Technical Effort: 7/10
You should be familiar with DNS settings at your domain host to complete this task.
A domain host (also called a domain provider or registrar) is where you bought the domain name — often Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap, Wix, or Squarespace. If you have not purchased a domain yet, we recommend Cloudflare.
Connecting a custom domain is a full switch. Visitors will see your Vlge website instead of the old one. Publish your Vlge pages and turn Website Status on before you change DNS.
👉 Step 1: Open Website Settings
In the Website Builder, open Settings.
👉 Step 2: Enter one domain name
Scroll to Custom Domain. Type the exact name you want people to use, then click Connect.
Connect either the root domain (yourcommunity.com) or the www version (www.yourcommunity.com) — not both as the connected name. We recommend the root domain.
Remember which one you chose. The DNS steps below follow that choice.
Vlge tries to detect your DNS provider and will show a link to that provider’s own guide when it can. Those third-party steps change from time to time; use them as a starting point and follow the Vlge values below.
👉 Step 3: Remove old website records first
Open DNS settings for the domain. A name can only point to one website, so delete the old website records before you add ours.
For the same name you connected in Vlge, delete:
A or AAAA records (these usually show an IP address). Older hosts such as Wix often have several of these on the root domain.
Any leftover CNAME for that same name that still points at the previous host.
You cannot keep those records and add the Vlge record at the same time. The registrar will reject it, or the domain will stay on the old site.
⚠️ Leave email and unused names alone
Do not delete email records:
MX records
A mail host
TXT records used for email (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Other subdomains you still use (for example content.yourcommunity.com) can stay. Optional leftovers from the old site — such as an m mobile name — can be deleted if you no longer want those old pages.
👉 Step 4: Point the connected name at Vlge
Add one CNAME for the name you entered in Vlge:
You connected the root | You connected www | |
Type | CNAME | CNAME |
Name / Host |
|
|
Points to |
|
|
If DNS is in Cloudflare, keep this record proxied (orange cloud). That is required for the connection to finish.
👉 Step 5: Handle the other version (root vs www)
People type both. You only connected one name in Vlge, so the other must forward visitors there — not to the old host, and not to sites.vlge.io.
If you connected the root (yourcommunity.com):
Do not create a second CNAME from www to
sites.vlge.io.Keep a www record so the name exists (proxied if you use Cloudflare).
Point www at the root domain, or add a 301 redirect:
www.yourcommunity.com→https://yourcommunity.com(keep the rest of the path).If www still points at the old host, most bookmarks will stay on the old site.
If you connected www:
Point www at
sites.vlge.ioas in Step 4.After removing old root address records, send the root to www with a 301 redirect.
Do not leave the root on the old host.
👉 Step 6: Save, wait, and check
Save your DNS changes. It is often a few minutes; it can take up to 24 hours.
In Vlge, click Check Status. When the domain is active, open both the root and www addresses in a private window and confirm they land on your Vlge site.
Once connected, you will see:
Short checklist
Publish the Vlge site and turn Website Status on.
Connect one name in Vlge (root or www).
Delete old website A / AAAA / CNAME records for that name.
Add one CNAME pointing to
sites.vlge.io.Forward the other name (www or root) to the one you connected. Do not point both at
sites.vlge.io.Do not touch email records.
If you use Cloudflare, keep records proxied.
Click Check Status, then test both URLs in a private window.
Troubleshooting
Q) I added the CNAME, but the domain is still not connected
A) DNS can take up to 24 hours. Browsers also cache the old site — try a private window. Confirm you deleted the old A records for the same name; those block the new CNAME. Test with https://dnschecker.org/.
Q) I do not know who my DNS provider is, and Vlge is not detecting it
A) Use the DNS Checker tool above and run a DNS Lookup. In the sample below, Owner shows Cloudflare — that is the DNS provider for this domain.
Q) www still shows the old website
A) You connected the root in Vlge, but www is still pointed at the previous host. Remove that old www record and forward www to the root (see Step 5). Do not point www at sites.vlge.io unless www is the name you connected in Vlge.
Q) I cannot add the CNAME — the registrar says a record already exists
A) An A, AAAA, or CNAME is still on that same name. Delete the old website records, then add the Vlge CNAME.
If you are still stuck, email [email protected].