Connect your own domain
Open your store at your own address, step by step - what to enter, where to enter it, and what the status words mean.
Your store opens at your Ellibo address from the start. From the Standard plan, it can also open at a domain of your own, such as yourshop.com. Only an Admin can connect one.
The four steps at a glance
Each domain on your store page shows a progress line with these four steps, and under it what is happening now, what you need to do, and how long it usually takes.
| Step | Who does it | Usually takes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Domain entered | You type the domain and click Connect domain | A moment |
| 2. Records added | You add a few records where you bought the domain | A few minutes of your time. The records can take up to an hour (sometimes a day) to show |
| 3. Connected and secured | We add the domain and get its security certificate (for https) | Usually under an hour, sometimes up to a day |
| 4. Live | Nothing more to do |
You can close the page at any point. We keep checking by ourselves.
Before you start: choose the address
| You have | Connect | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| A domain with nothing on it | yourshop.com | The store opens at yourshop.com and www.yourshop.com |
| A website you want to keep | shop.yourshop.com | The store opens at that one address. Your website stays as it is |
Connecting the domain itself replaces that website with your store, because the domain's records then point here. To keep the website, connect a subdomain such as shop.yourshop.com instead.
Step 1: enter your domain
- Open Website > Stores & domains and open your store.
- Under Your own domain, type your domain and click Connect domain.
The page now shows the records to add, each with a Copy button.
Step 2: add the records
Sign in where you manage your domain's DNS. This is usually the company you bought it from.
First, remove old records: any A or CNAME record with the same name as the ones you are adding. Otherwise the old address keeps answering.
Your email uses its own records: MX, and TXT records for SPF, DKIM and DMARC. You don't need to touch any of them, and your email keeps working. Removing them would stop it.
Then add these, exactly as the page shows them. The value of each is shown on your page.
For yourshop.com:
| Type | Name | Value | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXT | _ellibo | Your code from the page | Proves the domain is yours |
| A | @ | Our server address from the page | Opens your store at yourshop.com |
| CNAME | www | stores.ellibo.com | Opens your store at www.yourshop.com |
For shop.yourshop.com:
| Type | Name | Value | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXT | _ellibo.shop | Your code from the page | Proves the domain is yours |
| CNAME | shop | stores.ellibo.com | Opens your store at that address |
If a screen asks for TTL, leave the value it suggests.
Open Someone else manages your domain? Send them this on the same page. It has a ready message with all the records. Copy it and send it to them.
Where to find the DNS settings
These steps come from each company's help pages. Their screens can change, so if something looks different, search their help for "DNS records".
GoDaddy
- Sign in and open your domain portfolio.
- Select the domain and open DNS.
- Choose to add a new record, pick the Type, and enter the Name and Value.
- Use
@as the name for the domain itself.
Namecheap
- Sign in and click Domain List in the left sidebar.
- Click Manage next to your domain, then open Advanced DNS.
- Under Host Records, click Add New Record and pick the type.
- Enter the Host and value, then click the green tick to save. Use
@for the domain itself. - Remove any Redirect record on
@orwww. It clashes with the new ones.
Hostinger
- In the left sidebar choose Domains, then DNS, and select your domain.
- In Manage DNS records, choose the Type, enter the Name and Value, and click Add Record.
- Hostinger's DNS page works only while the domain uses Hostinger's nameservers. If it doesn't, add the records at the company that runs the nameservers.
BigRock
- Sign in and open your domain.
- Open Manage DNS. There is a tab for each kind of record.
- On the A, CNAME and TXT tabs, add each record in turn.
Cloudflare
- Open your domain and go to DNS > Records.
- Click Add record, choose the type and fill in the fields.
- For the A and CNAME records, set Proxy status to DNS only.
- Click Save.
If your domain uses Cloudflare
Every record for the store must be set to DNS only (the grey cloud, not the orange one). With the orange cloud on, the check can't see the records and the security certificate can't be set up.
If your screen won't take the name
Some screens add your domain to the name by themselves. So _ellibo becomes _ellibo.yourshop.com, which is right. If a screen shows _ellibo.yourshop.com.yourshop.com afterwards, enter only _ellibo.
Step 3: check
Click Check now. Each record shows one of these:
| It shows | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Found | The record is right | Nothing |
| Not found yet | The record can't be seen yet | Wait. Changes can take from a few minutes to some hours |
| Wrong value | There's a record, but it points elsewhere | Follow the note. Often an old record is still there and needs removing |
You don't have to keep pressing it. Ellibo keeps checking by itself for 45 days after you add the domain, and once it is live, it looks at the domain again every day.
What the status words mean
| Status | What it means | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Waiting for your records | We can't see all the records yet | Add or fix them, then wait |
| Being added | Your records are right, and we are adding your domain | Nothing. Usually a few minutes; up to a working day if our team finishes it by hand |
| Setting up security | The domain is added, and we are getting its security certificate, so your store opens with https | Nothing. Usually under an hour, sometimes up to a day |
| Live | Your domain is connected and opens the store, as soon as the store itself is live | Nothing |
| Problem found | Something stopped it | Contact Ellibo support |
Once your records are right, anyone who opens your domain sees a short "This shop is almost ready" page until the domain is live. They never see an error page.
A domain only opens a store that is live. While the store is a draft, its domain shows an "opening soon" page until you click Open the store.
After it is live
One address, always secure. Your store always opens with https. Visits to http://, to your Ellibo address and to your other domains are sent to your main address, so shoppers and search engines see one address. Checkout and payment pages are never moved halfway through.
Choose www or not. For a domain such as yourshop.com, choose under Main address whether the store opens at www.yourshop.com or yourshop.com. The other one sends visitors to your choice. You can change it any time.
Several domains. The first domain you connected is the main one. Other domains of the same store send visitors to it.
The store's emails, order links and shared links use your main address. The records stay under Records for this domain: keep them at your domain company.
If someone later changes the records at your provider, Ellibo notes that the records for this domain have changed when it next checks. Put them back to keep the store open at that domain.
Disconnect a domain
- Open your store and click Disconnect next to the domain.
- Confirm. The store stops opening at that domain straight away, and keeps opening at its Ellibo address.
- At your domain provider, remove the records you added, and point the domain where you want it now.
Search engines and customers who saved the old address will reach whatever the domain points to next.
Common questions
Do I buy the domain from Ellibo? No. Buy it from any domain company and keep it there.
Does the certificate cost extra? No. It's included, and renewing it is part of the setup.
It says this domain is connected to another store. A domain can belong to only one store. If it's yours, contact Ellibo support.
Can a store have more than one domain? Yes. Connect each in the same way. The first one is the main address, and the others send visitors to it.
My computer says the site can't be found, but the check says Found. Your computer may still remember the old answer for a while. Try on your phone using mobile data, or wait an hour. On Windows, running ipconfig /flushdns clears it.
It stays on Setting up security for more than a day. Contact Ellibo support with the domain name. We can start the certificate again.