Adding Your Custom Domain

What is a custom domain?

You can add your mintsite to your own custom website domain. That means visitors can come directly to your website at a domain like https://mint.yourwebsite.com

Your custom domain is important:

1. CLOUT - The biggest creators and projects almost always have projects on their own website. It shows that you are a professional and sophisticated enough to build a career rather than one-off. It shows that you are deeply invested in your craft.

2. YOUR BRAND - Your brand matters and by sending visitors to you're own website, you create more brand equity and recognition for yourself rather than to some other platform or marketplace.

3. DISCOVERY - If you send visitors to you're own site, they have the ability to discover your other channels, merch, services & past projects.

4. DATA & ANALYTICS - By placing your mint on your own site, you gain a whole world of data around who your audience is and where they come from through Google Analytics and other tools.

Adding a mintsite to your custom domain is simple:

1. Login to your Prime workspace and Open Site Editor

2. Go to Settings in the left bar then to Add a Custom Domain

3. Put in the domain of your website where you want the mintsite to live. For example:

   1. If you want the mintsite to be on the root domain put yoursite.com

   2. If you want the mintsite to be on a subdomain then you might use something like mint.yoursite.com .

   3. Do not include https:// or www at the beginning of the domain.

   4. Be sure to hit Publish Changes

   5. Now go to wherever you registered your domain and add a CNAME to either the root or subdomain that you set. Instructions on CNAME setup below. 👇

Q: What is a CNAME

A CNAME is like a nickname for your website's address. Imagine if your friend Bob had the nickname "Bobby." If someone calls out "Bobby," they're referring to Bob. Similarly, a CNAME lets you give a second name (or nickname) to a part of your website.

Q: Why do I need a CNAME

1. Better Branding: It lets you use your own branded web address (like shop.mywebsite.com) even if your website is built on another platform that has its own address (like myshop.someplatform.com).

2. Easy Switching: If you ever decide to move your website from one platform to another, you won't have to change your website's main address. Just update where the nickname points!

3. Simpler for Visitors: It's easier for your visitors to remember and type sale.mywebsite.com than something long and complicated.

4. Some Services Need It: Some online tools or platforms might ask you to set up a CNAME to use their service with your own web address.

Things to Remember:

• A CNAME is just another way to reach a part of your website. Think of it as having two doors to the same room.

• You can't have two different nicknames for the exact same part of your website. It's like trying to give Bob two nicknames for the same context.

In short, a CNAME is a handy tool to make your website address more user-friendly or to connect parts of your website to online services.

Q: How do I setup a CNAME?

In general, adding a CNAME only requires a few steps after navigating to your platform DNS settings. We’ve included step by step instructions for some primary platforms below. If you do not see your specific website platform listed, the steps will likely be similar. You can always reach out to us for help if you have a difficult time with your configuration.

Remember: After adding or modifying DNS records, it may take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours for changes to propagate throughout the Internet due to DNS caching. If you don't see the changes immediately, be patient and check back later.

Shopify: *https://help.shopify.com/*

If you're using Shopify, you're probably looking to point a domain at your Shopify store. Shopify primarily uses A records for the main domain and CNAME for subdomains.

1. From your Shopify admin, click 'Online Store' then 'Domains'.

2. Click on 'Connect existing domain'.

3. Enter your desired domain (e.g., shop.yourdomain.com).

4. Follow the provided steps which will include setting up a CNAME record with your domain provider.

5. The CNAME record usually points to shops.myshopify.com.

(Note: Shopify uses an 'A' record for root domains, e.g., yourdomain.com)

GoDaddy: *https://www.godaddy.com/help*

1. Log into your GoDaddy account.

2. Navigate to 'My Products' and click on 'DNS' next to the domain you want to modify.

3. Scroll to the 'Records' section and click 'Add'.

4. Select 'CNAME' from the dropdown.

5. Enter the required 'Host' and 'Points to' values.

6. Click 'Save'.

HubSpot: *https://knowledge.hubspot.com/*

1. In your HubSpot account, click on your photo or avatar in the top right corner.

2. Navigate to 'Domains & URLs'.

3. Click on 'Connect a domain'.

4. Choose the type of content you want to host (e.g., website, landing pages).

5. Follow the prompts, and when asked, enter your subdomain.

6. HubSpot will provide a CNAME record value. Add this to your domain provider's DNS settings.

Web.com: *https://www.web.com/*

1. Log into your Web.com account.

2. Go to 'Domain Settings' or 'Manage Domains'.

3. Click on the domain you wish to modify.

4. Find the 'DNS Management' or 'DNS Settings' section.

5. Click 'Add Record' or 'Edit DNS'.

6. Choose 'CNAME' and input your 'Alias Name' and 'Points to' values.

7. Click 'Save' or 'Submit'.

Wix:

https://support.wix.com/

1. Sign in to your Wix account.

2. Go to 'Domains' in your account dashboard.

3. Click on the domain you want to modify.

4. Navigate to the 'DNS Records' section.

5. Click 'Add New Record' and select 'CNAME'.

6. Input the necessary 'Host Name' and 'Value'.

7. Click 'Save' or 'Add Record'.

Domain.com: *https://www.domain.com/help/*

1. Log into your Domain.com account.

2. Navigate to the 'Manage Domains' section.

3. Choose the domain you want to edit.

4. Find the 'DNS & Nameserver' settings.

5. Add a new record and select 'CNAME'.

6. Input your details and save changes.

Bluehost: *https://www.bluehost.com/help*

1. Log into your Bluehost control panel.

2. Go to 'Domains' and select 'Zone Editor'.

3. Choose the domain you want to edit.

4. Add a new record with 'CNAME' as the type.

5. Fill in the details and click 'Save'.

Namecheap: *https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/*

1. Sign in to your Namecheap account.

2. Navigate to 'Domain List'.

3. Click on 'Manage' next to your domain.

4. Choose 'Advanced DNS'.

5. Click 'Add New Record', select 'CNAME Record'.

6. Input your details and click the checkmark to save.

Google Domains: *https://support.google.com/domains/*

1. Go to Google Domains and sign in.

2. Click the domain you want to manage.

3. Navigate to 'DNS' settings.

4. Scroll to 'Custom resource records'.

5. Add a new 'CNAME' record with the necessary details.

Ionos: *https://www.ionos.com/help/*

1. Sign in to your Ionos account.

2. Go to 'Domains & SSL'.

3. Click on the domain you want to edit.

4. Navigate to 'DNS settings'.

5. Add a new 'CNAME' record and save.

Network Solutions: *http://www.networksolutions.com/support/*

1. Log into your Network Solutions account.

2. Navigate to 'Manage Account'.

3. Go to 'Edit DNS' under the desired domain.

4. Choose 'Manage Advanced DNS Records'.

5. Add a 'CNAME' record and input the details.

Hover: *https://www.hover.com/help/*

1. Sign in to your Hover account.

2. Click on the domain you want to modify.

3. Under 'DNS', add a new entry with 'CNAME' as the type.

4. Input your details and save changes.

Dynadot: *https://www.dynadot.com/community/help.html*

1. Log into your Dynadot account.

2. Navigate to 'My Domains' and select 'Manage Domains'.

3. Choose the domain to edit.

4. Under 'DNS Settings', add a 'CNAME' record.

5. Fill in the details and save.

Porkbun: *https://kb.porkbun.com/*

1. Sign in to your Porkbun account.

2. Go to the 'Domains' section.

3. Click 'Details' next to your domain.

4. Navigate to the 'Edit' link under 'Records'.

5. Add a new 'CNAME' record, input your details, and save.