Setting Up Your Custom Domain
Connect your own domain to your Stacks profile for a more professional and branded experience.
Why Use a Custom Domain?
With a custom domain, you can share your Stacks profile using your own branded web address (like yourbrand.com instead ofbetterstacks.com/user/yourusername).
Benefits:
- Professional branding
- Easier to remember and share
- Looks better on business cards
- More control over your online presence
Requirements:
- Own a domain (from GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.)
- Access to your domain's DNS settings
- A Stacks account (free or paid)
Setting Up Your Domain: Easy Steps
Add your domain in Stacks
Go to your Stacks dashboard, navigate to Settings → Custom Domain, and enter your domain name.
Tip: You can use either your root domain (like example.com) or a subdomain (like profile.example.com).
Get your verification details
After adding your domain, Stacks will provide you with two records that need to be added to your domain's DNS settings:
- A CNAME record that will direct your domain to Stacks
- A TXT record with a special code that proves you own the domain
Not sure what this means? These are just technical records that tell the internet where to find your Stacks profile when someone types your domain. You don't need to understand the details - just copy the values provided.
Update your DNS settings
Log in to your domain provider (like GoDaddy, Namecheap, or whoever you purchased your domain from) and find the DNS or Domain settings section.
Add CNAME Record
- Type: CNAME
- Name/Host: @ or www
- Value/Points to: cname.betterstacks.com
- TTL: Automatic or 3600
Add TXT Record
- Type: TXT
- Name/Host: _stacks-verification
- Value: [Your unique code]
- TTL: Automatic or 3600
Wait for verification
DNS changes can take time to propagate across the internet (from a few minutes up to 48 hours). Stacks will automatically check for your DNS records and verify your domain once they're detected.
Be patient: While verification often happens within minutes, it can sometimes take longer. You'll receive an email notification when your domain is successfully verified.
Start using your custom domain
Once verified, your Stacks profile will be accessible through your custom domain! Any links you share will use your domain instead of the default betterstacks.com URL.
Common Issues
Verification takes too long
DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate. If it's been longer than that, double-check that the DNS records were entered correctly with exactly the values Stacks provided.
Using Cloudflare?
If you use Cloudflare, make sure to set the proxy status to "DNS only" (grey cloud icon) instead of "Proxied" (orange cloud icon) for the CNAME record.
Domain shows "Not Verified" page
This means your domain hasn't been properly verified yet. Check your DNS settings against the values provided in your Stacks dashboard and ensure they match exactly.