Step 1 — Add the domain in SPACEBAR
Open your site → Settings → Custom domain, enter the address, and save. Enter it with or without the www: your site is served at www.yourbusiness.com, and the bare domain (yourbusiness.com) redirects to it, so visitors reach you either way.
A checklist appears under the field showing exactly what to set up and live progress from here on.
Step 2 — Add two DNS records at your provider
Sign in where you manage your domain's DNS and create these records — one for www, one for the bare domain:
| Type | Name | Target |
|---|---|---|
| CNAME | www | connect.withspacebar.com |
| A | @ | 129.212.255.92 |
The A record points the bare domain at our redirect server, which sends visitors on to www — with its own SSL certificate, issued automatically. It is the same record at every provider: no ALIAS or ANAME records, no lists of addresses to keep up to date.
Connecting a different subdomain, like shop.yourbusiness.com? Then it's a single CNAME with that subdomain as the name, pointing at connect.withspacebar.com — nothing redirects to it. Some providers want the full hostname as the name; both work.
Cloudflare
- Open your domain → DNS → Records → Add record.
- Type: CNAME · Name: www · Target: connect.withspacebar.com.
- Add record → Type: A · Name: @ · IPv4 address: 129.212.255.92.
- Set Proxy status to “DNS only” (grey cloud) on both — important, or the connection can't be verified.
Namecheap
- Domain List → Manage → Advanced DNS.
- Add New Record → CNAME Record · Host: www · Value: connect.withspacebar.com · TTL: Automatic.
- Add New Record → A Record · Host: @ · Value: 129.212.255.92 · TTL: Automatic.
- Delete the default URL Redirect Record on @ if there is one — it would compete with the A record.
GoDaddy
- My Products → your domain → DNS.
- Add → CNAME · Name: www (just the subdomain part, not the full address) · Value: connect.withspacebar.com.
- Edit the existing A record on @ (GoDaddy's “Parked” address) → Value: 129.212.255.92. Edit it rather than adding a second one.
Squarespace Domains (formerly Google Domains)
- Domains → your domain → DNS → Custom records.
- Add record → Type: CNAME · Host: www · Data: connect.withspacebar.com.
- Add record → Type: A · Host: @ · Data: 129.212.255.92.
Step 3 — Wait for it to go live
That's it. We detect the records, verify the hostname and issue the SSL certificates automatically — usually within minutes, occasionally up to a day while DNS propagates. www goes live as soon as its CNAME connects; the redirect from the bare domain catches up when its A record does. The status in your site settings updates live, and there's a "Check again" button if you've just fixed something.
Troubleshooting
It still says “waiting for DNS” after an hour
Double-check the records. For www: the type is CNAME, the name is www, and the target is exactly connect.withspacebar.com — no https://, no trailing slash. For the bare domain: the type is A, the name is @ (or empty, or your domain, depending on the provider) and the value is 129.212.255.92. Also remove any old A, AAAA, or CNAME records on the same names; conflicting records win randomly. DNS changes usually apply in minutes but can take up to 48 hours to propagate.
Do www and the bare domain both work?
Yes. www.yourbusiness.comis your site's address — it carries the site and its SSL certificate, and it is what search engines index. yourbusiness.comredirects there, with its own certificate, so https://yourbusiness.com works too. That's why the checklist asks for two records: the CNAME connects the site, the A record makes the bare domain redirect. If you only add the CNAME, www goes live and the bare domain simply won't resolve until its record exists.
Can the bare domain be my main address instead of www?
No. The root of a domain can't carry a CNAME, so it can't be served by the edge network the way www is — it is answered by our redirect server instead. Whichever spelling a visitor types, they land on the same page; share your address as www.yourbusiness.com.
Will this affect my email?
No — a CNAME on wwwand an A record on the root don't touch your MX (mail) records. Never delete existing MX records while editing DNS.
It says the domain is already in use
A domain can be connected to one SPACEBAR site at a time. If it's connected to another of your sites, remove it there first (site → Settings → Custom domain → clear the field → Save).
What happens to my SPACEBAR subdomain?
It keeps working. Once your domain is connected, the custom domain becomes the canonical address — search engines are pointed at it, and your sitemap and social previews use it. Sites on a SPACEBAR address are never listed by search engines on their own; your domain is what gets indexed.