't see Host Records, your domain uses other nameservers. Under Nameservers on the Domain tab, choose Namecheap BasicDNS, or edit the records wherever the nameservers point.
- Delete the parking records Namecheap adds to new domains: the URL Redirect Record on @ and the CNAME on www that points to parkingpage.namecheap.com.
- Click Add New Record, pick the Type, and fill in Host (@ for the root, courses for a subdomain, _vercel for the TXT) and Value. Leave TTL on Automatic.
- Click the green check mark to save each record.
Namecheap adds your domain to the Host for you. Typing the full name doubles it.
Domain.com
Domain.com's screens change often, so the labels below may differ slightly on yours.
- Sign in to Domain.com, go to your domains and open the domain's settings.
- Look for the advanced DNS records area (usually under the domain's advanced tools) and choose to manage the DNS records.
- Delete any parking or forwarding record on the same name.
- Add a record with the Type, the name (@ for the root, courses for a subdomain) and the value from our table. Domain.com may label these fields Refers to and Points to.
- Save the record.
If you can't find where to add records, Domain.com's support can point you to it: tell them you need to add an A, CNAME or TXT record.
Hostinger
- Sign in to hPanel, go to Domains, choose your domain and open DNS / Nameservers.
- If you see a message that the domain uses other nameservers, you can't edit its records in Hostinger. Edit them where the nameservers point.
- For a root domain, turn off the Hostinger CDN first: Hostinger won't let you change the @ A record while it's on. Then delete the existing @ A and AAAA records.
- Add a record with Type, Name (@ for the root, courses for a subdomain) and Points to (the value from our table). Leave TTL at its default.
- Save the record.
If a www record points somewhere else and you're connecting the www address, fix or delete it first.
Bluehost
- Sign in to your Bluehost Portal and click Domains in the left menu. Select the domain and open its DNS tab.
- Under the advanced DNS records, click Add record.
- Choose the Type, then fill in Refers to (@ for the root, courses for a subdomain) and Points to (the value from our table).
- Click Add.
Delete Bluehost's existing @ A record (and the www record if you're connecting www) when it points to Bluehost hosting. Bluehost doesn't allow a CNAME on the root domain, so use the A records. Bluehost's DNS is only used if your domain uses Bluehost's nameservers.
DreamHost
- Sign in to the DreamHost panel and open Manage Websites. Click the three-dot menu next to your domain, then DNS Settings.
- If the domain is fully hosted at DreamHost, DreamHost won't let you add your own root or www records. Switch the domain to DNS Only when the panel offers it; this removes DreamHost's own A records for it.
- Click Add Record, choose the record type, and fill in Host and Points to. For the root domain, leave Host empty: don't type @. For a subdomain, type courses.
- Save the record. DreamHost adds the domain and the trailing dot for you.
After you add the records
- Back on Website → Domain, click Verify connection. Nothing checks for you: the domain goes live only when it's verified, so come back and click it again once the records have spread.
- If it says "Not connected yet — the DNS records above weren’t detected…", give it time. Many hosts update within an hour, but some take up to 48 hours.
- Check your records against our table one more time: the name (no doubled domain), the type, and the exact value.
Common errors
- The old page or a parking page still shows: an old A record, a parking record or forwarding is still there. Delete it.
- "Too many redirects" or a certificate warning on Cloudflare: set the record to DNS only (grey cloud).
- It never verifies: the name was entered as the full domain and got doubled, or the records were added at a company your nameservers don't use.
- "Record already exists" or "conflicts with another record": delete the existing record with that name first, then add ours.
- Your email stopped working: an MX record was deleted by mistake. Put it back from your email provider's settings; our records never replace MX records.