The Deployer documentation
Creating & deploying a project

Connecting a custom domain

By default your app gets a working web address from your cloud provider — but you'll probably want your own domain, like myapp.com. The Domains step connects it, and The Deployer does the fiddly parts for you. This step is optional: skip it and your app still goes live on its default address.

Custom domains are included with the Pro and Team plans. On the Free plan your app is served at its provider address instead. A domain that is already connected keeps working on any plan, and it stays in place every time you redeploy.

Two words you'll see

  • DNS is the internet's address book — it turns a domain name like myapp.com into the location of your actual server.
  • Nameservers are the specific servers that hold your domain's address book entries. Pointing your domain "here" means telling it to use your cloud's nameservers.

You won't need to understand these deeply — the app walks you through it and checks the result for you.

Connecting your domain, step by step

  1. Open the Domains tab and tick Use a custom domain for this deployment.
  2. Choose your domain:
    • If you already have a hosted zone (a domain set up) in your cloud account, pick it from the dropdown.
    • To bring a brand-new domain, choose ➕ Set up a new domain, type it in (e.g. myapp.com), and click Create hosted zone.
  3. The app creates a hosted zone for your domain inside your own cloud DNS — this is where your domain's records will live.
  4. It detects your registrar — the company you bought the domain from — automatically, and shows you exactly which nameservers to set, with a Copy all button and a handy link to your registrar's settings page.
  5. Point your nameservers, one of two ways:
    • Guided: copy the nameservers shown and paste them into your registrar's settings yourself (the Resources links below have step-by-step how-tos and a video for this).
    • Automated: for supported registrars, paste an access token and click Update nameservers automatically — the app makes the change for you. This is best-effort and never required.
  6. Verify it's live. The app watches for the change to take effect and shows a live status: Waiting for nameservers to propagate… until it flips to a green Verified — your domain points here. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours — that's normal for DNS, and you can leave and come back.

Pointing services at subdomains

Once your domain is connected, you'll see your app's services listed so you can choose the web address for each:

  • Use @ for the root domain (myapp.com) — www. is handled automatically, so both open.
  • Or set a subdomain like app to get app.myapp.com.

Click Save domains & continue when you're set. If leftover records from an earlier attempt are in the way, the app shows them and lets you clear them in a couple of clicks before continuing.

On AWS, it's fully automatic

If your cloud is AWS, connecting a custom domain is completely hands-off once your nameservers point in: The Deployer requests the security certificate (for HTTPS), wires your domain to the content delivery network, and creates all the records for you. Other providers are supported too, with the same guided flow.

Adding extra domains to a live app

Already live and want to point another domain at the same app — without disturbing the first? Scroll to Attached domains and click Add another domain. New domains are added alongside your existing one: your original address keeps working exactly as before. Each attached domain shows its status (live or pending), and you can detach any of them later. You can even set one up to send email from that domain — see sending email.

Skipping domains

Not ready for a custom domain? Click Skip — use IP addresses (or Continue to launch). Your app deploys on its default cloud address, and you can connect a domain any time later. When you're ready to deploy, head to launching & reading the logs.

Learn more

For registrar-specific instructions on changing nameservers, plus what a DNS A record and a nameserver are, see the Resources links below on this page — they include verified how-to guides and a short video.