Point: Domains you can use with Studio.Design sites
Before publishing your site, you'll need to choose a domain. With Studio.Design, you can publish your site using either a "custom domain" or a "Studio.Design subdomain." For more details, see Custom domain vs. subdomain.
Related article: Migrating your website to Studio.Design while keeping your custom domain from another service
What is a custom domain?
A custom domain is a fully original domain that you purchase and manage through a domain provider*.
* Examples include Onamae.com, Muumuu Domain, Sakura Domain, Xserver Domain, Google Domains, and more.
URLs take formats like "example.com" or "example.jp." You can choose any string for the "example" part, and you can also pick the top-level domain (like .com or .jp).
Once you've purchased a domain, you can keep using it even if you change servers or services.
Things to check when using a custom domain
Check that your domain is supported
Before getting started, check whether the domain you want to use can be connected to a Studio.Design site.
You can also connect a subdomain (such as aaa.example.com) of your main domain (example.com) to your site.
By default, Studio.Design doesn't allow access to the same site from both the www and non-www versions of a URL.
Downtime during the migration
When you switch a domain currently used by another service or server over to your Studio.Design site, there will always be some downtime when your site is unreachable.
DNS record changes can take several hours to take effect, so we recommend completing your setup the day before you need it live.
Using email services
Studio.Design doesn't offer email services. If you want to keep using email (e.g., john@example.com) on the same domain as your website (e.g., example.com), please check out our article on using email on the same domain as your site.
How to publish your site with a custom domain
This process involves steps in both Studio.Design and your external domain service.
Step 1. Get a custom domain
If you don't already have a domain, you'll need to get one before connecting. Since Studio.Design doesn't offer domain registration or management, please purchase your domain through an external service.
Tip: If you'd rather publish using the Studio.Design subdomain automatically assigned to your project instead of a custom domain, you don't need to purchase a domain.
Step 2. Build your site and subscribe to a paid plan
Create your site in Studio.Design. Here are some resources to help you get started:
From creation to publishing (learn through help articles)
Studio.Design YouTube (learn through videos)
Studio.Design Seminars (learn through videos)
Studio.Design Community (get help from other users)
About paid plans
To publish your site with a custom domain, your project needs to be on a paid plan. Make sure to subscribe to a paid plan before you start.
Step 3. Set up your custom domain connection in Studio.Design
Click the [Publish] button at the top right of the editor to open the publish panel.
Click [Custom Domain Settings].
Enter the domain you want to connect, then click [OK].
Copy the A record shown (e.g., A 34.111.141.225).
Step 4. Set up DNS records in your external service
Note: About changing DNS records
If the domain you're connecting to Studio.Design is currently used to publish a different site, that original site will no longer be reachable after you change the records.
DNS record changes can take several hours to take effect, so we recommend completing your setup the day before you need it live.
DNS record settings tell your domain where to point and how to be used (whether it's for a website, an email server, etc.). You don't set this up inside Studio.Design—you do it through the external service where you purchased and manage your domain.
For detailed instructions for popular domain services, see the articles below.
DNS settings are usually managed through the service where you registered the domain. In some cases, you may be using a separate DNS service. For details and things to watch out for, please see our article on DNS record setup.
Point: The A record for Studio.Design sites is 34.111.141.225.
Step 5. Check the domain connection status in Studio.Design
Go back to the publish panel in Studio.Design, click [Next], and check that your domain is connected to the Studio.Design server.
Even when your A record is set correctly, it can take some time for the connection to be detected, depending on DNS propagation and timing on our end.
You can close the publish panel while you wait for the connection to be detected.
Note: If the domain connection can't be verified, you'll see one of these errors:
Domain destination cannot be verified
Domain is pointing to a different server
Domain is pointing to multiple servers
For more details on these errors and how to fix them, see this help article: Connection can't be verified after setting up the A record
Step 6. Wait for the TLS certificate to be issued automatically
Wait for the TLS certificate to be issued automatically. You can check the certificate status anytime under [Custom Domain Settings] in the publish panel.
The certificate will still be issued even if you close the publish panel or shut down your computer. You won't get a notification when it's done, so check the publish panel to see the status.
If certificate issuance fails, a retry button will appear. Click it to try again.
Tip: Issuing a TLS certificate usually takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. If it takes longer than 4 hours, we can help issue it manually. If you need assistance, reach out to chat support using the [?] icon at the bottom left of the editor.
Step 7. Publish your site
Click [Publish] at the top right of the publish panel.
Once publishing is complete, a popup will appear.
Click the published URL to check how your site looks.
Note: If you see a 404 page
If a 404 page appears, click [Update] in the publish panel of the Studio.Design editor. If that doesn't fix it, double-check that your DNS records are set up correctly. See: Things to check when you have trouble connecting or publishing with a custom domain
If you're switching a site that was originally published with a Studio.Design subdomain over to a custom domain, the site will initially appear unpublished (showing a Studio.Design 404 page), so you'll need to click [Update] to publish it.
If you're having trouble publishing with your custom domain, reach out to chat support using the [?] icon at the bottom left of the editor. Including details about your situation and the steps you've already tried will help us assist you faster.
custom domain domain settings