Custom domain and DNS

Before you start

Every publication starts on its Inkwave subdomain, the address you chose when you created it. You can also show your website on a domain you own, such as news.yourdomain.com.

You will need:

• a domain you own, and access to its DNS settings at the company you bought it from (your domain registrar or DNS provider)
• permission to manage your publication's settings
• a plan that includes custom domains

We recommend a subdomain, such as news.yourdomain.com, rather than the bare yourdomain.com. A subdomain is better for web and email deliverability. Many DNS providers also don't allow the kind of record you need on a bare domain.

Add your domain

1. Go to Settings, Domains.
2. Click Add Custom Domain.
3. Type your domain into Custom domain, for example news.yourdomain.com.
4. Click Add Domain.

The domain now appears under Your domains with the status Pending DNS.

Add the DNS record

Under your domain, the page shows the record to create:

Copy the target exactly as the page shows it.

Then sign in to your DNS provider, add the CNAME record and save it. DNS changes usually take effect within minutes, but can take a few hours.

Verify it

Back on the Domains page, click Verify DNS beside your domain. Inkwave looks up your CNAME record:

• If it points at the right target, you see "Domain verified successfully" and the status becomes Active.
• If not, you see "DNS not configured yet. Make sure your CNAME record is set." and the status becomes DNS Failed.

Nothing checks again automatically, so click Verify DNS again after you fix the record. The page shows when the last check ran.

Domain statuses

Your Inkwave subdomain is listed too, with a Default badge. It is always active and can't be removed.

Make it your primary domain

The primary domain, marked with a star, is the address used in links in your emails, including links to your posts and the unsubscribe link.

When your custom domain is Active, click Set Primary beside it. Only an Active domain can be made primary.

Remove a domain

Click the bin icon beside a domain and confirm. Your website stops working on that domain straight away.

You can't remove your primary domain or the default subdomain. To remove a custom domain that is primary, make another domain primary first.

Troubleshooting

Verify DNS keeps showing DNS Failed

• Check the record type is CNAME, not A or TXT.
• Check the target is copied exactly, with no typos or extra spaces.
• Check the name or host. Some providers want only news, others want the whole news.yourdomain.com. If the provider adds your domain for you, typing the whole name can produce news.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com.
• If your provider offers proxying (Cloudflare shows it as an orange cloud), turn it off for this record so it is "DNS only". With proxying on, the CNAME is hidden and the check can't see it.
• Remove any other record for the same name. A name can't have a CNAME alongside other records.
• Wait a little. DNS changes can take time to spread.
• If the record matches the page exactly and the status still shows DNS Failed after a few hours, contact Inkwave support. Tell them your domain and the target you set.

"This domain is already registered": another publication has already added this domain. Each domain can belong to one publication only.

"This name is reserved": domains on Inkwave's own address that use a reserved name can't be added.

"Your plan doesn't include new custom domains": upgrade to add a domain. Custom domains you added earlier keep working.

"Enter a valid domain": type the domain on its own, like news.yourdomain.com, without https://, a slash or a page path.

Set Primary isn't there: it only appears once the domain is Active.