Add your own domain

1. 1

   Get a domain name

   If you don't already own one, buy a domain from a registrar like Cloudflare, Namecheap, or Porkbun. It costs about $10–15 a year. You buy it directly, so it's yours. Gesso and your host never sell you the domain or lock it up. Already have one? Skip ahead.

2. 2

   Open your site's domain settings in Netlify

   In Netlify, open your site and go to Domain management. That's where every domain change for your site happens. (If you set up with Gesso, the button below jumps straight there.)

   Open Netlify domain management →

3. 3

   Add your domain

   Click Add a domain, type your address (e.g. your-name.com), and confirm. Netlify will check it and add it to your site. You can add both the bare your-name.com and the www. version.

4. 4

   Point your domain at Netlify

   The easiest path is to let Netlify manage your DNS: it shows you four nameservers. Set those at your registrar (replacing the ones already there) and Netlify handles the rest. Prefer to keep your registrar's DNS? Netlify instead shows the exact records to add (an A or ALIAS record for the bare domain, a CNAME for www).

5. 5

   Wait for it to go live

   DNS changes take a few minutes to a few hours to spread across the internet. This is normal. Once Netlify sees your domain pointing the right way, it provisions a free HTTPS certificate, so your site loads securely.

6. 6

   Make it your primary domain

   Optional but tidy: in Domain management, set your custom domain as the primary one. Visitors who land on the old *.netlify.app address are then redirected to your real domain.

1. 1

   Get a domain name

   If you don't already own one, buy a domain from a registrar like Cloudflare, Namecheap, or Porkbun. It costs about $10–15 a year. You buy it directly, so it's yours. Gesso and your host never sell you the domain or lock it up. Already have one? Skip ahead.

2. 2

   Open your repository's Pages settings

   On GitHub, open your repository, then go to Settings → Pages. That's where the custom domain for your site is set. (If you set up with Gesso, the button below jumps straight there.)

   Open your GitHub Pages settings →

3. 3

   Add your domain

   Under Custom domain, type your address (e.g. your-name.com) and click Save. GitHub adds a CNAME file to your repository and starts checking the domain.

4. 4

   Point your domain at GitHub Pages

   At your registrar, add a CNAME record for www pointing to your-username.github.io. For the bare your-name.com, add the four GitHub A records (185.199.108.153, 185.199.109.153, 185.199.110.153, 185.199.111.153). Or use an ALIAS/ANAME to your-username.github.io if your registrar supports it.

5. 5

   Wait for it, then turn on HTTPS

   DNS changes take a few minutes to a few hours to spread. This is normal. Once GitHub shows the domain as verified, tick Enforce HTTPS on the same Pages settings page, and GitHub provisions a free certificate so your site loads securely.

Stuck on a specific record or registrar? Netlify's custom domain docs cover the edge cases. And because your domain never depends on Gesso, you can change or move it any time without us.

Stuck on a specific record or registrar? GitHub's custom domain docs cover the edge cases. And because your domain never depends on Gesso, you can change or move it any time without us.