Connect a custom domain
On Pro and Max, serve your storefront on your own apex or www domain. Add the DNS records at your registrar and it connects on its own within minutes.
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Every plan comes with a free your-slug.autodealer.io subdomain, and it keeps working after you connect a domain. On the Pro and Max plans you can also serve your storefront on your own domain.
On Basic, Website → Domain still shows your free address, but the Custom domain card shows an upgrade option instead of the form. The owner gets the upgrade button; a manager gets Ask your owner to upgrade. A free trial counts as the plan you picked, so a Pro or Max trial can connect a domain and a Basic trial can't.
Connect the domain
- Go to Website → Domain and enter the domain you want to use.
- Enter your domain, apex (
example.com) orwww(www.example.com), exactly as you want it to appear. Visitors to the other form get redirected to your choice. - Add the DNS records shown to you where your domain's DNS is managed: a verification TXT record at the apex, plus the CNAME/A records for the domain. That is usually where you bought the domain, unless you moved its nameservers (to Cloudflare, for example). The page checks your domain's nameservers and opens the step-by-step guide on that provider for you.
- That is all. We look for your records every 10 minutes and connect the domain once they are in place, and you get a note in your inbox when it is live. To check right away, click Verify domain.
DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to propagate. If Verify domain cannot see the records right after you add them, there is nothing to fix: they may not be visible yet, and we keep checking.
Logging into the dashboard on your domain
Once connected, your dealer dashboard also works on the custom domain. You'll sign in there once, since the session cookie is scoped to that domain.
Ask the assistant
In the AI chat, "connect valley-motors.us" prepares a card for an owner or manager to approve: it names the three DNS records to add and says the site stays at your free address until the domain is verified. "Verify our domain" checks the ownership record right away and brings the site live when it is there; when it is not visible yet, the reply says which record is missing and nothing changes. Once a domain is live, the assistant never changes or removes it: that is done here, on the Domain page, and the assistant says so. "Is our domain connected?" reads the state and the records from the website status.
FAQ
Which plans include a custom domain?
Pro and Max. Every plan, Basic included, gets the free your-slug.autodealer.io subdomain, so your website is live either way.
I typed my domain during setup. Where is it?
If the plan you picked includes a custom domain, it was saved when you finished setup: open Website → Domain and add the DNS records shown there. It connects on its own once they are in place. On Basic it isn't saved, and Website → Domain shows "You entered yourdomain.com during setup." After you move to Pro or Max it's filled in for you, so connecting it is one click of Save.
What happens to my domain if I move down to Basic?
It stays connected and your website stays up on it. You can still change where it points or remove it. Connecting a different domain needs Pro or Max again.
Do I have to click Verify domain?
No. Once all three records are in place, the domain connects by itself, usually within 10 minutes of the records becoming visible. The button only saves you the wait. It also connects as soon as the ownership record is there, while the automatic check waits until your domain actually points at us, so your website never moves to an address that does not open yet.
My domain shows a "not connected" message.
That is what a domain shows after it points at us and before it is connected. If the TXT record is missing or mistyped it stays that way, so compare it with the one on Website → Domain. Your free address keeps working the whole time.
Verify domain says it can't see my TXT record.
The message names the exact record it looked for, for example _autodealer-verify.yourdomain.com. It has to be a record of type TXT (not A or CNAME), with _autodealer-verify in the Host or Name box and the value from step 2 pasted in. Some providers add your domain to the Host for you, so typing the full name there can double it.
My DNS is at Cloudflare. Anything special?
Yes: set the A and CNAME records to DNS only (grey cloud), not Proxied (orange cloud). When they are Proxied, Website → Domain shows a "Cloudflare's proxy is on" note. In Cloudflare, open DNS → Records, edit each record and switch Proxy status to DNS only. You still need the TXT record either way.
Apex or www: which should I pick?
Either works. Pick the one you'll advertise; the other automatically redirects to it. www is slightly easier at some registrars because it uses a CNAME.
I connected the domain but the dashboard asks me to log in again.
That's expected the first time on a separate domain. The apex session cookie doesn't travel to a different registered domain, so log in once on the custom domain and you're set.