> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.groupflow.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Custom Domains

> How your own domain comes to serve your GroupFlow site — who hosts the DNS, what you change at your registrar, and what GroupFlow does once it resolves

Every GroupFlow group is reachable at an address GroupFlow owns, ending in `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](/concepts/admin-permissions).

The list has a row per hostname, with its status and the actions open to it:

| Status | What it means |
| - | - |
| **Active** | A `groupflow.app` address. GroupFlow runs that domain, so there is nothing to set up. |
| **Verified** | GroupFlow has confirmed that your domain points at it. |
| **Pending DNS** | GroupFlow is waiting for the domain to point at it. Under the badge is when it last looked. |

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.

<Note>
  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.
</Note>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Enter the hostname">
    A subdomain of a domain you own, like `members.yourorg.org`, or the domain itself, like `yourorg.org`. Press **Next**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add it">
    Press **Add Hostname**. The hostname appears in the list as **Pending DNS**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Make the change at your provider">
    Follow the instructions shown. You can reopen them any time with **DNS setup**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### A subdomain, where you host the DNS

Add a `CNAME` 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 a `CNAME`, 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](mailto: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:

| Your answer | The recommendation |
| - | - |
| "I'm already using this domain for email" | **Registrar DNS** — keep DNS where it is, so the email already running on the domain isn't disrupted |
| "I plan to use this domain for email soon" | **GroupFlow DNS** — the simpler setup now; add the mail records here when you're ready |
| "I don't plan to use this domain for email anytime soon" | **GroupFlow DNS** — the simplest setup and the closest integration with your site |

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.

<Note>
  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**.
</Note>

## 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 that `https://` 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.org` needs a record named `members`, not one named `www`.
* 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.

Email **[support@groupflow.app](mailto:support@groupflow.app)** if it stays pending after the change has spread; the setup screens offer the same address.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Design Settings" icon="palette" href="/website/design-settings">
    The rest of what lives under Design & Web
  </Card>

  <Card title="Admin Permissions" icon="shield-halved" href="/concepts/admin-permissions">
    Who can reach the Hostnames screen
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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