Step #1: Custom Domains and DNS Setting
Why do you need a Custom Domain?
A Custom Domain, simply put, allows your church to be found by your congregation and prospective visitors. It identifies your site, and makes it clear and easy for people to find your churches website. So if you want people to find your website, you'll need a Custom Domain.
Step #1: Purchasing a Custom Domain
There are many different places that you can purchase a domain from. The three we recommend:
If you need help picking a Custom Domain, don't worry, we've got you covered! Check out a podcast we did about this here.
Great News! If you already have a Custom Domain, there is no need to get a new one. You can point it to Nucleus!
Keep in mind...
- You can't buy a domain from Nucleus as we aren't domain registrars like GoDaddy, Google Domains or NameCheap. But we'll be more than happy to host it for you.
Step #1a: DNS Settings
Congrats! You are now the proud owner of a Custom Domain! But now what? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
Keep in mind...
- Your DNS Settings page might look a little different to ours depending on your registrar, but most domain registrars will have a similar dashboard, and A records are almost universal across all platforms.
The first step to configuring your custom domain, is to point your already purchased domain to the Nucleus IP using your domain's DNS settings.
Basically, this tells your domain registrar that you want your domain to point to your Nucleus.
To do this, login to your domain registrar and click on the DNS Settings tab of the domain you wish to use as your Nucleus custom domain.
From here, using the drop down menu, select 'A' from the available options - that's an A record.
From there, simply fill in the fields using the values listed below and click save (see screenshot for example):
- Host name = @
- IP address (value) = 159.89.233.110
- TTL (time to live) = as low as possible i.e. 600 seconds, 1m, etc.
Once you've added the A record, in the same way, create a CNAME record with the following information:
- Host name = www
- IP address (value) = @
- TTL (time to live) = as low as possible i.e. 600 seconds, 1m, etc.
Keep in mind...
- If your domain registrar doesn't accept the @ symbol, you can always type out your root domain (e.g. yourchurch.com) in its place.
When you're done it should look like this 👇
***If you had a previous A record pointing to another IP address, delete it***
A special note to those using Network Solutions
- If your domain's DNS records are being managed by Network Solutions, you'll actually want to create an A record instead of a CNAME record as shown above. The result will look like this 👇
Keep in mind...
- To ensure that your domains DNS settings have been properly configured, visit the website https://www.whatsmydns.net/. From here, enter your domain in the field provided and select 'A' from the drop down menu to signify 'A record'. Click the search button and whatsmydns.net will identify where your domain is currently pointed. You'll know your domain is correctly pointed at Nucleus if the values appear as 159.89.233.110 (see screenshot below for example).
Good job! Give yourself a pat on the back, as this was the hardest part, but we aren't done yet. Grab a drink, take five minutes and come back to complete Step #2.