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Guide

Setting up your domain

Right now your app lives at an address like your-project.vercel.app. That works, but it does not look like yours. This guide walks you from that free address to a real one — like quizhelper.com — step by step, assuming you have never touched any of this before.

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Before you start: your app should already be deployed on Vercel. That is covered in Part 1. If pushing a change to GitHub updates your live .vercel.app site, you are ready for this guide.

What a domain actually is

A domain is just a name that points to where your app lives. The pointing is handled by a system called DNS — think of it as the internet's phone book. When someone types your domain into their browser, the phone book is checked: "quizhelper.com? That's over at Vercel." The browser then goes there.

Setting up a domain is exactly two jobs: 1) get a name (buy one, or use one you already own), and 2) add your entry to the phone book so the name points at Vercel. That second part means copying two short lines of text from Vercel into your domain provider's website. That is genuinely all it is.

Step 1: Get a name

Option A: Buy a new domain

You buy domains from a company called a registrar. Well-known ones include Namecheap, Cloudflare, and GoDaddy. Search for the name you want, pay, done. A typical .com costs about $10–20 per year — it is a subscription, not a one-time purchase.

Tip: skip the add-ons registrars try to sell at checkout. The only extra worth keeping is free "privacy protection," which most registrars now include by default.

Option B: Use a subdomain you already own

If you (or your department) already own a domain like mysite.com, you can put your app on a subdomain like quiz.mysite.com for free. Same steps as below — you just add the phone-book entry to the domain you already have.

If the domain belongs to your institution, you will need whoever manages it (usually IT) to add one record for you. Send them the record Vercel shows you in Step 2. That is all they need.

Step 2: Tell Vercel about your domain

  1. 1Go to vercel.com, open your project, and click Settings → Domains.
  2. 2Type your domain (for example quizhelper.com or quiz.mysite.com) and click Add.
  3. 3Vercel now shows you the exact record (or two) to add — each has a Type (usually "A" or "CNAME"), a Name, and a Value. Keep this page open. These are your phone-book entries.

Step 3: Add the records at your registrar

  1. 1Log in to the website where the domain lives (Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.) and find the DNS settings. It is usually called DNS, DNS Management, or Advanced DNS.
  2. 2Click Add Record and copy each record from the Vercel page exactly — same Type, same Name, same Value. Copy-paste rather than retyping; a single wrong character means it will not work.
  3. 3Save, then go back to the Vercel Domains page. When everything is connected, the warning next to your domain changes to a ✓. Vercel also creates the security certificate (the padlock in the browser) for you automatically — no extra steps.
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How long does it take? Phone-book updates spread across the internet gradually — this is called propagation. It often works within 5–30 minutes, but can take up to 48 hours. If it is not working after an hour, do not panic and do not keep changing the records — waiting is usually the fix. You can watch it spread at dnschecker.org — enter your domain and see which parts of the world can find it yet.

How to tell it worked

  • ✓ The Vercel Domains page shows a ✓ (no more "Invalid Configuration")
  • ✓ Typing your domain in a browser opens your app
  • ✓ The browser shows a padlock next to the address

If something goes wrong

Problem: Vercel says "Invalid Configuration" long after you added the records

How to fix it: Compare each record character by character against what Vercel shows — Type, Name, and Value. The most common culprits: a typo, an extra space pasted at the end, or the record added under the wrong name (e.g. "www" when Vercel asked for "@").

Problem: The domain works without "www" but not with it (or the other way round)

How to fix it: These are technically two different addresses, each needing its own record. On the Vercel Domains page, add both versions (yoursite.com and www.yoursite.com) — Vercel will show the record for each and redirect one to the other automatically.

Problem: The domain shows an old website or a parking page instead of your app

How to fix it: Your registrar probably has leftover records pointing somewhere else. In the DNS settings, delete any other A or CNAME records with the same Name as the ones Vercel gave you, but don't touch records of other types (like MX, which handles email).

Problem: It works on your phone but not your computer (or for a colleague but not you)

How to fix it: Your device is remembering an old phone-book answer. That is DNS caching, and it fixes itself. Wait a little, try a private/incognito window, or restart your browser. If dnschecker.org shows green ticks, the setup is correct and the stragglers will catch up.

Problem: The site loads but the browser warns the connection is not secure

How to fix it: The security certificate is usually created within minutes of the domain connecting, but it can lag behind. Give it up to an hour. If it persists, remove the domain from the Vercel Domains page and add it again. That re-triggers the certificate.

Still stuck? Ask the AI

Domain problems are very describable, which makes them perfect AI questions:

I am connecting a domain to a Vercel project and I am a beginner. My registrar is [name]. Vercel asked for these records: [paste them]. Here is what I added: [paste what you entered]. The domain currently shows: [what you see]. What should I check?

And that is it. The first time takes half an hour of nervous double-checking; the second time takes five minutes. Your app now lives at an address you chose. That is a real, grown-up piece of internet infrastructure, and you set it up yourself.
Next guide: Tools glossary →