Overview
By default, your users point their domains to in.saascustomdomains.com. With Custom CNAMEs, they point them to a hostname on your own domain instead, such as cname.yourapp.com. Our name no longer shows up in their DNS settings or in the DNS instructions emails we send them.
How it works
You create one CNAME record on your own domain that points to in.saascustomdomains.com. Your users then point their domains to your hostname:
Who adds it | Type | Host | Value |
You, once | CNAME | cname.yourapp.com | in.saascustomdomains.com |
Your users | CNAME | app.customer.com | cname.yourapp.com |
Domain verification and SSL certificates work the same way through this chain. You also gain some flexibility: your users' records point at a name you control.
Setting it up
At your DNS provider, create a CNAME record for a hostname you own, for example cname.customer.com, pointing to in.saascustomdomains.com. If you use Cloudflare, set it to DNS only (grey cloud).
In SaaS Custom Domains, go to Settings → Accounts, open your account and click Edit Account. If you're on a personal account and don't see Edit Account, message us and we'll send you the link.
Under Custom CNAMEs, enter your hostname and click Add CNAME.
If you add more than one, click Set Primary on the one you want to use.
The primary CNAME replaces in.saascustomdomains.com in the DNS instructions in your dashboard and in the DNS instructions emails we send your users. Use the same hostname in your own app's setup instructions.
Root domains
Most DNS providers don't allow a CNAME on a root domain like customer.com, so your users still add our two A records for those: 75.2.96.173 and 99.83.186.151. Subdomains like app.customer.com can use your custom CNAME.
Removing a custom CNAME
Click the trash icon next to it. This only changes which hostname we show in DNS instructions. Domains already pointing at your hostname keep working as long as your own CNAME record to in.saascustomdomains.com stays in place, so don't delete that record while users still rely on it.
Until next time, keep building!
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