Put your site on your own domain

Start in the dashboard: open the site, find Custom domain, type your domain and add it. (Your AI tool can do the same with the set_custom_domain tool.) RunLite then shows you one record at a time:

1. Verify ownership. A record with a long, random name. It proves to the certificate authority that the domain is yours, so your site gets its padlock. Nothing visible changes.
2. Point your domain. A record named after your domain itself, pointing at a RunLite address. From the moment it is seen, your site answers at your domain.

Both are CNAME records. Every provider’s DNS page has the same three boxes, whatever it calls them: the type, a name (also called host) and a value (also called target, points to, or data). Copy each from the dashboard with its button; retyping is where typos come from.

After saving, give it a few minutes, then press Check status in the dashboard. Providers usually show a change within minutes; an hour is normal; longer is rare. RunLite also checks on its own every so often, so you can close the page.

Use www

Add www.mybakery.com, not mybakery.com. Most providers (GoDaddy, Hostinger, BigRock, Namecheap and Squarespace among them) will not let the bare domain point at another address: that is a rule of DNS, not of theirs. So the site lives at www., and a second setting called forwarding (or redirect) sends anyone who types the bare domain to it. Each provider section below ends with that step. If your DNS is on Cloudflare or Route 53, the bare domain works as-is and you can skip the forwarding.

One record per name

If your provider says the name is already in use, there is an older record for www, usually a leftover from a website builder or the provider’s parking page. Delete that one, then add RunLite’s.

Add a record

1. Sign in at godaddy.com and open My Products, then Domains (GoDaddy calls this page the Domain Portfolio).
2. Click your domain, then the DNS tab. You will see a list of records.
3. Click Add New Record (or Add).
4. Choose the type CNAME.
5. In Name, paste the record’s name. If RunLite shows it with your domain on the end, type only the part before your domain (the dashboard’s “Copy host value” button gives you exactly that).
6. In Value, paste the record’s value. A dot on the end is fine either way.
7. Leave TTL as it is, and save.

GoDaddy will not accept @ as the name of a CNAME, which is why the site goes on www. A domain with GoDaddy’s Domain Protection asks you to confirm your identity before it saves.

Forward the bare domain to www

1. On the same DNS page, open the Forwarding tab.
2. Click Add Forwarding, and choose to forward the domain (not a subdomain).
3. Destination: https://www.yourdomain.com. Forward type: Permanent (301). Do not choose masking.
4. Save. GoDaddy adds the records this needs by itself.

Add a record

1. Sign in to hPanel and open Domains, then Domain portfolio.
2. Click Manage next to your domain, then DNS / Nameservers in the left menu.
3. Under Manage DNS records, find the form for a new record.
4. Choose the type CNAME.
5. In Name, paste the record’s name. If RunLite shows it with your domain on the end, type only the part before your domain (the dashboard’s “Copy host value” button gives you exactly that).
6. In Target (or Points to), paste the record’s value. A dot on the end is fine either way.
7. Leave TTL as it is, and save.

If the domain is connected to Hostinger’s website builder or hosting, there may already be a www record: delete it first.

Forward the bare domain to www

1. In hPanel, open Domains, then Redirects. (With a domain only, no hosting plan: Domain portfolio, Manage, then Redirect your domain in the overview.)
2. Redirect your bare domain to https://www.yourdomain.com, type 301 (permanent), and save.

Add a record

1. Sign in at bigrock.in and open Manage Orders, then List/Search Orders, and click your domain.
2. Find DNS Management (or DNS Records) and open Manage DNS.
3. Open the CNAME Records tab and click Add CNAME Record.
4. Choose the type CNAME.
5. In Host Name, paste the record’s name. If RunLite shows it with your domain on the end, type only the part before your domain (the dashboard’s “Copy host value” button gives you exactly that).
6. In Value, paste the record’s value. A dot on the end is fine either way.
7. Leave TTL as it is, and save.

If BigRock says DNS management is not active for the domain, activate it first on the same page; it is free. A domain that uses other nameservers (your web host’s, say) has its records there instead.

Forward the bare domain to www

1. On the domain’s page, open Domain Forwarding and click Manage Domain Forwarding.
2. Forward the bare domain to https://www.yourdomain.com, without masking, and save.

Add a record

1. Sign in at namecheap.com and open Domain List, then Manage next to your domain.
2. Open the Advanced DNS tab. Under Host Records, click Add New Record.
3. Choose the type CNAME.
4. In Host, paste the record’s name. If RunLite shows it with your domain on the end, type only the part before your domain (the dashboard’s “Copy host value” button gives you exactly that).
5. In Value, paste the record’s value. A dot on the end is fine either way.
6. Leave TTL as it is, and save.
7. Click Save All Changes.

Namecheap’s own parking page leaves a www record of type URL Redirect or CNAME; delete it before adding RunLite’s. Namecheap says to allow about 30 minutes.

Forward the bare domain to www

1. Still under Host Records, add a record of type URL Redirect Record: host @, value https://www.yourdomain.com, and choose Permanent (301).
2. Click Save All Changes.

Google Domains moved its customers to Squarespace in 2024, so a domain bought from Google is managed here now.

Add a record

1. Sign in and open your domains at account.squarespace.com/domains.
2. Click the domain, then DNS in the side panel (older accounts: DNS Settings).
3. Under Custom records, click Add record. Squarespace may ask for your password again.
4. Choose the type CNAME.
5. In Host, paste the record’s name. If RunLite shows it with your domain on the end, type only the part before your domain (the dashboard’s “Copy host value” button gives you exactly that).
6. In Data, paste the record’s value. A dot on the end is fine either way.
7. Leave TTL as it is, and save.

Squarespace says changes can take up to a day or two to be seen, though minutes is usual.

Forward the bare domain to www

1. On the domain’s page, open Domain forwarding (in some accounts under Forwarding in the side panel) and add a forwarding rule.
2. Forward yourdomain.com to https://www.yourdomain.com as a 301 permanent redirect, and save.

On Cloudflare the bare domain works as-is, so you can add either mybakery.com or www.mybakery.com in RunLite. The one thing to get right is the orange cloud.

Add a record

1. Sign in to the Cloudflare dashboard, click the domain, then DNS, then Records.
2. Click Add record.
3. Choose the type CNAME.
4. In Name, paste the record’s name. If RunLite shows it with your domain on the end, type only the part before your domain (the dashboard’s “Copy host value” button gives you exactly that).
5. In Target, paste the record’s value. A dot on the end is fine either way.
6. Leave TTL as it is, and save.
7. Set Proxy status to DNS only (the grey cloud) on both records. RunLite serves the site over its own network with its own certificate; a proxied record puts Cloudflare in front of it and the padlock check fails.

Sending the bare domain to www, or the other way

Only if you want one address to win: add a Redirect Rule under Rules. Otherwise, with the bare domain added in RunLite, nothing more is needed.

Any provider works; the three boxes are always there. Search its help for “add a CNAME record” and “forward my domain”. Two things to check first:

• Where the DNS actually is. If your domain’s nameservers point at a web host or at Cloudflare, the records go there, not at the registrar. The registrar’s DNS page usually says so.
• The root-domain rule. If the provider refuses a CNAME for the bare domain, use www and forward the bare domain to it, as above.

Stuck after an hour? Press Check status in the dashboard once more, compare the name and value character by character, and if they match, email support@runlite.in with your domain and provider: we can see what the DNS is answering.