How to Add a Custom Domain to Your Website

What Is the Domain Manager?

The Domain Manager in Zelligram lets you connect your own custom domain (like yourdomain.org) to your Zelligram website. Instead of using the default .zelligram.com address, you can present a fully branded URL to your visitors. This guide walks you through the entire process — from finding the setting in your dashboard to updating your DNS records with your domain registrar.

Step 1: Open the Domain Manager

  1. Go to your Zelligram Dashboard and navigate to My Sites → Manage Websites.
  2. Find the website you want to add a custom domain to.
  3. Click the cog icon (⚙) next to that website to open its management options.
  4. From the dropdown, click Manage Domain.

You will be taken to the Domains page for that website, where you can see all domains currently linked to it.

Step 2: Add a New Domain

On the Domains page, click the Add New Domain button in the top-right corner.

A popup will appear titled “Add domain”. In the Domain name field, enter the domain you want to connect — for example:

  • example.com — to use your root domain
  • www.example.com — to use the www version
  • subdomain.example.com — to use a specific subdomain

Once you’ve typed your domain, click Add Domain to register it on your site.

Note: After adding the domain, Zelligram will register it with your hosting environment. The status will initially show as Provisioning while the domain is being set up.

Step 3: Configure Your DNS Records

After adding the domain in Zelligram, you need to point your domain to Zelligram’s servers by updating your DNS records at your domain registrar. You will need to add a CNAME record pointing to:

dns1.zelligram.com

You can copy this hostname directly from the Add Domain popup using the Copy hostname button.

Below are instructions for the most common registrars and DNS providers:

  1. Log in to your GoDaddy account and go to My Products.
  2. Next to your domain, click DNS or Manage DNS.
  3. In the DNS records table, click Add New Record.
  4. Set the Type to CNAME.
  5. In the Name field, enter www (or your desired subdomain). For a root domain, use @.
  6. In the Value field, paste dns1.zelligram.com.
  7. Set the TTL to 1 hour (or the default).
  8. Click Save.

  1. Log in to Namecheap and go to Domain List.
  2. Click Manage next to your domain.
  3. Go to the Advanced DNS tab.
  4. Click Add New Record.
  5. Set the Type to CNAME Record.
  6. In the Host field, enter www or your subdomain. For the root domain, enter @.
  7. In the Value field, paste dns1.zelligram.com.
  8. Click the checkmark to save.

  1. Log in to your Cloudflare account and select your domain.
  2. Go to the DNS tab from the top menu.
  3. Click Add record.
  4. Set the Type to CNAME.
  5. In the Name field, enter www or your subdomain.
  6. In the Target field, paste dns1.zelligram.com.
  7. Important: Set the Proxy status to DNS only (grey cloud, not orange). This ensures the domain resolves correctly to Zelligram’s servers without Cloudflare proxying the traffic.
  8. Click Save.

DKIM records (email deliverability)

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is an email authentication method that uses a digital signature so recipients can verify that a message was sent and authorized by the domain owner. These DKIM records are especially important for email deliverability on Zelligram-hosted sites, because they show that our servers are allowed to send mail for your domain.

Transactional email is signed by default when the sending address matches your site’s primary domain.

For DKIM, add the following CNAME records at your DNS provider (in addition to the website CNAME above):

TypeHost / NameValue / Target / Alias to
CNAMEopenhosting1._domainkeyopenhosting1._domainkey.wpcloud.com.
CNAMEopenhosting2._domainkeyopenhosting2._domainkey.wpcloud.com.

If your DNS host asks for a fully qualified name, keep the trailing dot (.) on the target. Labels vary by provider (for example Name / Host and Target / Points to).

Step 4: Wait for DNS Propagation

DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to fully propagate across the internet, although most updates take effect within 1–2 hours.

Once propagation is complete, your Zelligram domain status will update from Provisioning to Active. If you need to speed things up, you can click the Refresh Domain button on the Domains page to manually trigger a status check.

Tips & Best Practices

  • Use a subdomain if unsure. If your root domain is already in use (e.g., pointing to another website), consider using www.yourdomain.com or a subdomain like site.yourdomain.com to avoid conflicts.
  • Disable Cloudflare proxy for SSL to work. Zelligram manages its own SSL certificates. Leaving Cloudflare’s proxy enabled (orange cloud) can interfere with certificate provisioning — always set it to DNS only when first connecting.
  • Check the domain status. Use the Refresh Domain button on the Domains page to get an updated status after making DNS changes.
  • Set a Primary Domain. Once your domain is active, you can set it as the Primary Domain for your site so all traffic is directed to it. Other linked domains will automatically redirect to the primary.

That’s it! Your custom domain is now connected to your Zelligram website. If you run into any issues, use the Hire a Pro button in your dashboard to get help from the Zelligram team.

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