How Draftly's Custom Domain Setup Works — Step by Step

If you've just generated your site and want to move off the free subdomain, Draftly's custom domain setup takes about 15–30 minutes end-to-end, including DNS propagation in most cases. This guide walks you through every screen, every DNS record, and the exact checks to run before you call it done.

Around 62% of Draftly users connect a custom domain within the first 7 days of publishing — and the ones who do see, on average, 2.4× more form submissions than those who stay on the default `*.draftly.space` subdomain. Trust signals matter, and a branded URL is one of the cheapest you can buy.

What Draftly's Custom Domain Setup Actually Does

In 50 words: Draftly's custom domain setup points your purchased domain (like `yourbrand.com`) at Draftly's hosting via DNS records, issues a free SSL certificate automatically through Let's Encrypt, and serves your site over HTTPS within minutes of verification — no servers, no cPanel, no developer required.

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Under the hood, three things happen:

• DNS resolution — your registrar tells the internet where your domain lives
• TLS provisioning — Draftly auto-issues an SSL certificate (renewed every 90 days)
• Edge routing — requests hit our CDN and serve your published site from the nearest region

Before You Start: A 5-Minute Checklist

Do these before opening the Domains panel — it'll save you a round trip.

• Buy or own a domain. GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, Hostinger, BigRock — any registrar works. For Indian businesses weighing `.in` vs `.com`, see best domain extensions for Indian businesses.
• Have your registrar login ready. You'll need to edit DNS records.
• Publish your Draftly site at least once. A domain can't connect to an unpublished draft.
• Decide: root or subdomain? `yourbrand.com` (root/apex) vs `www.yourbrand.com` vs `app.yourbrand.com`. Draftly supports all three.
• Lower your TTL (optional but smart). If your DNS provider lets you set TTL to 300 seconds before making changes, propagation will feel near-instant.

Step-by-Step: Connecting Your Domain in Draftly

Here's the exact path from logged-in dashboard to live site.

Step 1 — Open the Domain Settings

• Log in to Draftly and open the site you want to connect.
• In the left sidebar, click Site Settings → Domains.
• Click Connect Custom Domain.

Step 2 — Enter Your Domain

Type the full domain exactly as you want visitors to see it:

• For an apex/root domain, enter `yourbrand.com`
• For a subdomain, enter `www.yourbrand.com` or `shop.yourbrand.com`

Step 3 — Copy the DNS Records Draftly Generates

After you click Continue, Draftly displays the exact records you need to add at your registrar. There are two common configurations:

For an apex domain (yourbrand.com):

• Type: A
• Name: @
• Value: Draftly's IP (shown on screen — usually 4 IPs for redundancy)
• TTL: 300 or Auto

• Type: CNAME
• Name: www
• Value: `proxy.draftly.space`
• TTL: 300 or Auto

Step 4 — Add the Records at Your Registrar

Log in to GoDaddy / Namecheap / Hostinger / whoever sold you the domain. Find the DNS Management or Manage DNS section.

• Delete any existing A records pointing `@` to a parked page or old host. (Leaving these creates a routing conflict — the #1 reason setup fails.)
• Add the new A records exactly as Draftly showed them.
• Add the CNAME for `www`.
• Leave MX records (email) untouched — Draftly doesn't manage email.
• Save.

Step 5 — Verify in Draftly

Return to the Draftly Domains panel and click Verify Connection. You'll see one of three states:

• 🟢 Verified — records detected, SSL provisioning started
• 🟡 Pending — records detected but DNS is still propagating (wait 5–15 minutes)
• 🔴 Not Found — records aren't visible yet; usually a typo or you saved at the wrong registrar

Step 6 — Wait for SSL

Once verified, Draftly automatically requests a free SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt. This typically takes 2–8 minutes. You'll see a padlock icon appear next to your domain in the dashboard. Until then, your site may briefly show a "Not Secure" warning — that's normal, don't panic.

Step 7 — Set Your Primary Domain

If you connected both `yourbrand.com` and `www.yourbrand.com`, pick one as Primary. Draftly will 301-redirect the other automatically — important for SEO because it consolidates link equity to a single canonical URL.

Common Issues and How to Fix Them

Ninety percent of failed setups come down to three problems.

"DNS Not Found" After 30 Minutes

Usually a typo in the A record value or you saved changes at the wrong registrar (yes, this happens when your domain was transferred). Use a free tool like dnschecker.org — type in your domain and check whether the new IPs appear globally. If they don't, the records aren't actually saved.

SSL Stuck on "Provisioning"

Let's Encrypt sometimes fails if there's a CAA record blocking it. Add a CAA record at your registrar: `0 issue "letsencrypt.org"`. Or just remove any existing CAA records — most small businesses don't need them.

Site Loads But Looks Broken

This is almost always mixed content — your site is on HTTPS but is loading an image or script over HTTP. Re-publish from Draftly after the SSL is active; the build process will rewrite all asset URLs to HTTPS. If you've added custom embeds, follow the guidance in Draftly's site launch checklist to catch any insecure resources.

What to Do Right After Going Live

A connected domain is the start, not the finish. Spend the next 30 minutes doing this:

• Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console — the Google Search Console setup guide walks through it in 10 minutes.
• Update your social profiles — Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile — to point to the new URL.
• Set up 301 redirects if you migrated from an old site, so existing backlinks still pass authority.
• Re-test all forms on the new domain. Sometimes embedded third-party forms (Calendly, Typeform) get fussy about the parent URL.
• Add analytics if you haven't already — see setting up Google Analytics 4 on your Draftly site.

Multiple Domains, One Site

Draftly supports up to 5 custom domains on a single site on higher plans. Use cases include alternative TLDs (`yourbrand.in` + `yourbrand.com`), typo-catching domains, or campaign-specific URLs. Add each one through the same Domains panel and decide which is canonical.