Step 1 — Add the domain in SPACEBAR
Open your site → Settings → Custom domain, enter the address, and save. Both www.yourbusiness.com and the bare root domain (yourbusiness.com) work — SPACEBAR always sets up both. The one you enter becomes your site's canonical address; the other redirects to it, so visitors reach you with or without the www.
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 |
| ALIAS (or A) | @ | connect.withspacebar.com |
The root (@) record varies by provider: use ALIAS, ANAME, or CNAME flattening pointed at connect.withspacebar.comwhere available. If your provider has none of those (a plain CNAME isn't allowed on the root), your site's settings checklist lists the exact A records to add instead — resolved live, ready to copy.
Connecting a different subdomain? Use that subdomain as the name. Some providers want the full hostname (e.g. www.yourbusiness.com) — both work.
Cloudflare
- Open your domain → DNS → Records → Add record.
- Type: CNAME · Name: www · Target: connect.withspacebar.com.
- Add a second record for the root: Type: CNAME · Name: @ · Target: connect.withspacebar.com (Cloudflare flattens root CNAMEs automatically).
- 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 → ALIAS Record · Host: @ · Value: connect.withspacebar.com · TTL: Automatic.
GoDaddy
- My Products → your domain → DNS.
- Add → CNAME · Name: www (just the subdomain part, not the full address) · Value: connect.withspacebar.com.
- For the root (@): GoDaddy has no ALIAS record, so add the A records shown in your site's checklist instead.
Squarespace Domains (formerly Google Domains)
- Domains → your domain → DNS → Custom records.
- Add record → Type: CNAME · Host: www · Data: connect.withspacebar.com.
- For the root (@), add the A records shown in your site's checklist (Squarespace Domains has no ALIAS record).
Step 3 — Wait for it to go live
That's it. We detect the records, verify both hostnames, and issue an SSL certificate for each automatically — usually within minutes, occasionally up to a day while DNS propagates. Your site goes live as soon as its own record connects; the other one can catch up later. 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 record: the type is CNAME, the name matches the address you entered in SPACEBAR (for www.yourbusiness.com the name is www), and the target is exactly connect.withspacebar.com — no https://, no trailing slash. Also remove any old A, AAAA, or CNAME records on the same name; 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 — always. Whichever variant you enter in your site settings, SPACEBAR provisions both yourbusiness.com and www.yourbusiness.com, each with its own SSL certificate. The one you entered is the canonical address; the other redirects to it. That's why the checklist asks for two records. If you only add one of them, the address it belongs to still goes live — the other simply won't resolve until its record exists.
Will this affect my email?
No — a CNAME on www, or A records on the root, don't touch your MX (mail) records. Never delete existing MX records while editing DNS. Just avoid putting a plain CNAME on the root: at many providers it conflicts with mail records, which is why the root-domain setup uses A records instead.
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.