Domains and your online site

Web Work hosts your app. You can use a custom domain (e.g. www.yourbrand.com) — buy one right here through Web Work, or connect a domain you already own by pointing it to the address we show on the preview screen. This guide explains both paths in plain language.

Quick glossary

  • Domain — the address people type in the browser, e.g. coffeehouse.com.
  • Registrar — the company where you search for, buy, and renew domains.
  • DNS — the system that tells the internet where to send visitors (records like CNAME and TXT).
  • Subdomain — a prefix, e.g. www in www.coffeehouse.com.

1. Buying a domain

A one-time step per brand. The process is similar across most registrars.

Where to buy

Common options: Cloudflare Registrar, Namecheap, Porkbun, Google Domains (now Squarespace Domains), and others. Compare first-year and renewal prices; pick a company you are comfortable logging into when changing DNS.

Typical purchase flow

  1. 1Create an account at the registrar.
  2. 2Search for the name you want (e.g. yourbrand + .com).
  3. 3Add to cart and pay. You rent the name annually (renewing keeps it yours).
  4. 4Confirm the email from the registrar to complete the order.
  5. 5Open the registrar panel and find DNS, DNS records, or Manage DNS — this is where you will add the records Web Work shows.

Pricing and renewal

The first year is often discounted; subsequent years cost more. Enable auto-renew if you do not want to lose the name when it expires. If payment fails, the domain may become available to others.

Privacy (WHOIS)

Many registrars offer free or paid WHOIS privacy so your personal details are not published. Enable it to reduce spam.

2. DNS basics (what you add at the registrar)

After you enable hosting in Web Work, the preview page shows two types of records:

CNAME record

A CNAME says “this hostname is an alias for another.” For example, www can point to the Web Work target (project ID + our hosting host). This routes traffic to the hosted app.

TXT record

A TXT record stores text. We add a short string to verify that you control the domain before we accept it as connected.

Propagation

DNS changes are not instant everywhere. From a few minutes to up to 48 hours (rare). If verification fails, wait and try again. TTL on old records slows the update.

Using Cloudflare?

Turn the orange cloud OFF for the CNAME record so it reads "DNS only" (grey cloud). A proxied CNAME hides the chain from public DNS and blocks our certificate from being issued, so the domain never goes live. For an apex domain (@) add the same CNAME — Cloudflare flattens it to A records for you.

3. Connecting a domain in Web Work

  1. 1Open the Preview page for the project (active hosting subscription required).
  2. 2In “Connect the domain” enter the exact hostname visitors will use (often www.yourbrand.com).
  3. 3Click “Save domain”, then copy the TXT and CNAME records to your registrar.
  4. 4Click “Verify DNS” after the records are saved. If it fails, check for typos.

4. HTTPS on a custom domain

Browsers expect encrypted HTTPS. After DNS points to Web Work hosting, the operator provides a certificate for the hostname (e.g. Let’s Encrypt or a load balancer). A certificate warning may mean propagation is still in progress or an edge setup is missing — check with your Web Work administrator.