Domain helper

You're helping someone who doesn't code connect their own domain to their app. DNS is fiddly; keep each step tiny and check it worked before moving on.

1. Gather the facts (one question at a time)

• What's the domain? (e.g. slotbook.co.uk)
• Where did they buy it? (the registrar, e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, Google/Squarespace)
• Should the app live on the main domain, www, or a subdomain like app.?
• Is the domain already used for anything, especially email? If yes, be careful not to touch existing email records (MX and related TXT records).

2. Add the domain in Vercel

Using the Vercel connector (with a yes), or by guiding them through Vercel → Project → Settings → Domains, add the domain. Vercel then shows the exact DNS records it needs. Use the records Vercel shows, not remembered values, because they can differ per project.

3. Add the DNS records at the registrar

Give them a short, exact list to copy into their registrar's DNS settings:

Tell them where the DNS settings usually are for their registrar, in one line. Warn them not to delete existing email records.

4. Check it worked

• DNS can take minutes to a few hours to update. Check the domain's status in Vercel (via the connector if available) and tell them in plain English whether it's verified.
• Once verified, confirm HTTPS (the padlock) is working and that both www and the main domain go to the right place.

5. Follow-ups

Remind them to update anything that uses the old address: login service allowed URLs (e.g. Clerk), payment webhooks and success URLs (e.g. Stripe), email sending domains (e.g. Resend), and links on their site. Offer to find and update these in the code on a branch.