groupflow.app. That address always works and never needs setting up. Most groups want their own domain as well — yourorg.org, or members.yourorg.org — so that members see the group’s name rather than GroupFlow’s.
Getting there is a short conversation between you and GroupFlow. You add the hostname in GroupFlow, make one change at your domain registrar or DNS provider, and GroupFlow watches for that change and finishes the rest itself: it adds the hostname to the web server, gets an HTTPS certificate for it, and emails you when it is live. This page explains what the one change is in each case, and why the answer depends on your domain.
The Hostnames screen
Go to Design & Web › Hostnames in the admin menu. The screen is titled Your Hostnames, and it needs the Content Management permission — see Admin Permissions. The list has a row per hostname, with its status and the actions open to it:
Every custom hostname offers DNS setup, which reopens the instructions for that hostname. A pending one also offers Re-check, which looks again immediately rather than waiting for the next scheduled check.
One hostname carries a Primary badge. That is the address your site canonically lives at — the one GroupFlow puts in links and emails, and the one other hostnames redirect to. Make primary moves it, and is offered only on a hostname that already resolves to GroupFlow. Neither the primary hostname nor the
groupflow.app one can be removed.
Adding a hostname
The add control at the top of the screen opens the Add Hostname window. Enter the exact address members will use; GroupFlow checks it, works out whether it is a domain or a subdomain of one, and shows you the setup that applies.Custom hostnames are available on paid GroupFlow plans. A group still on a trial sees “Upgrade to Add a Hostname” here instead, with a link to the subscription plans.
1
Enter the hostname
A subdomain of a domain you own, like
members.yourorg.org, or the domain itself, like yourorg.org. Press Next.2
Read the setup for your case
One of the four cases below. For a domain rather than a subdomain, you are asked one question first.
3
Add it
Press Add Hostname. The hostname appears in the list as Pending DNS.
4
Make the change at your provider
Follow the instructions shown. You can reopen them any time with DNS setup.
A subdomain, where you host the DNS
Add aCNAME record for the subdomain pointing at your group’s groupflow.app address. The screen shows the exact value.
A domain, where you host the DNS
A domain itself can’t be aCNAME, so this one is an A record at the domain, pointing at the IP address the screen shows. GroupFlow also suggests a CNAME for www pointing at the domain.
Anything under a domain GroupFlow already hosts
Nothing for you to do. GroupFlow creates the record itself, and the hostname goes live within a few minutes.A domain you hand over to GroupFlow
Point the domain’s nameservers at GroupFlow —ns1.groupflow.app, ns2.groupflow.app and ns3.groupflow.app — at your registrar. GroupFlow then runs DNS for that domain. If the domain needs other records as well — mail records, or a record for a service you run elsewhere — email support@groupflow.app before you move the nameservers, so they go with it.
Who should host the DNS
When you add a domain rather than a subdomain, GroupFlow asks whether you use that domain for email, and recommends an answer:
You can override the recommendation with the GroupFlow DNS and Registrar DNS buttons before you add the hostname. The question only comes up for a domain GroupFlow doesn’t already host; a subdomain of a domain you host yourself is always a
CNAME, and anything under a domain GroupFlow hosts needs nothing.
DNS changes take time to spread — your registrar may say 24 to 48 hours, though it is usually much quicker. Nothing is wrong while a hostname sits at Pending DNS.
What GroupFlow does once it resolves
GroupFlow checks every pending hostname against the live DNS each hour, and also whenever you press Re-check — so there is no need to tell anyone you have made the change. The moment the hostname points at GroupFlow, the row turns Verified, the hostname starts serving your site, and an HTTPS certificate covering it is issued so thathttps:// works without a browser warning. Whoever added the hostname then gets an email: “Your custom domain yourdomain is now active”.
Certificates are GroupFlow’s job throughout — there is nothing to buy, upload or renew.
If the hostname still isn’t pointing at GroupFlow, the person who added it gets a reminder instead, subject “Action needed: yourdomain isn’t pointing at GroupFlow yet”. That reminder is sent at most once every few days, so a domain left half-configured won’t fill your inbox.
If it stays pending
The usual causes, in the order worth checking:- The record is on the wrong name —
members.yourorg.orgneeds a record namedmembers, not one namedwww. - A record for the same name already exists and takes precedence.
- The nameserver change was saved at the registrar but not for that domain.
- It simply hasn’t spread yet. Press Re-check later.
Design Settings
The rest of what lives under Design & Web
Admin Permissions
Who can reach the Hostnames screen