Connecting your own domain

Your platform starts on a memberarea address. It works, and you can run a business on it. But the address is the first thing a customer reads, so most people move to their own domain early.

Custom domains are available on paid plans. On a plan without them, the domain settings show an upgrade note instead of the form.

Open the domain settings

Choose the address first

Use a subdomain of a domain you already own. Something like:

• members.yourbrand.com
• academy.yourbrand.com
• community.yourbrand.com

A subdomain is the practical choice because your main domain usually points at your existing website. Sending yourbrand.com here would replace that site. If you do want to use a root domain without a subdomain, that works too: it uses an A record instead of a CNAME.

Add it in memberarea first

1. Open Settings, then Login domain.
2. Under Custom domains, enter the full address, including the subdomain.
3. Press Connect domain.

The domain appears in the list with the status Ownership not confirmed, together with the DNS records to create. Nothing works yet, which is expected.

Adding a domain does not reserve it yet. It belongs to your workspace only once you have confirmed that you own it, which the TXT record below does.

Then create the DNS records

DNS lives with whoever you bought the domain from. Sign in there and find the DNS or nameserver settings. You create two records, and it is easiest to add both at the same time.

Click any host or value in the domain settings to copy it.

The TXT record: proves the domain is yours

1. Create a new record of type TXT.
2. Set the name or host to the host shown in your domain settings, for example _memberarea-verify.members for members.yourbrand.com.
3. Set the value to the text shown there. It starts with memberarea-verify= followed by a code generated for this domain.
4. Save it.

The CNAME record: points the domain at your platform

1. Create a new record of type CNAME.
2. Set the name or host to your subdomain, for example members.
3. Set the value or target to the address shown in your domain settings.
4. Save it.

For a root domain, use the A record shown as Alternative for root domains instead of the CNAME.

The wording differs between providers. Some call the first field "name", others "host" or "subdomain". Some want just members, others want the whole members.yourbrand.com. If both are offered, follow the examples your provider shows. The same goes for the TXT host.

How the check works

Right after you add the domain, memberarea checks it automatically for a few minutes. After that, press Check connection whenever you want to check again.

The check runs in two steps:

1. Ownership. As long as no matching TXT record is found, the domain keeps the status Ownership not confirmed and the check reports that no matching TXT record was found yet. Once the record is found, the domain belongs to your workspace.
2. Connection. From then on, the CNAME or A record decides. The status reads Connected when the record points at your platform, Wrong target when records were found but point elsewhere, and Waiting for DNS when no record was found yet. Not verified means the domain has not been confirmed as connected yet: press Check connection.

Someone else adding the same address without confirming it does not block you. Whoever confirms the TXT record first gets the domain. If another account confirms it before you, the domain stays in your list with the note "Another account confirmed this domain first. Remove it here or contact support." It cannot be added to your workspace. If the domain is yours, contact support.

Domains that were already in your list before ownership checks were introduced keep working and need no TXT record.

A domain waiting for confirmation already counts towards the number of domains your plan allows. If you no longer need it, remove it with the trash icon (Remove domain) next to it.

The certificate

Once the record resolves to memberarea, the HTTPS certificate is issued automatically. You do not buy one, upload one or renew one. The padlock appears in the browser by itself.

If your domain sits behind a proxy such as Cloudflare, switch the proxy off for this record ("DNS only") while the domain connects. With the proxy on, the check finds the proxy's addresses instead of your platform and shows Wrong target. The TXT record is not affected by the proxy.

Once a domain is connected, it stays connected even if its records later point at a proxy. The domain settings then show a note that the records point elsewhere and that the domain stays connected.

After it connects

Once the status next to the domain reads Connected, the button Set as primary appears. Press it: that is the step that sends members to the new address. If the status shows anything else, press Check connection.

Your platform answers on the new address. Bookmark it, put it in your emails and use it in your links.

The memberarea address keeps working and forwards to your primary domain, so links you sent earlier do not break.

To go back, remove the primary domain. Your platform then switches back to its memberarea address. If a domain cannot be removed, the reason appears in the confirmation dialog.

When something does not work

The status stays on Ownership not confirmed. The TXT record has not spread yet, the host field holds the whole address where the provider expected only the first part (or the other way round), or the value is missing the memberarea-verify= part.

The browser shows a warning about the certificate. The domain resolves but the certificate is not issued yet. Give it a few minutes.

The status reads Wrong target. A proxy sits in front of the domain, or there is another record for the same subdomain, often an old A record. Switch the proxy off, remove the old record and leave only the one shown in your domain settings.

Nothing happens at all. The record has not spread yet, or the name field holds the whole address where the provider expected only the subdomain.

Open the domain settings