Adding a third-party domain - quick guide

This page was printed on Oct 20, 2020. For the current version, visit https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/os/domains/add-a-domain/using-existing-domains/adding-third-party-domains-quick-guide.

The best way to add use a third-party domain on your Shopify store depends on where you bought the domain.

Domains use a lot of complicated terminology, but in practice there are only two things you need to connect a domain to Shopify:

  • The main part of your domain (root domain), such as shopify.com, should point to Shopify's IP address: 23.227.38.65.
  • Anything extra before your root domain (subdomain), such as www for www.shopify.com or shop for shop.shopify.com, should point to shops.myshopify.com.

Each domain provider has different requirements for their settings, so you must contact your domain provider or review their documentation on how they need the domain to be configured.

Shopify Support can't access your domain's settings. If you're having trouble setting up your domain, then you must work with your domain provider. Shopify Support can advise only on what you should tell your domain provider.

If you want Shopify Support to be able to help with your domain settings, then transfer the domain to Shopify instead.

GoDaddy, Google, and 1&1 IONOS domains

If you purchased your domain through GoDaddy, Google, or 1&1 IONOS, then refer to the guide on setting up your domain automatically.

All other domains

Because each domain provider is different, Shopify can't advise on what to put in each field of your domain's settings. Here is what you need to know to review their documentation and determine what to put into each field, or to contact their support team:

  • The root domain needs an A record pointing to 23.227.38.65.
  • The root domain can't be pointing to any other A records.
  • Any subdomain needs a CNAME record pointing to shops.shopify.com.
  • The domain's nameservers should be the default for your provider.

After you change your domain settings, it can take 48 hours for the internet to reflect the new settings.

Check if your domain is ready to add to Shopify

It can take 48 hours for any changes to a domain to be recognized across the internet. You can check if your domain is ready to be added to your Shopify account using who.is.

Steps:

  1. Go to who.is.
  2. Enter the root of your domain, such as shopify.com.
  3. Click DNS Records.
  4. Look for the following records:
    • Type of A with Content of 23.227.38.65
    • Type of CNAME with Content of shops.myshopify.com

If those records are not listed, or there is another record on your root domain with a Type of A and a Content of a different IP address, then your domain is not ready to connect to Shopify. If it has been over 48 hours after you changed the settings, then contact your domain provider.

If those records are listed, then you are ready to add the domain to your Shopify account.

Add a domain to your Shopify account

After your domain is ready, you can add it to your Shopify account.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Domains.
  2. Click Connect existing domain.
  3. Enter the domain that you want to connect, such as johns-apparel.info.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Click Verify connection.

Connect only a subdomain to your Shopify store

A subdomain is a subset for your root domain at the beginning of a URL. For example, in the URL shop.johnsapparel.com, shop is the subdomain. You can set up a third-party domain to have the root domain point to a different website and a subdomain point to a Shopify store. For example, you could have shop.johns-apparel.com pointing to your Shopify store, but johns-apparel.com pointing to a different website host.

Setup

To connect a subdomain, complete the following steps.

  1. Log in to the account that you have with your domain provider.
  2. Find your DNS settings. Look for your domain management area, DNS configuration, or similar.
  3. Find the CNAME record in your DNS settings. The name of the CNAME record should match the subdomain that you're connecting to your Shopify store.
  4. Configure the CNAME record to point to shops.myshopify.com Copy . Often, you need to provide just the prefix without the dot, but for some domain providers you need the whole subdomain. Use the existing entries as a guide, or follow your provider's instructions. CNAME records must always point to a domain name, never to an IP address.
  5. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Domains.
  6. Click Connect existing domain and then follow the steps.
  7. Click Verify connection in your Shopify admin to confirm that your custom domain is connected to your store.

Troubleshooting

If you receive an error about a missing A record when adding the subdomain to Shopify, then complete the following steps.

  1. Go to Online Store > Domains.
  2. Click Connect existing domain.
  3. Enter your subdomain, then click Next.
  4. Click Verify connection.
  5. Click Verify again.
  6. In the Connection incomplete banner, click Add domain.
  7. On your Domains page, remove the root domain for the domain.

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