Your live pages

Use your own domain

Connecting a domain you own, adding the DNS records, choosing what it shows, and fixing verification problems.

Serve your pages at yourbrand.com instead of yourname.pagesumo.com. HTTPS is set up for you.

Before you start: you'll need to log in wherever you bought the domain (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Squarespace). Whatever serves there now, an old site builder or a parking page, stops appearing once you switch.

Connect your domain

  1. In the dashboard, open Domains.
  2. In the Custom domain card (or Connect another domain), type your domain, like yourbrand.com, and click Connect domain.
  3. The card now shows the DNS records to add, with copy buttons next to each value:
    • A root domain like yourbrand.com: an A record with Host @ and Target set to the IP address on the card, plus a CNAME record with Host www and Target set to your domain exactly as shown, yourbrand.com. (the trailing dot is intentional; registrars accept it). Both together mean yourbrand.com and www.yourbrand.com work, no forwarding needed.
    • A subdomain like go.yourbrand.com: a single A record with Host go and Target set to the IP address on the card.
  4. Log in at your registrar and add those records. Delete any existing A, AAAA, or CNAME row for the same host (@, or www), and turn off domain forwarding if it's on. Only the values from the PageSumo card should be there.
  5. Back on the Domains screen, click Check status.

How to tell it worked: the card moves from Setup to Verifying to Active. Verification and the security certificate are automatic. Give it a few minutes.

Once Active, the card collapses the DNS section. Click Show records anytime to see the values again. Leave the records in place at your registrar; they're what keeps the domain pointed here.

Put your pages on it

  1. Open Domains and click the domain's card to expand it.
  2. Under What this domain shows, click Change.
  3. Pick A whole site (a site's homepage at your domain, its pages under it) or Individual pages (tick the pages you want).
  4. Click Save.

Before you save, the screen lists exactly what will move where.

Each page lives in exactly one place. Ticking a page moves it here; unticking returns it to your subdomain. A page already on another domain shows an "on yourotherdomain.com" tag; release it there first.

Nothing is ever deleted by a move, and your pagesumo.com link always redirects to wherever the page lives now. The one thing that breaks: a custom-domain link to a page that has since moved off that domain.

To move a single page, you can also open it from Pages, go to Page details, and use the Where this page lives card.

Set the homepage for your domain

One page is what visitors see at yourbrand.com itself. In the What this domain shows editor, the current homepage is marked Homepage, and any other ticked page has a Make homepage action.

If no homepage is set, the bare domain shows a 404. Pick one.

Send new pages there automatically

Once a domain is active, the Domains screen shows a Where new pages land card. Pick My PageSumo address or one of your domains, and every page you publish from then on goes there. Existing pages keep their current homes. A domain serving a whole site can't be the landing spot.

Remove a domain

Click Remove on the domain's card, then confirm with Remove domain. Visitors stop being served there and the certificate is released. Any pages that lived there move back to your pagesumo.com subdomain automatically. Nothing is deleted, and you can reconnect later.

Troubleshooting

It's stuck on Verifying. DNS changes take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to spread, depending on your provider. Check the records at your registrar match the card exactly. Remove any other A, AAAA, or CNAME records on the same names, turn off domain forwarding, then click Check status again.

The card says Action needed. The card shows a message explaining what went wrong. Re-check the DNS records against the values on the card.

"That domain is already connected to another PageSumo account." A domain can only be connected to one account at a time. Remove it from the other account first.

It's Active but the bare domain shows a 404. No homepage is set. Open What this domain shows, click Change, tick at least one page, and make one the homepage.

I can't find the DNS screen at my registrar. It's usually called DNS, DNS Management, Nameservers, or Advanced DNS, under the domain's settings. If you're stuck, send us a screenshot of what you're seeing from Help and we'll point at the right row. See Contact support.

How many domains you can connect

Depends on your plan. The Domains screen shows your limit and how many you've used. At the limit, remove a domain or upgrade in Settings, then Plan and billing.