Custom domains

Every published app gets a free buildliy.app address. With a custom domain, people can reach your app at your own name instead, like myapp.com or app.mycompany.com. Buildliy handles the secure (HTTPS) certificate for you.

There are two ways to get one: connect a domain you already own, or buy a new one without leaving Buildliy.

Before you start

Publish your app to its free address first. A domain needs a live app to point at, so connecting or buying one before your first publish shows "Publish your app first". See Publish your app.

Only the project's owner can connect, buy or change its domains. You can manage them in two places:

• In the Publish dialog, on the Connect and Buy a domain tabs.
• On the Launch tab (Workspace menu → Launch), in the Custom domains panel below the checklist. This panel also shows your free address and every domain connected to the app.

Connect a domain you own

1. 1

   Enter your domain

   Click Publish, open the Connect tab, and type your domain under Connect a domain you own, for example myapp.com. Click Connect.

2. 2

   See what was added

   If you typed a main domain like myapp.com, Buildliy connects both myapp.com and www.myapp.com, so both addresses open your app. If you typed a subdomain like app.myapp.com, only that address is connected.

3. 3

   Add the DNS records at your domain provider

   Your new domain appears in the list with its setup steps open. Buildliy detects where your domain is managed and shows Detected with the provider's name, or "Provider not detected — using general steps". Copy each record from the table into your provider's DNS settings. Each record has a Type, a Host / Name and a Value, with a copy button. Below the table, step-by-step instructions for your provider explain where to paste them, often with a link straight to its DNS page.

4. 4

   Wait for it to go live

   Buildliy checks automatically while the page is open, and you can click Check now at any time. Most providers go live in 5 to 30 minutes, and a few take up to 48 hours. When everything checks out, the domain's status changes to Live.

Which records you add

If the domain is also set up with another hosting account, you'll see a TXT record too. It proves the domain is yours, so add it as well. If the panel shows Then delete these old records, remove those, because they would send visitors somewhere else.

Always copy the exact values from your setup panel. They can be different for each app.

If your DNS is on Cloudflare

If your domain's DNS is managed by Cloudflare, Buildliy can add the records for you. The setup panel shows Cloudflare DNS detected:

1. Create an API token in your Cloudflare dashboard using the "Edit zone DNS" template, limited to this domain.
2. Paste it into the setup panel and click Write records.

Buildliy uses the token once and doesn't store it. This replaces any existing A, AAAA or CNAME record on that address (and its www twin for a main domain). Email (MX) and other records aren't touched.

Buy a new domain

You can search for and buy a domain in Buildliy. It's registered for you, connected to your app and set up with HTTPS, so there's no DNS work.

1. 1

   Search for a name

   Click Publish and open the Buy a domain tab. Type a name, like myapp, and click Search. Buildliy checks .com, .app, .io, .co, .dev and .shop and shows the yearly price of each available one. Names that aren't available show Taken.

2. 2

   Click Buy and fill in your contact details

   Click Buy next to the name you want. The Register form asks for a contact name, email, phone number and address, because every registered domain needs a real contact. Privacy protection is on by default where the domain ending supports it, which keeps these details out of public lookups.

3. 3

   Check the price and pay

   The form shows Total today for the first year and the yearly renewal price. Click Continue to payment and pay by card on Stripe's secure checkout page.

4. 4

   Wait for registration

   Back in Buildliy, you see "Payment confirmed — registering your domain now." The domain appears in your list, with both the main domain and www connected. It's usually live within a few minutes.

Domains are paid by card. They don't use your credits.

Renewals

A domain you buy renews every year on the card you paid with. The purchase form shows the yearly renewal price before you buy. The card is charged about 30 days before the domain expires, and we email you a week before that charge.

You manage bought domains in Settings → Billing, under Your domains:

• Auto-renew: the Auto-renew switch next to each domain turns it on or off at any time. With it off, the domain expires at the end of its term, and we email you before it does.
• Renew now: shown when a renewal is coming up soon or a renewal payment failed, so you can pay yourself. If a payment fails, we also email you a link to pay and try the card again.
• Move to another registrar: get a transfer code to move the domain somewhere else. Domains can't move during their first 60 days. Once it moves, the new registrar handles renewals and we stop charging you.

If a purchase doesn't go through

Registration can occasionally fail after you've paid, for example if the name was taken at the last moment. When that happens you get your money back automatically, and the purchase shows Couldn't register — refunded. If it shows "Couldn't register — contact support for your refund", email support@buildliy.com. If you leave the checkout page without paying, no payment is taken.

Primary domain

When an app has more than one domain, one of them is the primary, marked with a star. The first domain you connect becomes primary automatically (for myapp.com, that's myapp.com rather than www). To change it, open the ⋮ menu next to a domain and choose Set as primary.

Once it's live, the primary domain is the address your app calls home: its share previews and search-engine files point to it. That change reaches your live site the next time you publish. Every connected domain, and your free buildliy.app address, keeps opening your app.

Remove a domain

Open the ⋮ menu next to the domain and choose Remove domain, then confirm. The domain stops showing your app right away. You can remove domains even after moving from Pro to Free.

Removing a domain you bought only disconnects it from this app. It stays registered to you and keeps renewing until you turn off auto-renew in Settings → Billing.

Domain statuses

When something needs your attention, the setup panel explains it in a sentence under the records.

Troubleshooting

• "… is already connected to a different app." (or to your app "…") A domain can only point at one app. If the other app is yours, remove the domain there first, then connect it here. If it isn't, contact support.
• Still not live after an hour. Compare each record with the setup panel, character by character. Check that you removed any old A or CNAME records for the same address, and try @ versus a blank host.
• The main domain works but www doesn't (or the other way round). Each one has its own record. Make sure you added both.
• "Your domain reaches us through a proxy." Your DNS provider is passing traffic through its own proxy (on Cloudflare, the orange cloud). Switch that record to DNS only so the secure certificate can be issued.
• Someone else's site still shows up. An old record is still pointing elsewhere, or your provider hasn't updated yet. Remove the old record and wait a little longer.

Related

• Publish your app
• SEO and sharing
• Plans
• Duplicate and transfer