> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.foundable.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Connect a domain you own > Already own a domain? Add the DNS records Foundable shows you where you manage it, and your website goes live on it. If you bought a [domain](/help/glossary#domain) somewhere else, you can put your website on it. Foundable shows you a few DNS records: short lines in your domain’s settings that tell the internet where your website lives. You add them where you manage your domain, usually at the company you bought it from. Foundable checks them and takes your website live there. Your domain stays with that company, and you keep renewing it there. Connecting only points it at your website. ## Before you start * **A paid plan.** On the Free plan, **Connect domain** shows the plans instead. * **Your domain company’s sign-in**, so you can change the domain’s DNS settings. * **A published website** for the domain to show. You can connect first: the domain waits as “Ready” until you [publish](/build/publish). * **Not view only.** Anyone else on your team can connect a domain. View-only teammates see its status. ## Connect your domain Open the account menu (your initial or photo at the top right), choose **Settings**, then **Domains**. Under **Custom domains**, find **Connect existing domain** and press **Connect domain**. In **Connect a domain**, type your domain, like `yourbusiness.com` or `shop.yourbusiness.com`. Then press **Continue**. Under **Configure connection**, choose **Root domain** or **Subdomain**. Check the address under **Will be connected as**, then press **Connect domain**. The window **Use your domain with Foundable** lists the records to add. In another tab, sign in where you manage your domain, open its DNS settings, and add each record exactly as shown. The Use your domain with Foundable window: the CNAME, TXT and Forward records to add, the warning about A and AAAA records, and I’ve added these records. Back in Foundable, press **I’ve added these records**. Your domain reads “Verifying” while Foundable looks for the records, then “Live” once your website shows there. “Remove existing A and AAAA records to avoid conflicts.” Records left over from an old website can stop your domain from connecting. Some domain companies don’t accept `@` as a record’s name. Foundable’s note says: “If your DNS provider doesn’t support @ (e.g., AWS Route 53), leave the host field blank or enter your domain name instead.” Closed the window before adding the records? Your domain reads “Action required”. Press **Complete setup** to see the records again. ## Root domain or subdomain * **Root domain** is for the domain itself, like `yourbusiness.com`. Your website opens at `www.yourbusiness.com`, and you forward `yourbusiness.com` there. * **Subdomain** is for an address under it, like `shop.yourbusiness.com`. Your website opens at that address. With **Root domain**, the box “Redirect `yourbusiness.com` → `www.yourbusiness.com`” is ticked. Keep it ticked. Foundable puts your website on the www address, and the records list ends with a **Forward** row. Set your domain company to forward `yourbusiness.com` to the address that row shows, `https://www.yourbusiness.com`. Then both addresses reach your website. If you untick the box, Foundable connects `yourbusiness.com` by itself. That needs a domain company that allows a CNAME record at `@`, so check before you untick it. Under **Advanced**, “Uses Cloudflare or similar proxy” is only for a domain that runs through Cloudflare or a similar service. Leave it off if you’re not sure. ## What the labels mean Each domain you connect gets its own card under **Custom domains**, with a label that says how it’s doing. Point at the label for a short explanation. | What you see | What it means | What to do | | - | - | - | | “Action required” | Setup isn’t finished. After a while it says “Setup was never completed” and shows the records on the card. | Press **Complete setup** to see the records, or find them on the card. Add them, then press **I’ve added these records** or **Check status**. | | “Verifying” | Foundable is looking for your records. | Wait. “DNS settings can take up to 72 hours to propagate.” | | “Unable to verify” | Foundable still hasn’t found your records. | Compare each record at your domain company with the one shown, then press **Check status**. | | “Setting up” | Your records are found, and Foundable is getting the domain ready. | Nothing. It goes on by itself. | | “Stalled” | “Domain setup is taking longer than expected.” | Press **Retry**. | | “Failed” | “Domain setup failed. Contact support if the issue persists.” | Press **Retry**. If it fails again, [contact support](/help/get-help). | | “Ready” | “Domain will be live once the site is published.” | [Publish your website](/build/publish). | | “Live” | Your website shows on this domain. | Nothing. Press the domain’s name to open it. | | “Checking” | Foundable is checking the connection. | Nothing. It takes a moment. | | “Connection issue” | The link between your domain and your website has a problem. A box under the domain, “Hosting connection problem”, says what. | Follow the box. Press **Check status**, or contact support. | | “Status unavailable” | “We couldn’t check this domain’s connection right now.” | Press **Check status** later. | | “Offline” | “Your domain is no longer pointing to your site. Update your DNS settings at your domain provider to reconnect it.” | Press **Recover** to see the records again, and fix them at your domain company. | | “Removed” | “This domain is not available for this site.” | Press **Reconnect** to start over. | ## Check, fix or disconnect * **Check status** checks your records now. If you press it again too soon, you see “Hold on, we just checked this”. * **Retry**, **Recover** and **Reconnect** show on a card when they can help, as in the table above. * To stop using a domain, open its **…** menu and choose **Disconnect**. Foundable asks first: “This will disconnect the domain from this site. You will need to reconfigure it if you want to use it with this site in the future.” The same **…** menu has **Set as primary**, which makes a live domain the one your other addresses send visitors to. See [Your primary domain](/domains/overview#your-primary-domain). ## If something goes wrong | What you see | What to do | | - | - | | “Please enter a valid domain name (e.g., example.com)” | Type only the domain, like `yourbusiness.com`. | | “… is already connected to another site. Disconnect it there before connecting it here.” | Disconnect it from the other site first, then try again. | | “DNS records not configured correctly”, with “TXT verification record not found” | Add the TXT record, or check its value, then press **Check status**. | | “DNS records not configured correctly”, with a record that “points to” one value but “expected” another | Change that record to the value Foundable shows. | | “Still setting up” | Foundable is still setting up your domain. Check again later. | | A message about Cloudflare, like “Cloudflare has blocked the hostname for this domain.” | [Contact support](/help/get-help). | ## FAQ Changes to DNS records take time to spread across the internet: “DNS settings can take up to 72 hours to propagate.” You don’t need to wait on the page. Foundable keeps checking, and the label changes by itself. For a root domain, Foundable connects the www address, and you forward the bare domain to it at your domain company. That way `yourbusiness.com` and `www.yourbusiness.com` both reach your website. See [Root domain or subdomain](#root-domain-or-subdomain). Records from your old website are probably still there. Remove the old A and AAAA records, as the setup window says, and check that each record matches what Foundable shows. Then give DNS time to update. No, keep them. If they change, your domain stops showing your website, and its card says so, for example “Offline”. Press **Recover** to see the records you need. When you type it, Foundable asks “Move domain?” and says: “Connected to another site. Moving will switch it here.” Press **Move and connect** only if you want it here instead. Only the owner can move a domain between foundables. Yes, on a paid plan. Email has its own setup in the Inbox, with its own records to add. See [Your email address](/inbox/email-address). ## Related Buying or connecting, and your primary domain. All domains, renewals and DNS records. Put your website online so your domain can show it. Ask the Foundable team when you’re stuck. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.