Custom domain

A custom domain is the brand-owned URL where your website lives. Most hosts give you a free default subdomain (e.g. yoursite.netlify.app, yoursite.killerwebsite.ai); using your own domain (yourbrand.com) replaces the default with the URL you actually want users to see.

Connecting a custom domain typically means either pointing your apex (yourbrand.com) and www subdomain at the host's nameservers, or adding A/CNAME records pointing at the host's IP/hostname. The host then handles SSL provisioning automatically (via Let's Encrypt or similar).

Two patterns dominate: (a) Nameserver delegation — you change yourbrand.com's nameservers at your registrar (Namecheap, Cloudflare, Google Domains) to point at the host's nameservers. The host manages all DNS records. (b) DNS records — you keep your existing DNS provider but add A/AAAA records (for the apex) and a CNAME (for www) pointing at the host. Both work; nameserver delegation is simpler, DNS records give more control.

Custom domains improve brand trust (yourbrand.com beats yourbrand.netlify.app for credibility), branded SERP results (Google features the brand domain in autocomplete and knowledge panels), email deliverability when paired with the same domain for email, and SSL identity (the cert names the brand, not the platform).

Common custom-domain mistakes: misconfigured DNS records (TTL too high, propagation delays), missing www vs apex redirect (visitors hitting www.brand.com and brand.com see different sites), expired domains (the entire site goes dark when DNS expires), and incomplete SSL (apex covered but www isn't, or vice versa).