Custom Domain Setup

Connect a domain you already purchased and manage — apex or subdomain.

Ploy supports custom domains for all published sites. You can connect an apex domain (e.g. yourdomain.com) or a subdomain (e.g. docs.yourdomain.com). Ploy handles SSL certificate provisioning automatically.

Ploy does not need to become your domain's DNS manager or take over your nameservers. You stay in full control of your DNS — all that's required is pointing your A and CNAME records to the values Ploy provides. Everything else (SSL provisioning, hostname routing) happens automatically once those records are in place.

When you begin to connect the domain, Ploy will actively watch your DNS record changes for the following 30 minutes. If you need more time to purchase a domain or update your DNS records, make sure to return to the setup screen to perform a Ploy SSL certificate and hostname record sync.

If for compliance or security reasons you must retain full control of your domain throughout the setup process, contact sales@ploy.ai for a pre-implementation consult before getting started.

Desktop browsers recommended. The domain setup flow is designed for macOS or Windows desktop browsers. You'll be managing multiple tabs and auth sessions across your DNS provider, Ploy dashboard, and possibly other cloud services. iPads and tablets may work but are not officially supported for this flow.

Domain Setup Dashboard

Find the Domain Setup Dashboard by navigating to Sites in the left nav bar, then opening Settings → Hosting. From there you can track verification status, trigger a DNS sync, provision your SSL certificate, and manage or remove the domain.

Site Hosting view showing the Domains section with a domain row and Manage buttonDomain detail view showing CNAME records for hostname and SSL certificate verification
Add a domain dialog showing the hostname input field with example.com and Set Up DNS button

Clicking Add domain in the Hosting dashboard opens the domain setup screen above, where you enter your hostname to begin.

Domain setup screen showing required DNS records for example.com and www.example.com

SaaS Providers with Per-Customer Sub-Domains

Quick Setup (Automatic)

If Ploy detects your domain is managed at one of the compatible providers, we integrate with Entri for one-click domain setup — no manual DNS record editing required.

  1. Go to Sites in the nav bar, then select the site for your domain.
  2. In the Sites Dashboard, find Settings → Hosting. Each domain has a row — click Manage to open the domain setup dashboard.
  3. Click Add Domain and enter your domain.
  4. Choose Automatic Setup (where available) and follow the Entri flow.
  5. Ploy will configure DNS and provision SSL automatically.

Manual DNS Setup

If automatic setup isn't available for your registrar, configure DNS manually. Use the DNS Setup Reference to generate the exact records for your domain.

For advanced configuration options — including reverse proxy setup, subdomain routing, and fallback origins — see the Advanced Setup guide.

Most companies transfer their domain to Ploy without any issues or downtime — this is the normal path. In the rare case that you have a hard requirement for near-zero downtime during the DNS cutover — think Amazon or Walmart scale, where thousands of transactions per minute mean even a brief propagation gap is unacceptable — Ploy can provide pre-validation instructions so your SSL certificate is issued before you update your DNS records. See Cloudflare hostname pre-validation for the technical background, and contact sales@ploy.ai if you need this for your setup.

DNS configuration varies by your DNS provider. Your DNS provider is often where you registered your domain, but may not necessarily be your current DNS provider (example). During Custom Domains setup in Ploy, we will auto-detect well known DNS providers for your domain and help you with automated setup where available. Here are quick links for common DNS providers:

SSL Certificates

SSL certificates are provisioned automatically after DNS verification of the _acme-challenge records. This typically takes a few minutes but can take up to 24 hours for DNS propagation.

Tip: Keep the Ploy domain setup page open for the best go-live experience. While the domain setup page in your Ploy dashboard is open, Ploy actively watches for DNS changes and will bring your domain live as soon as all DNS criteria are met. If you close that page, liveness checks fall back to background polling every few minutes. If even a brief delay is unacceptable, leave the dashboard page open until the domain shows as Live.

If SSL isn't issuing after your DNS has verified, work through the following:

  • Still seeing a browser SSL warning after Ploy shows the certificate as issued? — Your local machine or browser may be caching the old state. See the Troubleshooting section below for DNS cache-busting steps — including how to flush your browser, OS, and Cloudflare's public DNS cache.
  • Wait up to 1 hour after DNS confirms before troubleshooting further — certificate issuance is automatic but not instant. If you want to accelerate verification, use the Cloudflare Purge Cache tactic in the Troubleshooting section below to flush stale DNS from Cloudflare's resolvers first.
  • Dashboard shows issued but browser still warns? — use the cache-busting tactics in the Troubleshooting section below (browser DNS flush, VPN, or Cloudflare Browser Run) to verify. Your local cache may be serving the old state.
  • Cloudflare users — set your proxy status to "DNS only" during setup. "Flexible" SSL mode causes conflicts.
  • CAA records — if your domain uses CAA (Certification Authority Authorization) records, make sure they allow Google Trust Services, which is the default certificate issuer for the Ploy platform.

Troubleshooting

  • Ploy shows "Live" but you still see old content — This is a stubborn one, and it's not your fault. DNS changes involve several independent caching layers — your OS resolver, your browser, your ISP, and Cloudflare's own global network — each with its own TTL. Your local machine or browser may still be serving cached records even after Ploy confirms propagation and the rest of the world can reach your site. To verify from a clean, remote perspective, use Cloudflare Browser Run's Live Session — a cloud-hosted browser that resolves DNS independently of your Mac or local network cache, so you can confirm what the rest of the world actually sees. Alternatively, enabling a desktop VPN can also route your DNS queries through a different resolver and effectively bust out of your local cache without running any commands.

    Don't roll back your DNS

    This is one of the most common mistakes during domain setup. If Ploy shows your domain as "Live," your DNS update is working — the world can already reach your site. Seeing old content locally is almost always a cache issue, not a DNS problem. Rolling back your DNS records at this point will undo a successful setup and restart the clock on propagation. If you're seeing a Cloudflare error page instead, check the 1001, 1034, and other 1xxx error entries below before making any DNS changes.

    • Chrome / Edge / Brave and most Chromium browsers — Navigate to chrome://net-internals/#dns and click Clear host cache. This clears the browser's own DNS cache independently of your OS.
    • macOS — If you're comfortable running terminal commands, flush your local DNS cache: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache && sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
    • Windows — Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run: ipconfig /flushdns
    • Linux — Depends on your distro's DNS resolver. Common options: sudo systemd-resolve --flush-caches (systemd) or sudo service nscd restart (nscd).
  • DNS changes not reflecting after saving — Ploy uses Cloudflare's DNS resolvers, so stale cached records can prevent your domain from connecting even after a correct DNS update. Purge Cloudflare's public DNS cache at one.one.one.one/purge-cache. Enter your root domain (e.g. your-domain.com) with Record Type A and click Purge Cache, then repeat with your www subdomain (e.g. www.your-domain.com) and Record Type CNAME. Only do this after you have saved the DNS update.
    • Tip: switch your system DNS to 1.1.1.1 — For the most consistent view with Ploy's infrastructure, configure your device to use Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 resolver. This means your machine resolves DNS the same way Ploy does, eliminating resolver-based discrepancies: macOS, Windows, Linux, Router (whole network).
  • Cloudflare "1001" error page — This happens when you updated your DNS records long after the initial domain setup attempt, and Ploy's sync window expired. Return to the domain setup page in Ploy and click Check DNS now to force a sync and complete the setup.
  • Cloudflare "1034" error page — Your domain may be hosted by another provider that also uses the Cloudflare platform. That provider's hostname entry takes priority and can block the transition to Ploy's DNS. Common platforms that run on Cloudflare include BigCommerce, HubSpot, Kinsta, Render, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Shopify, Webflow, and WP Engine — see the full list in Cloudflare's provider guides. Check your prior hosting provider's dashboard and disconnect or remove the domain from their management before re-verifying with Ploy.
  • Other Cloudflare 1xxx errors — If you're seeing a Cloudflare error page not covered above, consult the Cloudflare 1xxx Errors guide for per-error troubleshooting hints.
  • DNS stuck on "Pending" — DNS propagation can take up to 48 hours. Before assuming it's a propagation delay, double-check the most common mistakes: adding the wrong record type (e.g. an A record where a CNAME is required), a typo in the value, or forgetting to click Save in your DNS provider's dashboard. Verify your records match exactly what's shown in the Ploy dashboard. You can check live propagation status with tools like whatsmydns.net, nslookup.io, Google Admin Toolbox Dig, or dnschecker.org.
  • SSL not issuing — See the SSL Certificates section above for a full checklist: propagation wait times, DNS record requirements, Cloudflare proxy settings, and CAA record configuration.
  • Moving a domain from Webflow (Cloudflare Orange-to-Orange) — If your domain was previously hosted on Webflow and both Webflow and your new provider use Cloudflare, you may hit an Orange-to-Orange (O2O) conflict that causes redirect loops or SSL errors. See Webflow's O2O guide for details.

    Moving from Webflow?

    Remove your domain from Site settings > Publishing > Production at least 5 minutes before verifying it with your new provider. This prevents an Orange-to-Orange conflict where Webflow's Cloudflare hostname entry blocks the transition.

    — Webflow Help: Using Cloudflare Orange-to-Orange (O2O) with Webflow

  • Redirect loops — If using Cloudflare with "Flexible" SSL mode, switch to "Full (strict)" or "DNS only" proxy mode.
  • "Too many redirects" error — Disable any redirect rules at your registrar/CDN that conflict with Ploy's hosting.
  • Connected to the wrong site or workspace — If you just connected a domain to the wrong organization, workspace, or site, open Site → Hosting → Domains in the dashboard, click the overflow ··· menu next to the domain, and Remove domain. Then re-add it from the correct workspace or site.

Cancel a Domain Setup

If you started a domain setup but haven't finished adding DNS records, you can cancel it by clicking Remove on the domain row in the DNS setup screen. This removes the pending hostname without affecting your live site.

DNS setup screen showing the Remove button on a pending www.example.com domain row

Remove a Domain

To remove a custom domain from your site, go to Sites in the nav bar and select your site. Navigate to Settings → Hosting, find the domain row, and click Manage. From the domain setup dashboard, select Remove Domain. This action causes immediate downtime — removing a domain disconnects Ploy's hosting records instantly, so the domain will stop serving your site as soon as it is removed.

Remove domain menu showing the '...' overflow button and Remove domain option

Removing a domain immediately stops Ploy from routing traffic for it. If you plan to point the domain elsewhere, make sure your DNS records are updated away from Ploy's values before or immediately after removal to minimize downtime.

Running Ploy alongside another site?

If you already have a site on Webflow (or another host) and want to serve Ploy-built pages at specific paths on the same domain, see Domain Routing Rules — Ploy acts as a reverse proxy, serving your pages directly and forwarding everything else to your existing site.

What's Next?