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Custom Domain Setup — FAQ & Troubleshooting Guide

Everything you need to know about setting up and troubleshooting your custom domain on WithMe.


📋 Custom Domains Are Included in Your Plan

Custom domain support is included in your WithMe plan — no upgrade required. See What's Included in Your WithMe Plan for current pricing. Connect your own domain so your hub URL becomes yourdomain.com instead of withme.so/yourname.


❓ FAQ 1: Can I use my own domain name instead of withme.so?

Yes! Custom domain setup is included in your plan — there's no additional charge for the domain feature itself. You'll just need to purchase the domain name from a registrar (typically £10–15/year).

Here's the quick process:

1. Go to your Dashboard → More → Custom Domain

2. Submit your domain name in the request form

3. The WithMe team will complete your domain setup, typically by the next business day. Once live, your hub URL will be yourdomain.com instead of withme.so/yourname


❓ FAQ 2: I don't have a domain — do I need to buy one?

No — you can use your default WithMe URL (withme.so/yourname) for free forever.

If you'd like your own domain:

  • Buy from GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Google Domains (typically £10–15/year)

  • Use a .com or .co extension for best brand recognition

  • Then follow the custom domain setup steps above


❓ FAQ 3: I submitted a domain request — what happens next?

After submitting your request:

  1. Within 1 business day: The WithMe team will set up your custom domain on your behalf. No DNS changes are required from you

  2. You'll receive a confirmation once your domain is live


❓ FAQ 4: How do I add the DNS records to my domain?

⚠️ Note: The WithMe team handles DNS configuration as part of your setup. You do not need to add DNS records yourself. This section is provided for reference only.

You need to update the Nameserver (NS) records at your domain registrar — this is not done inside Cloudflare or your old host's DNS settings.

Step-by-step:

  1. Log in to where you bought your domain (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, etc.)

  2. Find DNS Settings or Nameserver Management

  3. Delete your existing nameservers (don't just add new ones — this is the most common mistake)

  4. Add the 4 new nameserver records we sent you

  5. Save changes

⚠️ Network Solutions users: The default nameserver editing interface in Network Solutions may reject the AWS nameserver values as invalid. Instead, look for the Custom Nameservers section and enter your 4 nameserver hostnames there. If the form asks for an IP address alongside each entry, leave that field blank — no IP address is required.

⚠️ Cloudflare Registrar users (and other registrars that lock authoritative nameservers): Some registrars, including Cloudflare Registrar, do not allow changing authoritative nameservers. If this applies to you, contact the WithMe support team directly — an alternative CNAME-based SSL validation path is available that does not require nameserver changes.

💡 Tip: Set the TTL (Time to Live) to 30 minutes to 1 hour so changes propagate faster

💡 Analogy: Think of your registrar as the post office. You need to tell the post office your new address — writing the new address on your old house doesn't redirect your mail.

Need help? Take a screenshot of your DNS settings and send it to us — we'll confirm if it's correct.


❓ FAQ 5: How long does DNS propagation take?

Typically 1–4 hours, but can take up to 48–72 hours depending on your domain provider.

To check if your domain has propagated:

  1. Go to dnschecker.org

  2. Enter your domain name

  3. Look for ✅ green checkmarks (working globally)

  4. ❌ Red marks or "not found" = still propagating

WithMe monitors propagation daily — once detected, we complete the setup on our end. No further action needed.


❓ FAQ 6: My DNS records look correct but my domain still isn't working — what do I do?

Troubleshooting checklist:

  • ✅ Did you replace old nameservers (not just add new ones)?

  • ✅ Are all 4 nameserver records added?

  • ✅ Have you waited at least 24 hours?

  • ✅ What does DNSChecker show?

If everything looks correct:

  • Send us a screenshot of your nameserver settings

  • We'll review and confirm

  • Once propagation completes, we'll finalise setup on our end


❓ FAQ 7: My link shows a big "W" instead of my branding — how do I fix this?

This is a link preview (Open Graph) issue.

✅ What should happen:

When you share your link (especially on social media or DMs), the preview will show:

  • Your profile image (Storefront theme), or

  • Your banner image (App theme)

🔧 If you're still seeing the WithMe "W" logo:

  1. Try opening or sharing the link in an incognito/private window (to avoid cached previews)

  2. Wait a little — previews can take some time to update after changes

⚠️ Still not updated?

Take a screenshot of how the preview looks and share it with our support team via chat or email.

Our team will review and help fix it for you 👍


❓ FAQ 8: Do I need to do anything after the domain goes live?

No — everything works automatically.

  • Your content, members, and products move to the new URL

  • Your old withme.so/yourname link redirects

  • You can promote your new domain


❓ FAQ 9: My domain was working but now shows an error — what happened?

Possible causes:

  1. Domain expired → check renewal at your registrar

  2. Nameservers changed → ensure they still point to WithMe

  3. SSL issue → contact support

👉 Always contact support for domain outages — these are treated as urgent.


❓ FAQ 10: Can I use a subdomain instead?

No — only root/apex domains are supported (e.g., yourdomain.com). Subdomains (e.g., hub.yourdomain.com) cannot be connected to WithMe. Please submit a root domain when making a custom domain request.

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