Domains and mail forwarding

Every site has a free address at yourname.sitehost.dev (site addresses). You can also put it on your own domain: connect one you already own, buy one in the studio, or transfer one in. For domains managed in the studio you can forward addresses to your inbox for free.

Connect a domain you own

1. Ask the assistant (“connect www.gracechurch.org to my site”) or, as an owner, use add_domain. Adding www.gracechurch.org also adds gracechurch.org (and the other way round).
2. At your DNS provider, add the records the studio shows you: www as a CNAME to sites.shermanwebdesign.com; the bare domain as an ALIAS / ANAME / flattened CNAME to the same target, plus a TXT record that proves ownership. If your DNS is on Cloudflare, set these records to DNS only (grey cloud).
3. We issue the HTTPS certificate automatically. check_domain (or the Domains section) shows when it's active.

The bare domain redirects to https://www.… with the same path. If your DNS provider has no ALIAS/ANAME, the bare domain stays pending (and free) and www still works. One host is your site's primary address (set_primary_domain); the others redirect to it, so search engines see one site.

Buy a domain in the studio

• Search with search_domains or the Domains section. The price is shown in credits before you buy, and buying always asks you to confirm. It's charged to the site's billing owner.
• Endings offered: .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .co, .io, .me, .xyz, .online, .site, .store, .shop, .studio, .design, .church, .life, .team, .club, .tech. One-year terms; premium names aren't offered.
• The registrar is Name.com; you are the registrant. WHOIS privacy is on, free. You'll get a verification email from Name.com: click it within 15 days or the domain stops working.
• It's set up for you: www. shows your site, the bare domain redirects to it.
• Renewal: about 30 days before it expires, the domain renews from your credits if your balance covers it (you can turn this off). After expiry you can still renew in the studio for 25 days.
• Registrations and renewals are non-refundable. You can get the transfer code at any time (after the 60-day lock that applies to new registrations and transfers).
• Transfers in: transfer_domain_in with your transfer code. The price is charged up front and refunded if the transfer fails or is cancelled.

Mail forwarding

For domains bought or transferred in through the studio (DNS at Name.com), you can forward an address to one outside inbox, e.g. office@gracechurch.org → you@gmail.com. Use the domain's Mail forwarding card, or create_mail_forward / delete_mail_forward (admins; always confirmed).

• Receive-only: replies come from the inbox's own address. To send as your domain, use your mail provider (and see Sending email).
• Up to 25 forwards per domain, one target per address, no catch-all.
• If the domain already receives mail somewhere else (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho…), forwarding is refused unless you choose to replace that setup, because it would take over all the domain's mail.
• Delivery can take up to 24 hours to start. Forwarding is free.

Price