In this article, we’ll guide you through how to map a domain directly to a project through six basic steps.

1. Publish a project

In your Readymag account, open the project you want to connect the domain to, open its settings panel, and publish it. After that, you can map a custom domain to it.

2. Get your domain name

If you haven’t purchased a domain name yet, you can buy one from any domain provider of your choice, get a pre-configured one from our partners at IONOS, or get a free .xyz domain for a year through our partners at gen.xyz.

3. Specify your domain on the project settings

Open your project settings and enter your domain name in the Domain tab.

Make sure to enter it without the “www” prefix. By default, your website will be accessible without the “www” prefix, so including it here can cause connection issues. In the next steps, you'll be prompted to add a CNAME record, which will also allow the domain to be accessed with “www” at the beginning.

Next, click “Test” to receive your domain verification key. Copy the key to use when adding the TXT record. This will be covered in more detail in the next step.

4. Configure the DNS settings

You’ll need to set up three DNS records to connect your domain to our system. To do so, go to your domain registrar’s website where you acquired your domain name and locate the DNS panel. You’ll need to configure the following records: A, TXT, and CNAME.

A record

This is the main record that allows your domain to communicate with our servers. Create it using the following parameters:

For example:

TXT record

This record proves that you own the domain. When you clicked “Test” in Step 3, Readymag generated a unique verification key. Only someone with access to your registrar can add it to your DNS settings. That’s what stops anyone else from pointing your domain to their own project.

For example:

CNAME record

For your website to be available with the “www” prefix, you’ll need to add a CNAME record. This allows visitors to reach your project whether they enter the address as yourdomain.com (without the “www.” prefix) or www.yourdomain.com (with the “www.” prefix). Use the following parameters:

For ‘Point To (Value)’, the value must be ‘domains.readymag.com’ and not your domain name. For example:

Leave the TTL field unchanged.

5. Wait and test

At this point, you should have added all the required records. Your DNS panel should look similar to this:

Once your DNS records are entered correctly, they need a few minutes to propagate before your domain can connect to Readymag’s servers. This is normal, so give it several minutes before continuing to the next step.  

6. Connect domain

Return to your Readymag account > Project settings > Domain tab and click “Test.” You should see an indication that your domain is ready to be connected. If the “Connect” button doesn’t appear after testing, follow the troubleshooting steps here. Otherwise, click “Connect” to complete the process.

After connecting the domain

Once your domain is connected, keep the following in mind:

• You can add a favicon and enable Search engine indexing to allow search engine bots to crawl your project’s content.
   
• The options to enter your Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager IDs also become available after mapping your domain.
   
• SSL certificates are issued and updated automatically for custom domains in Readymag. All you need to do is map your domain—we’ll take care of the rest. You can find more information here.

Troubleshooting a failed connection

If you don’t see the “Connect” button after following the previous steps and clicking “Test” in the project’s settings, review your DNS settings again using the suggestions provided in the Domain tab. 

Additionally, keep the following in mind:

• Your DNS records will typically be picked up within minutes. However, some registrars can take longer (up to 72 hours) to propagate your DNS settings. You can use a DNS checker tool, such as dnschecker.org, to get a quick update on the propagation status.
   
• Refer to the FAQs section at the end of this article for common troubleshooting tips. 
   
• If more than 72 hours have passed, contact your domain provider’s support team and ask them to confirm that the DNS records you added are active and have propagated successfully, or whether additional settings are required to make your DNS records publicly available.

Additional Configurations

Connecting a subdomain

To connect a subdomain, follow all of the steps described above. However, for the A record, instead of “@,” enter the subdomain you want to create. For example, if you want to configure portfolio.domain.com, you would set it up like this:

The same principle applies if you have a site hosted externally and want to map your Readymag project to a subdomain, such as myproject.externalsite.com:

Domain limits

Each plan comes with a set number of custom domain slots. If you've reached your plan's limit and need to connect more domains, consider upgrading to a higher plan.

If you're on the Advanced plan, you can increase your domain limit by purchasing additional domain slots through Add-ons. To do this, visit our article on Add-ons here and follow the steps to purchase the add-on from your account settings. You'll see a preview of the cost before completing the purchase.

FAQs

My DNS records are correct, but the domain isn’t working. Why?

If you’ve followed all the steps above, added the required DNS records, and the domain still isn’t connecting, review our troubleshooting tips section. If the issue persists, reach out to support via email or chat so we can help you troubleshoot. 

Will my domain stay connected if I move to a Free plan?

If you cancel your subscription and move to a Free plan, your website will move back to the default Readymag URL and visitors trying to reach your domain will see an error message. Visit this article to learn more about what happens after canceling a subscription. 

Can someone else connect my domain to their Readymag project?

No. The TXT verification key in Step 4 ties the domain to your specific project. Because the key must be added to your domain’s DNS settings—which only you or someone with access to your registrar account can do—no other Readymag user can map your domain to their project. If you ever transfer the project, the new owner will reverify the domain with their own key.

My records aren’t working or display a Proxied Status. What should I do?

Some domains are preconfigured, so the necessary DNS records for Readymag won’t take effect. In these cases, you might see an option to set the records as “DNS only.” Activating it will generally allow Readymag DNS records to take effect.

In other cases, the DNS record may show a “Proxied” status, such as with Cloudflare. You’ll need to unproxy the records by setting them to “DNS-only” to allow them to work.

I’m getting “Website is not secured” warnings when accessing my site. What’s wrong?

An SSL certificate is automatically generated after you successfully connect your domain. If you see a warning message, something in your DNS records may be conflicting with your certificate. Check the SSL article for troubleshooting suggestions.

How long can it take for my site to appear in Google results?

Once the Search engine indexing toggle is enabled, it can take some time for your content to be indexed and appear in search results. Generally, this can take 2-3 weeks or more, depending on the SEO of your project. You can find tips for improving SEO in this article.

I no longer need a domain name. How can I disconnect it?

Open the project settings panel from the bottom-right dock. Navigate to the Domain tab and click the “Unmap” button to detach your domain. You can find out more in this article.

Is it possible to create an email address with my domain?

If you want to create an email address for your custom domain linked to a Readymag project, contact your domain provider. This process requires changes to your DNS settings and can’t be managed on our end.

Can I set up a redirect within Readymag?

You can set a redirect through your domain provider. Readymag does not have functionality that allows you to make these changes.

Can I use more than one domain for a single project?

Only one domain can be mapped to a project. However, if you want to use more than one address, you can set them to redirect or forward to the domain mapped to your project. This way, more than one address can lead to a single Readymag project. Forwarding can’t be configured within Readymag—you’ll need to set it up through each domain’s registrar account.

When entering my URL, I get a “My URL is parked free” or “Domain for sale” screen. What can I do?

This can generally happen when:

• Other DNS records are conflicting. Removing any preexisting DNS records with the “Parked” value will generally resolve the issue.
   
• Your domain ownership has expired. In this case, contact your domain registrar for more information.

Does Readymag support internationalized domain names?

Yes, you can connect these just as you would a regular domain name.

Can I connect a .eth domain? 

No. ENS (.eth) names can be linked to IPFS-hosted decentralized sites through the eth.link service, but they can't be pointed to a standard IP address the way a regular domain is. Because Readymag connects domains via DNS records (A, TXT, and CNAME), .eth domains aren't supported.

Can I transfer my domain to Readymag?

Readymag doesn't manage or sell domains, so a domain can’t be transferred to us. Instead, you can follow the steps described above to point the domain to your Readymag project without transferring it.

Is my domain renewal included in the Readymag payment?

No. Domains are purchased through third-party providers, and anything related to domain payments and renewals is handled directly by your provider. This includes domains purchased through our partnerships with IONOS and gen.xyz. 

While we offer some discounts through partnerships, we’re not affiliated with domain providers. Neither the domain purchase nor the renewal costs are included in your Readymag subscription. 

How do I configure Cloudflare DNS settings for Readymag hosting?

Add the same A, TXT, and CNAME records described in the steps above. The setup is identical when your DNS is managed through Cloudflare. The one difference is that each of these records must be set to DNS-only (gray cloud), rather than proxied. In your Cloudflare DNS panel, click the orange cloud next to each record to switch it to DNS-only. Readymag doesn’t support proxying in front of custom domains, and there’s no way to enable it by allowlisting Cloudflare’s IP ranges—DNS-only is the only supported setup.

What should I do if my Readymag site isn’t working after an outage?

Once the outage is resolved, sites usually return to normal on their own. If yours still looks broken, refresh the page and clear your browser cache to clear out the old cached version. Global networks can also take a bit of time to fully stabilize.

Your projects and data aren’t affected by outages, so any content that seemed missing will reappear. If the site is still down after that, try another device or network, then contact support.