Use this guide to connect a custom domain to your Democruit website and bring your public page onto a branded URL.

Before you start

You will need:

1. An active paid Democruit plan.
2. Access to the DNS provider where your domain is managed.
3. The domain name you want to connect, such as www.example.com or example.com.

1. Open your website settings

1. Go to your personal website in Democruit.
2. Open the Share or domain settings section.
3. Enter the domain you want to connect and save it.

If you are connecting the root domain, make sure your DNS provider supports CNAME flattening, ANAME, or ALIAS records. If it does not, connect a subdomain such as www instead.

2. Add the CNAME record

Democruit will show you a CNAME target for your site. In most cases, the value is pages.democruit.com.

Create a CNAME record with:

1. Type: CNAME
2. Name or host: the domain you entered in Democruit
3. Value or target: the CNAME target shown in the app

3. Add any TXT verification records

Some domains also require one or more TXT records for ownership verification.

1. Copy each TXT record exactly as shown in Democruit.
2. Add the TXT record name and value to your DNS provider.
3. Save the changes and wait for DNS to propagate.

4. Finish the setup in Democruit

After you add the DNS records in Namecheap or Cloudflare, go back to Democruit and make sure the domain you entered matches the DNS host exactly.

5. Check the domain status

Go back to Democruit and refresh the domain status.

1. The domain usually starts in a pending state.
2. Once DNS is visible and SSL is ready, the status changes to active.
3. If the status shows an error, double-check the record names, values, and any duplicate DNS entries.

6. Wait for propagation

DNS updates can take a few minutes, but sometimes take longer depending on your provider.

If the domain still is not active after waiting:

1. Confirm the CNAME points to the target shown in Democruit.
2. Confirm every TXT record matches exactly.
3. Remove conflicting records for the same host.
4. Try refreshing the status again in Democruit.

7. Optional provider walkthroughs

If you use Namecheap or Cloudflare, open the matching section below.

Namecheap dashboard

Connect the domain in Namecheap

1. Sign in to your Namecheap account.
2. Open the Domain List and select the domain you want to use.
3. Make sure the domain is active and unlocked for DNS changes.
4. If you are using a subdomain such as www, keep the main domain available as the DNS zone.

Make the DNS changes in Namecheap

1. Open the Advanced DNS tab for your domain.
2. Add a CNAME Record for the host you entered in Democruit.
3. Set the value or target to the CNAME target shown in Democruit, usually pages.democruit.com.
4. Add any TXT Record entries exactly as shown in Democruit.
5. Remove conflicting records for the same host before saving.

Cloudflare dashboard

Connect the domain in Cloudflare

1. Sign in to your Cloudflare account.
2. Open the website zone for your domain.
3. Confirm the domain is using Cloudflare nameservers.
4. If you are connecting a root domain, use Cloudflare DNS flattening or connect a subdomain such as www.

Make the DNS changes in Cloudflare

1. Open the DNS tab in Cloudflare.
2. Add a CNAME record for the host you entered in Democruit.
3. Set the target to the CNAME value shown in Democruit, usually pages.democruit.com.
4. Add any required TXT records exactly as shown in Democruit.
5. Keep the record set proxied or DNS only based on the instructions in your account flow.

Need help?

If you are stuck, contact Democruit support on our contact page with the domain name and the status message you see in the app.