Custom domain

From day one every location has a public site on a platform address (like location.cenaly.ge): the menu and ordering for a café, a storefront for a shop, booking for a salon or clinic, a services page for a company. If the business has its own domain, the site can open on it — www.example.com, menu.example.com, shop.example.com or example.com itself.

What you get#

• The location's site opens on your domain; the platform address keeps working.
• A free HTTPS certificate: issued and renewed by itself, nothing to buy or upload.
• Page addresses for search engines (canonical, sitemap) move to your domain — print this address on signs, ads and QR codes.
• Email on the domain keeps working: we do not touch its records.

Buy a domain from us#

If you don't have a domain yet, you can buy one right here: in the "Custom domain" block, click "Buy a domain here". You don't create DNS records yourself — we set up the address, and a few minutes after payment the website opens on the new domain.

How it works:

1. Enter your business name or the domain you want — we show the free options in different zones (.com, .shop, .cafe, .ge, .de and more). Each shows two prices side by side: for the first year and for every next year (renewal). If the first year is noticeably cheaper, it is a registrar promotion, and the option is marked "Promotional price for the first year" with the end date of the offer. Taken domains and zones we don't sell yet are shown honestly.
2. Enter the domain owner — a person or a company: name, email, phone and address. We fill in what we already know from your account and location.
3. If the location does not have the "Own website" add-on yet (and your plan does not include it), the window first offers to pay for it. The add-on is what makes the domain open this location's website: without it the domain would be yours but would show nothing. After the add-on is paid, the window brings you back to paying for the domain.
4. Pay for a year. The easiest way is from your account balance: this method is selected right away, the window shows how much is on the balance, and if it is enough, one "Pay from balance" button is all it takes. If it is not enough, the window tells you how much to add, and the "Top up balance" button opens the top-up right over the window; after topping up you stay on the same step. You can also pay another way, for example with PayPal — the window shows only the methods that work right now. It is a one-time payment, not a subscription. If the domain cannot be registered, the money goes back where it came from: a payment from the balance returns to the balance.
5. The rest happens by itself: registration in your name → address setup → connection to your website. You can close the window — the status is shown in the "My domains" block.

Who owns the domain. The domain is registered to you (or your company) — you are its owner, we only register it for you through the registrar Openprovider. Where the zone allows it, your details are hidden from the public domain owner directory.

The confirmation email is mandatory. Right after registration the registrar sends an email to the owner's address. Open it and confirm the address within 15 days — this is an ICANN rule; otherwise the domain is suspended and the website stops opening. Until the email is confirmed, the domain shows the "Confirm the email" status in "My domains" with a "Send the confirmation email again" button.

Renewal. The domain is paid for a year. We never charge your card on our own: we remind you by email 30, 14 and 3 days before it expires, and you renew with the "Renew" button in "My domains" — with the same one-time payment, including from your account balance. The renewal price is shown there too.

Not renewing. If you no longer need the domain, untick "Renew automatically" in "My domains". There will be no more reminders; after the expiry date the domain stops opening your website, and once it is free anyone can take it. Changed your mind — tick it again before that date.

Moving to another registrar. The domain is yours, and you can leave with it at any time. Click "Transfer code" in "My domains" and give the code to the new registrar — they will ask for it. Don't share the code with anyone else: it allows taking the domain away.

What you need beforehand#

• A domain you own (bought at any registrar) — or buy one from us (section above).
• Access to the panel where the domain's records (DNS) are managed: at the registrar, at the hosting or at a separate DNS service such as Cloudflare. The wizard tells you where exactly.
• A plan with the "Custom domain" option. Domains included:

The limit is per account, not per location. Beyond it a domain is connected with the paid "Own website" add-on — $10/month or $100/year per location; such domains do not use the plan limit. After the payment ends there is a 7-day grace period. More — Subscription.

Three steps to connect#

The connection lives in the location's web settings: Locations → location → "WEB" tab, "Custom domain" block (the same from "Websites": site card → "Configure site"). The "Connect domain" button opens the wizard. You can close the window at any step: the connection continues on the server, and a link or a page refresh opens the same step.

Step 1 — what address the site will have#

Enter the address — you can paste a whole link (https://www.example.com/menu): the wizard drops the scheme and the path itself; internationalised domains (мойсалон.рф) work too. Press "Check address". Within seconds the server checks:

• that the domain exists and is served;
• whether it is the root or a subdomain;
• where the domain's records are managed — it recognises the provider by the DNS servers and from then on shows instructions for exactly that panel (if the domain was bought in one place and the records live in another, you will see it plainly);
• whether another site already opens at the address — then it warns you and offers a subdomain instead;
• whether the domain has email — we do not touch it.

If the provider was detected wrongly or you manage records elsewhere, pick the panel manually ("I use another panel").

Step 2 — records at your provider#

The wizard shows record cards — exactly the ones your address needs. Usually:

Each card says what to press and what to type in your provider's panel, has "Copy" buttons and a live status of the record. The "More, with screenshots" link leads to the right section of the provider guide. If someone else will add the records, "Copy instructions for a specialist" puts everything into one text.

Step 3 — check and launch#

The wizard checks four things in order: records at the provider → visible on the internet → secure connection → the site opens and it is your location. Below them is one banner with the main cause if something is wrong, with a link to its explanation. More — Check and launch.

When everything is ready, the wizard shows "Done: https://your-address" and what to do next (update links and QR codes, add the site to search engines).

Where to edit domain records#

Domain records (DNS) are edited where the domain's DNS servers (NS) point — not always where the domain was bought. The wizard works this out and names the provider on the first step. Step-by-step guides for popular panels:

• Cloudflare · GoDaddy · Namecheap · Amazon Route 53
• REG.RU · Timeweb · Beget · RU-CENTER · Yandex 360 · Yandex Cloud DNS

If your provider is not listed, the principle is the same everywhere: "Add record" → type → name → value → save. The main confusion is the name field: some panels expect only the left part (www), others the full name (www.example.com), others the full name with a dot at the end (www.example.com.). If after saving the record looks like www.example.com.example.com, the panel appended the domain itself — delete it and enter only www. The wizard notices this and tells you (RECORD_NAME_DOUBLED).

Ownership record#

An address is reserved for your account only after you prove you control the domain. Every connection attempt has its own code for this. It gets into DNS in one of these ways:

• in the site record itself — for a subdomain the CNAME value starts with the request code; there is no separate record;
• as a separate TXT record _cenaly-verify.<your address> with the value cenaly-verify=<code> — always so for the root domain;
• as the certificate record (_acme-challenge) — on the Russian side its value is unique to the request and also serves as proof.

The wizard shows which way applies to you. The code is valid for 7 days; a new attempt means a new code, so delete records of previous attempts. The _cenaly-verify TXT can be deleted after activation: it is only checked before it.

Why: without proof an address could be taken by whoever entered it first — including someone else's account, if an old record was left on the domain. Domains that worked before this check appeared do not need to be confirmed.

Subdomain#

www, menu, shop, book are all subdomains. They need one CNAME record (plus the certificate record if the wizard shows it):

1. In the provider's panel delete old A, AAAA, CNAME records and forwarding on this same name, if any — by the DNS standard a CNAME cannot coexist with other records on the same name. The wizard shows which record is in the way (CNAME_CONFLICT_A).
2. Create a CNAME: name — the left part (www), value — the address from the wizard, via "Copy".
3. Save and go back to the wizard.

Leave records of other names alone — the root, mail, MX, email TXT.

Root domain#

The root is example.com itself, without a subdomain. The DNS standard forbids a CNAME on the root, so a special record is needed: ALIAS, ANAME or a "flattened" CNAME. The wizard decides how to connect the root by provider:

• the provider has such a record (Cloudflare, Namecheap, Route 53, Yandex Cloud DNS and others) — the root is connected directly: site record + ownership record + (if the wizard shows it) certificate record. The "Also connect www" tick adds one CNAME record for www to the list — www.example.com then redirects to example.com, one certificate covers both;
• there is no such record (GoDaddy, REG.RU, Timeweb and many hostings) — the wizard suggests www.example.com as the main address and forwarding example.com itself to www at the registrar. Details — Root domain and www.

Do not create an A record with an IP address from other guides for the root: our addresses change, and such a record will stop working.

Proxies and CDNs in front of the site#

If the domain is served by Cloudflare, each record has a Proxy status toggle. For the connection records it must be DNS only (grey cloud): ownership checks and certificate issuance do not pass through the proxy. Cloudflare creates new records with the proxy on — switch it off explicitly. The wizard recognises an enabled proxy by several signs and says "the proxy seems to be on" (CLOUDFLARE_PROXIED). The site will not get slower — we have our own delivery network.

The same applies to other proxies and CDNs in front of the site (bot protection, hosting "accelerators"): the connection record must lead straight to the address from the wizard.

Certificate record#

HTTPS turns on by itself: the certificate is issued for free and renewed automatically. Sometimes the certificate authority needs a separate record — the wizard shows it:

• CNAME _acme-challenge.<address> → an address like ….cm.yandexcloud.net — on the Russian side (cenaly.ru), for subdomains too;
• TXT _cf-challenge.<address> — for the root domain on the international side.

If the name _acme-challenge still has records of a previous hosting, delete them — otherwise the certificate is not issued (ACME_TXT_CONFLICT). Do not delete the certificate records after connecting: the certificate is renewed through them. If the domain has CAA records (a list of allowed certificate authorities), ours must be on it — otherwise the wizard shows CAA_BLOCKS_ISSUER and says what to add.

How long to wait#

Once the records are created correctly, connecting usually takes 5–20 minutes: a few minutes for the records to become visible, 1–10 minutes for the certificate and up to 15 minutes for the rollout across servers. If you changed a record that already existed, the internet may remember the old value for as long as its TTL was (often an hour, sometimes a day).

The wizard checks the records right at your provider's DNS servers, so it tells "the record is still spreading" (PROPAGATING — all correct, just wait, with an approximate time) from "the record is wrong" (waiting will not help — it needs fixing). You can close the window: checking continues on the server, and we will write when the site works.

Check and launch#

On the third step the wizard shows four rows:

Below the rows is one banner with the main cause if something is wrong: "what is wrong → where to fix it → what to replace it with". Each cause has a code and a section on the Domain connection errors page — the "What does this mean" link leads there. "Details" expands all checks. The "Check now" button runs the check immediately; while the window is open, the wizard also checks by itself every 30 seconds.

A domain becomes active only after the site has actually opened on it. After that we check it once a day: if a record was deleted or the certificate did not renew, a warning appears in the "Custom domain" block, and an email arrives 14 days before the certificate expires.

If a site already opens at the address#

The wizard warns you if another site opens at the address now: after the record changes, visitors will reach the new one. Decide beforehand — replace the old site or connect a separate subdomain (menu., shop.) without touching it. How to move without downtime — If the domain already has a site.

Email#

Connecting the site does not touch email: MX records, SPF/DKIM/DMARC (TXT) and the mail subdomain stay as they are. Only delete records on the name you are connecting, and only those the wizard points at. If the domain's email depends on the name being connected, the wizard warns you (MAIL_DEPENDS_ON_CHANGED_HOST). More — Custom domain and email.

Disconnecting#

"Manage" → "Disconnect domain" (with confirmation). After disconnecting, the site opens only on the platform address again, and addresses for search engines return to it by themselves. The wizard shows the records to delete at your provider, and the "Check removal" button makes sure they are gone. While the site record points to us, the address stays reserved for your account — so nobody else can connect your domain to their site. To bring the domain back, connect it again (with a new ownership code). More — Disconnecting a custom domain.

Frequently asked questions#

Can I connect several domains?#

Yes, one address per location. How many at once depends on the plan and the "Own website" add-on.

Do I need separate hosting?#

No. The site is hosted on the platform — you only point the domain's record to it.

Should I connect www or the root?#

Either. If the provider has ALIAS for the root, connect the root and keep "Also connect www" ticked: both addresses open the site, and www.example.com redirects to example.com (keeping the page path) — one connection, no second plan slot. Without ALIAS, make www the main address and forward the root to it at the registrar — see Root domain and www. A domain bought from us is connected as a pair automatically.

I entered the wrong address — what now?#

On the first steps — "Change address" or "Cancel connection" in the wizard. After activation — disconnect the domain and connect the right one; the plan limit is not lost.

The wizard says "could not check" — did I do something wrong?#

No. It means the checking server or the provider's DNS did not answer; do not change the records — the wizard retries itself.

Can I delegate my whole domain's DNS to you?#

No: we only ask you to add our records, and the domain's zone stays with your provider — together with email and other services. The exception is domains bought from us: we set up their records ourselves.

Related pages#

• Instructions by DNS provider — what to press in a specific panel
• Domain connection errors — every wizard message
• Root domain and www · If the domain already has a site · Custom domain and email · Disconnecting
• Website Builder — the site's look
• Subscription — plans and the "Own website" add-on
• QR codes and devices — QR codes for the connected site