Maintain your brand's experience by allowing members to land on your own custom subdomain! With any plan, you can point members directly to your personally branded community.
In this guide
Before you begin, ensure you have:
A Heartbeat community that is already set up.
Access to the admin dashboard of your Heartbeat community.
Access to your domain registrar (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains).
Root Domains vs. Subdomains
Root domain
Serves as the unique identifier that appears after the "@" symbol in email addresses and after "www." in web addresses. Some well-known examples of domains include heartbeat.chat and google.com.
Subdomain
Subdomains can be an extension of a primary domain, acting as a secondary domain. Subdomains appear to the left of the main domain name, helping organize different sections or functionalities of a website while remaining part of the primary domain. They serve as prefixes added to the root domain, creating distinct areas that can function independently or provide specific content without requiring a separate domain such as community.yoursite.com.
The table below provides examples of common domains, their related subdomains, and other web pages/domains that are not connected to the listed primary domains:
Root Domain | Subdomain |
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Domains help users easily identify and access websites, while subdomains provide a way to categorize and navigate to specific sections within those websites.
Choose whether you want to set your custom domain with a custom root domain or a custom sub-domain:
Click here to set up a Custom Root Domain (ex. yoursitename.com).
Click here to set up a Custom Sub-Domain (ex. community.yoursite.com).
Troubleshooting
Propagation Delay: DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate. If your custom domain is not working immediately, wait and try again later.
Incorrect DNS Settings: Double-check that your domain registrar has correctly set up the CNAME record.
Support: If you encounter issues, contact Heartbeat support for assistance.
Multiple IP on A records: If you have multiple IPs associated with the A record, then you’ll need to delete the non-Heartbeat one before moving forward.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How long does it take for DNS changes to propagate?
How long does it take for DNS changes to propagate?
DNS changes can take anywhere from immediately to a few minutes to propagate globally.
What should I do if my custom domain is not working?
What should I do if my custom domain is not working?
Double-check your DNS records for accuracy.
Ensure there are no typos in the domain names or IP addresses.
Verify that your DNS changes have fully propagated.
Contact Heartbeat.chat support for assistance if problems persist.
What happens if I change my domain registrar or DNS provider?
What happens if I change my domain registrar or DNS provider?
You will need to reconfigure your DNS records with the new provider to ensure your custom domain continues to point correctly to Heartbeat.chat.
Can I revert back to the default Heartbeat.chat domain?
Can I revert back to the default Heartbeat.chat domain?
Yes, you can always revert to the default Heartbeat.chat domain by removing or deactivating your custom domain settings in the Heartbeat.chat admin dashboard.