How to connect a custom domain to Vercel

01Step by step

These steps follow Vercel's guide to adding and configuring a custom domain.

1. 1Open the project's domain settingsIn the Vercel dashboard, pick the project, open Settings and select Domains.
2. 2Add the domainClick Add Domain and enter it. If you add example.com, Vercel suggests adding www.example.com too.
3. 3Read the records Vercel showsIt displays an A record for the apex domain and a CNAME for subdomains, unique to your project.
4. 4Add them at your DNS providerLog in where your DNS is managed, which may be your registrar or Cloudflare, and create the records.
5. 5Wait for verificationVercel checks the records and marks the domain valid, then issues the HTTPS certificate.
6. 6Set the redirectChoose whether www or the root is primary, and redirect the other to it.

02The DNS records

03A records or nameservers?

Adding records at your current DNS provider changes only the website. Your email (MX records) and other records stay untouched. This is the safest option for most people, and Vercel's A record guide covers the apex setup.

Switching nameservers to Vercel moves all DNS to Vercel, which is required for wildcard domains. Vercel warns to copy your existing DNS records first, including MX records for email and any verification TXT records. Skipping that is the most common way people break their email when connecting a domain.

04Common problems and fixes

• "Invalid configuration": an old A, AAAA or CNAME record for the same name conflicts. Delete it.
• www works but the root does not, or the reverse: add both to the project and set a redirect.
• Domain on Cloudflare not verifying: set the record to DNS only (grey cloud) while verifying, or follow Vercel's proxy guidance.
• Email stopped after a nameserver change: restore your email provider's MX and TXT records.
• Still not working after an hour: DNS can take time to propagate; check the records with a DNS lookup tool.

05Before you start

Remember Vercel's free Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial use per its fair use guidelines; a business domain belongs on Pro. If you do not own a domain yet, where to buy a domain compares registrars, and Vercel vs Netlify helps if you are still choosing a host. What is DNS? explains the records in plain terms.

06Using Cloudflare DNS with Vercel

Many people keep DNS on Cloudflare and host on Vercel. That works: add the A and CNAME records in Cloudflare. While Vercel verifies the domain and issues its certificate, set the records to DNS only, the grey cloud, so Cloudflare's proxy does not intercept the check. Running Cloudflare's proxy in front of Vercel permanently is possible but adds a second CDN layer and can complicate caching, so most setups leave it off.

To check propagation, look the domain up with a public DNS lookup tool or run a dig or nslookup command; when the A record shows Vercel's value from several locations, the change is live. If the old value persists, the previous record may have had a long TTL, and you need to wait it out.