Domains

Every site has a platform address, such as studio--acme.librettocms.com, from the day it is created. On Domains you connect other addresses to it, such as www.studio-rossi.it or docs.librettocms.com, and choose which one is the Primary: the address the site lives at, that every other address leads to.

Before you start #

• Only a Super admin can add, check, change or remove domains.
• Publish the site at least once. A connected address shows the live version; before the first publish there is nothing to show, and search engines are told to stay away.
• For a domain of your own (not under librettocms.com), you need access to its DNS settings at your registrar or DNS provider.

Open the page #

In the sidebar, open Site settings and choose the Domains tab. The top line says where the site is live now, for example Your site is live at studio--acme.librettocms.com.

There are two kinds of address, and they connect differently.

Connect an address under librettocms.com #

An address under the platform domain, such as librettocms.com itself or docs.librettocms.com, needs no DNS record: the platform already serves it, certificate included.

1. Under Add a domain, type the address in Hostname: only the name, without https:// or a path.
2. Select Add domain.

It is live at once: docs.librettocms.com is live. If the site's primary was still its platform address, the new address also becomes the primary (… is live and is now the primary address: the site's other addresses lead to it.).

Connect a domain of your own #

1. Under Add a domain, type the address in Hostname, for example www.studio-rossi.it.
2. Select Add domain. The message Domain added. asks you to Create the DNS record shown below, then check it.
3. In Connected domains, the new row shows its DNS configuration: Create this record with your DNS provider: with the record's Type (CNAME), Name and Target.
4. At your DNS provider, create exactly that record. For a domain without www (studio-rossi.it), use your provider's ALIAS or ANAME record if it does not accept a CNAME there.
5. Back on Domains, select Check DNS record on the row. Repeat after a few minutes if the record is not found yet: new DNS records can take a while to spread.

The row tracks three steps, each Not started, Waiting, Live, Failed or Not available:

The address serves the site only when all three are Live. Until then visitors cannot reach the site through it. Nothing updates on its own while you wait: select Check DNS record on the row, or Refresh above the list, to see the latest state.

Choose the primary address #

1. In Connected domains, find a live address that is not the primary.
2. Select Make primary.

The message address is now the primary domain. confirms it. From then on, every other address of the site, the platform address included, redirects visitors to the primary, keeping the path: studio--acme.librettocms.com/about leads to www.studio-rossi.it/about. Pages name the address they are served from in their canonical tag and sitemap; since every other address redirects first, visitors and search engines only ever read the primary's.

Remove an address #

1. On the row, select Remove domain.
2. Confirm in Remove address?: visitors will no longer reach this website through this address. If it was the primary, the platform address becomes the primary again.

The message address was removed. confirms it. Remove the DNS record at your provider too, so the name does not keep pointing at the platform.

What you see #

• Connected domains lists every address with its kind (Platform address or Custom domain), Primary on the one in use, and, for a domain of your own, the three steps and its DNS record.
• A row in trouble shows This domain needs attention with the provider's reason.
• The admin itself stays at librettocms.com/admin, even when a site owns librettocms.com.

Pitfalls #

• Paste only the name. https://www.studio-rossi.it/ is refused: "Enter only a hostname, for example www.example.com."
• One level under librettocms.com. docs.librettocms.com works; a.docs.librettocms.com does not ("Only one name below librettocms.com can be connected, such as docs.librettocms.com."), because the platform's certificate does not cover it.
• Names with -- are taken. name--workspace.librettocms.com is the shape of a site's platform address and is refused.
• An address belongs to one site. "This address is already connected to a site." Remove it from the other site first.
• Only a live address can be primary. "The domain must be live before it can be the primary one."
• The DNS record must match exactly. A record with the wrong name or target leaves DNS record on Waiting; a mistyped target is the usual cause.
• Search engines and the first publish. Until the site is published, the address answers robots.txt with Disallow: /. Publish before you announce the address.

Related #

• Publish and versions
• Site languages
• Your first site
• Hand a site to a client