# Add a domain to a site

Point a domain you own at one of your sites. Nuvlo sets up the web server for it and issues a free HTTPS certificate as soon as the domain reaches your server.

## Before you start

- A site that has finished deploying. Nuvlo only adds domains to running sites that already have their main address.
- A domain you own, and access to its DNS settings at your registrar or DNS provider.
- Optional: Cloudflare connected, so Nuvlo can create the DNS record for you. See [Connect Cloudflare](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/connect-cloudflare).
- A role that can manage domains. Viewers can't add domains.

## Where you can add a domain

This guide uses the [Domains](https://app.nuvlo.dev/dashboard/domains) page under **Resources**, which works for every site. You can also add a domain from the site itself: on a WordPress site, open the **Domains** tab; on an application, PHP or static site, open **Settings** and then **Domains**. The form there asks for the same things and the result is the same.

To replace a site's main address instead of adding another one, see [Change a site's domain](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/change-site-domain).

## Step 1: Open the Add domain form

Open [Domains](https://app.nuvlo.dev/dashboard/domains) and click **Add domain**.

![The Domains page with the Add domain button](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/add-a-domain--domains-page.webp)

## Step 2: Choose the site and enter the domain

Under **Site**, pick the site the domain should open. Under **Domain**, enter the full name without `https://`, for example `example.com` or `shop.example.com`.

If the name is already connected to one of your sites, the form says so and names the site. A domain can only belong to one site.

Some 1-Click apps run a second service, such as a public viewer. For those, a **Target** field appears so you can send the domain to that service instead of the app's main one.

![The Add domain dialog with a site selected and a domain entered](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/add-a-domain--add-modal.webp)

## Step 3: Decide who creates the DNS record

With Cloudflare connected, **Auto-configure DNS via Cloudflare** is on. Nuvlo then creates an A record in your Cloudflare zone that points the domain at the site's server. The domain has to be in the connected Cloudflare account for this to work.

> **Warning:** Any existing A, AAAA or CNAME record for this exact name is replaced. Other records, such as MX records for email, stay as they are.

Turn it off, or leave it off when Cloudflare isn't connected, to add the record at your DNS provider yourself in the next steps.

Click **Add domain**. If part of the setup couldn't finish, a message tells you what is missing, for example that the domain isn't in your Cloudflare account. The domain is still added, and you can point it manually.

## Step 4: Find your server's IP address

Skip this step and the next if Cloudflare created the record.

Click the domain in the list. Its page shows **DNS** as **Manual**, and the **DNS & HTTPS** card tells you which IP address the A record must point to.

## Step 5: Add the A record at your DNS provider

Sign in where your domain's DNS is managed, usually your registrar, and add this record:

| Type | Name | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A | `@` for the domain itself (`example.com`), or the part before the domain for a subdomain (`shop` for `shop.example.com`) | Your server's IP address |

If the same name already has an A or AAAA record that points somewhere else, such as your old host, delete it. Otherwise some visitors, and the certificate check, reach the old address.

DNS changes usually spread within minutes, but some providers take a few hours.

## Step 6: Wait for verification and HTTPS

Nuvlo checks pending domains every few minutes. Once the domain resolves to your server, its **Status** changes from **Pending** to **Active** and Nuvlo issues a free Let’s Encrypt certificate. The **HTTPS** column then reads **Let’s Encrypt**.

Opening the domain's page also runs a live check. If DNS isn't right yet, it tells you what it found, for example which address the domain resolves to instead.

![The Domains list with the new domain active and its HTTPS certificate issued](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/add-a-domain--active.webp)

## The www version of a domain

Each hostname is a separate domain in Nuvlo. `example.com` and `www.example.com` need their own A records.

- For an extra domain: if visitors should also reach the site on the www name, add `www.example.com` as another domain.
- For a WordPress site's main address: you choose between the plain name, www, or both when you create the site or change its domain. See [Change a site's domain](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/change-site-domain).
- For an application, PHP or static site's main address: open the main domain's menu, choose **www redirect** and pick the **Preferred hostname**. Visitors on the other name are redirected. Point both names at the server.

## Troubleshooting

- **The domain stays Pending.** Check that the A record points to the IP shown on the domain page and that no other A or AAAA record exists for the same name.
- **"Couldn’t verify DNS".** The domain is proxied through Cloudflare, which hides the server's address. Connect Cloudflare so Nuvlo can read the record, or use **Move DNS to Cloudflare** on the domain page.
- **HTTPS doesn't arrive.** Let’s Encrypt checks the domain over plain HTTP, so port 80 must be open on the server. After a failed attempt, Nuvlo tries again about every 30 minutes. See [Manage SSL certificates](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/ssl-certificates).

## Remove a domain

On [Domains](https://app.nuvlo.dev/dashboard/domains), open the domain's menu, choose **Remove domain** and confirm. Nuvlo removes it from the site's web server and, if Nuvlo manages its DNS in Cloudflare, from Cloudflare too. This can't be undone.

A site's main domain can't be removed this way. Change the site's domain instead, or delete the site.

---
Source: https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/add-a-domain