Manually connect a custom subdomain

In addition to the Webflow staging subdomain (e.g., yoursite.webflow.io), you can publish your site to any custom domain (e.g., yourdomain.com) or subdomain (e.g., subdomain.yourdomain.com) you own. Using a custom domain or subdomain promotes your brand, increases SEO discoverability, and makes it easier for people to find and remember your site. 

Before you get started: Add a Site plan to your Webflow site, and make sure you own the subdomain you want to connect. If you’re moving your subdomain to Webflow from another hosting service, reset your DNS settings (i.e., delete any previously set A and CNAME records) to minimize and even eliminate issues or conflicts that might require troubleshooting later.

In this lesson, you’ll learn: 

1. How to connect your custom subdomain
2. How to set your DNS records
3. How to set the default domain
4. How to confirm your subdomain is pointing to Webflow
5. How to verify and publish your site 
6. FAQ and troubleshooting tips

How to connect your custom subdomain

Note: If you want to connect your custom subdomain to Webflow and automatically set your DNS records, check out our lesson on Quick connecting a custom subdomain.

To find and connect your custom subdomain: 

1. Go to Site settings > Publishing tab > Production 
2. Click Add a custom domain
3. Choose Manually add domain
4. Enter the subdomain you want to connect with Webflow (e.g., blog.yourdomain.com) 
5. Click Add domain

‍Note: If you enter the www subdomain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com), this will add both the www subdomain and the root domain (e.g., yourdomain.com) to your site. If you’d like to connect only the www subdomain, you can delete the root domain by clicking the “trash” icon.

‍Note: DNS changes may take up to 48 hours to propagate in all geolocations as the DNS cache expires, although this typically occurs within a few hours.

How to set your DNS records

Note: If you want to connect your custom subdomain to Webflow and automatically set your DNS records, check out our lesson on Quick connecting a custom subdomain.

To update your DNS records, you’ll need to access your domain’s DNS settings in your domain registrar or DNS host’s dashboard. Every DNS provider has their own process for updating DNS records. We recommend reading the documentation of your DNS provider and contacting their help desk for assistance if needed. Check out this list of DNS providers and links to their documentation on updating DNS settings. 

Important: To connect your subdomain to Webflow, you must use a DNS provider that offers the ability to create TXT records. If your DNS provider does not offer this feature, you can point your domain nameservers (NS records) to a service such as Cloudflare so you can manage your DNS records there. Learn more about connecting a custom domain with Cloudflare.

DNS records for SSL hosting (recommended) 

Important: The DNS records you’ll need to point your subdomain to your Webflow site differ depending on whether SSL is enabled or disabled on your site. Each time you enable or disable SSL on a Webflow-hosted site, you’ll need to update your DNS records. SSL is enabled by default on all Webflow sites created after November 14th, 2018. Learn more about enabling and disabling SSL. 

To point your custom subdomain to your Webflow site when SSL is enabled: 

1. Go to Site settings > Publishing tab > Production (you’ll need to copy the necessary DNS records from here) 
2. Go to the DNS settings for your custom domain (in your domain registrar or DNS host’s dashboard) 
3. Create a CNAME record with your subdomain’s prefix as the hostname (e.g., if your subdomain is blog.yourdomain.com, the host name should be blog) and the value proxy-ssl.webflow.com
4. Create a TXT record with the hostname _webflow and the value shown in Site settings beginning with “one-time-verification=” (e.g., “one-time-verification=01ab2345-cd67e-89f0-11gh-12i13456j789k”) 

‍Note: Some DNS providers require a trailing dot at the end of CNAME records (e.g., proxy-ssl.webflow.com.). We recommend that you check your DNS provider’s documentation to confirm their preferences and requirements. Check out this list of DNS providers and links to their documentation on updating DNS settings. 

DNS records for non-SSL hosting (not recommended) 

Important: SSL is enabled by default on all Webflow sites created after November 14th, 2018. We strongly advise against disabling SSL, as sites that don’t use SSL may be labeled “not secure” by some browsers, discouraging people from visiting your site. For security, you cannot disable SSL on sites with Users, Ecommerce, or Logic enabled. Learn more about enabling and disabling SSL. 

To point your custom domain to your Webflow site when SSL is disabled: 

1. Go to Site settings > Publishing tab > Production (you’ll need to copy the necessary DNS records from here) 
2. Open the DNS settings for your custom domain (in your domain registrar or DNS host’s dashboard) 
3. Create a CNAME record with your subdomain’s prefix as the hostname (e.g., if your subdomain is blog.yourdomain.com, the host name should be blog) and the value proxy.webflow.com 
4. Create a TXT record with the hostname _webflow and the value shown in Site settings beginning with “one-time-verification=” (e.g., “one-time-verification=01ab2345-cd67e-89f0-11gh-12i13456j789k”) 

‍Note: Some DNS providers prefer that you set the www subdomain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com) as the hostname instead of www. We recommend that you check your DNS provider’s documentation to confirm their preferences and requirements. Check out this list of DNS providers and links to their documentation on updating DNS settings. 

How to set the default domain

If you’ve connected more than one domain to your site, you’ll need to set a default domain to redirect all traffic from other domains as the default. This helps you avoid SEO penalties due to duplicate content. 

To set the default domain: 

1. Open Site settings > Publishing tab > Production
2. Click Make default next to the domain you’d like to set as the default 

Important: If you add a new domain or subdomain to your site after you’ve already set a default domain, the new domain or subdomain won’t appear within the publish menu. To resolve this, go to Site settings > Publishing tab > Production and click Make default next to the default domain. Then, publish your site to the new domain or subdomain, and set the default domain again. 

How to confirm your subdomain is pointing to Webflow

To verify that your DNS settings are correct and that your domain is pointing to your Webflow site, go to Site settings > Publishing tab > Production and click Check status under your domain name. 

DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate in all geolocations as the DNS cache expires, although this typically occurs within a few hours. If your site verification doesn’t work right away, you can return later to check the status. 

If your DNS records are live and pointing to Webflow and you’re still experiencing issues with domain verification after 2 days, please contact Webflow’s customer support team.

How to verify and publish your site

Important: To verify your subdomain, you must use a DNS provider that offers the ability to create TXT records. If your DNS provider does not offer this feature, you can point your domain nameservers (NS records) to a service such as Cloudflare so you can manage your DNS records there. Learn more about connecting a custom domain with Cloudflare.

Before you can publish your site to your custom domain, you’ll need to verify ownership of any custom domains and subdomains you’ve connected to Webflow. By following the steps above to set your DNS records, you’ll create a TXT record in your DNS settings with a one-time verification code to confirm that you own the connected subdomain. 

To complete the verification process and publish your site from Site settings: 

1. Click Verify domain
2. Wait for the “Custom domain verified” confirmation message
3. Click Publish to open the publish menu
4. Check the domain(s) to which you want to publish your site
5. Click Publish to selected domains

‍Important: If you add a new domain or subdomain to your site after you’ve already set a default domain, the new domain or subdomain won’t appear within the publish menu. To resolve this, go to Site settings > Publishing tab > Production and click Make default next to the default domain. Then, publish your site to the new domain or subdomain, and set the default domain again. 

‍Learn more about publishing your site.

FAQ and troubleshooting tips

I connected my custom subdomain to Webflow but my site isn’t live yet. What’s going on? 

While most DNS providers try to update your DNS records as fast as possible, many factors impact how long it takes for your site to appear on your custom domain, including TTL (time to live) and internet service providers. DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate in all geolocations, although this typically occurs within a few hours, so it may be a matter of waiting a bit longer for the site to “come online.” 

You can double-check that your DNS records are correct and view the propagation status using a tool like whatsmydns. It may also help to clear your browser cache to ensure you’re loading the latest version of your domain.

If your site isn’t appearing on your custom domain after 48 hours, please troubleshoot your DNS settings or contact your domain provider’s help desk. If your DNS settings are correct, but you’re still experiencing issues with your published site, please contact Webflow’s customer support team.

Why is my new domain not showing up in the publishing menu? 

If you add a new domain or subdomain after you’ve already set a default domain, the new domain or subdomain won’t appear in the publishing menu. To resolve this, open Site settings > Publishing tab > Production and click the “Make default” button next to the domain previously set as the default. Then, publish your site to the new domain or subdomain and set the default domain again. 

Can I connect more than one domain or subdomain to my site? 

You can add up to 50 custom domains to a site at a time. If you wish to use more than 50 domains, we recommend using a domain forwarding system. 

Using multiple domains can also help redirect old domains to a new domain. To do this, connect all of the domains (old and new!) to your site and set the new domain as the default. This ensures that all domains connected to your site are redirected to the new domain. Learn more about setting a default domain. 

Why do I need to set a default domain? 

Setting a default domain helps to avoid penalties from Google for having duplicate content on the web. Additionally, not setting a default domain or setting the root domain as the default can cause unexpected behavior such as loading issues in some geolocations and problems with site crawling due to excessive redirects.

Is my site published to all domains I connect to my site? 

When you publish your site, the site is published to all connected domains and subdomains that are checked in the publishing menu. If you’ve set a default domain, the site will be published to that domain, and all other domains will redirect to that default URL. If you don’t want to publish your site to all of your connected domains, you can open the publish menu and uncheck any domains you don’t want to publish. 

Can I publish different pages to different domains or subdomains? 

It’s not possible to publish specific pages to specific domains or subdomains. If you need to publish different pages to different domains or subdomains, you’ll need to set up separate sites for each page. You’ll also need to add a separate Site plan to each site and add the specific custom domain(s) or subdomain(s) to each site.

Is SSL enabled for my site? 

SSL is enabled by default for sites created after November 14th, 2018. If your site was created before that date, you can enable SSL by opening Site settings > Publishing tab > Advanced publishing options, toggling Enable SSL to “on,” and clicking Save changes.

‍Important: Every time you disable or enable SSL on a Webflow-hosted site, you’ll need to update your DNS records. Learn more about DNS records for SSL and non-SSL hosting. 

Can I turn SSL off? 

You can switch SSL off, but we strongly advise against doing so. Sites that don’t use SSL may be labeled “not secure” by some browsers, discouraging people from visiting your site. Learn more about enabling and disabling SSL. 

For security, you cannot disable SSL on sites with Users, Ecommerce, or Logic enabled. 

‍Important: Every time you disable or enable SSL on a Webflow-hosted site, you’ll need to update your DNS records. Learn more about DNS records for SSL and non-SSL hosting.