Domain & DNS
Get your custom domain working with Vercel. From buying to HTTPS, this guide covers everything.
What you'll learn:
- Where to buy domains (and where NOT to)
- DNS basics in plain English
- Connecting domains to Vercel
- SSL certificates (automatic!)
Buy Your Domain
Recommended Registrars
Cloudflare
At-cost pricing. No markup. Best value.
~$10/year for .com
Namecheap
Great UI. Free privacy. Good prices.
~$12/year for .com
Vercel
Buy directly in Vercel. Zero config.
~$20/year for .com
Avoid These Registrars
- GoDaddy - Expensive renewals, aggressive upsells
- Google Domains - Sold to Squarespace, future uncertain
- Network Solutions - Overpriced, confusing interface
Understand DNS (60 seconds)
DNS is like the internet's phone book. It translates yoursite.com into an IP address like 76.76.21.21 that computers understand.
The only records you need to know:
Used for root domain: yoursite.com → 76.76.21.21
Used for subdomains: www.yoursite.com → cname.vercel-dns.com
Why does this matter?
When you add a domain in Vercel, it tells you exactly what DNS records to create. You just copy-paste the values into your registrar.
Add Domain to Vercel
Go to your project in Vercel
Dashboard → Select Project → Settings → Domains
Add your domain
Type yoursite.com and click Add.
Vercel shows you the DNS records
You'll see something like this:
| Type | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| A | @ | 76.76.21.21 |
| CNAME | www | cname.vercel-dns.com |
Configure DNS at Your Registrar
Go to your domain registrar (Cloudflare, Namecheap, etc.) and find the DNS settings. Add the records Vercel gave you.
Example: Cloudflare
- 1.Go to your domain in Cloudflare dashboard
- 2.Click "DNS" in the sidebar
- 3.Click "Add record"
- 4.Select Type: A, Name: @, IPv4: 76.76.21.21
- 5.Add another: Type: CNAME, Name: www, Target: cname.vercel-dns.com
- 6.Important: Set the proxy status to "DNS only" (gray cloud), not "Proxied"
DNS Propagation
DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate worldwide, but usually work within 5-30 minutes. Be patient!
Verify & Get Free SSL
Vercel verifies automatically
Once DNS propagates, Vercel will show a green checkmark next to your domain.
SSL is automatic
Vercel provisions a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate. Your site will have HTTPS with the padlock icon.
Test it!
Visit https://yoursite.com - it should load your Vercel project.
Setting Up Redirects
You probably want www.yoursite.com to redirect to yoursite.com (or vice versa).
In Vercel:
- 1. Go to Project → Settings → Domains
- 2. Add both
yoursite.comandwww.yoursite.com - 3. Click on the one you want to redirect FROM
- 4. Select "Redirect to [primary domain]"
Pro tip: Most sites use the non-www version (yoursite.com) as primary. It's shorter and cleaner.
Troubleshooting
"Invalid Configuration" in Vercel
DNS records aren't pointing to Vercel correctly.
Fix: Double-check your A and CNAME records. Make sure there are no conflicting records. Use dnschecker.org to verify propagation.
"SSL Certificate Error"
Vercel couldn't issue an SSL certificate.
Fix: If using Cloudflare, make sure proxy is OFF (gray cloud). SSL needs to be "DNS only" for Vercel to issue its own cert.
"Domain already in use"
Someone else added this domain to Vercel.
Fix: Verify ownership by adding a TXT record that Vercel provides. This proves you own the domain.
"It's been hours and still not working"
DNS propagation can be slow.
Fix: Try flushing your local DNS cache. On Mac: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache. On Windows: ipconfig /flushdns