> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.goosybear.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Your own domain

> Point your own domain at your site: the www record, what to do with the bare domain, and how Re-check finishes the connection.

Every site starts with a free address that always works. To have it answer on a
domain you own, open the site, choose **Site settings**, and under **Addresses**
use **Connect an address you own**. Type the domain — `example.com` or
`www.example.com`, either works — and press **Connect**.

Goosy Bear connects **both** halves for you: the bare domain (`example.com`)
and `www.example.com`. `www` is your site's main address, and the bare domain
sends visitors to it once it is active.

## The records to add

Add these at whoever manages your domain's DNS — usually where you bought the
domain, or a host such as Cloudflare or Vercel.

| Name | Type | Points at | Why |
| - | - | - | - |
| `www` | CNAME | `customers.goosydoes.com` | Your site's main address. A CNAME always activates. |
| `@` (the bare domain) | CNAME, only on Cloudflare DNS | `customers.goosydoes.com` | See [The bare domain](#the-bare-domain) — what works depends on where your DNS is hosted. |

The **Addresses** card shows every record your domain needs, each with its own
state, including a certificate record or a CAA record if your domain asks for
one. Copy the values from the card rather than from here.

## The bare domain

Most DNS providers do not allow a CNAME on the bare domain, so they offer a
stand-in with its own name:

* **Vercel DNS** — an ALIAS record
* **Amazon Route 53** — an alias record
* **Namecheap**, **GoDaddy** and many others — an ALIAS or ANAME record

These point the bare domain at our servers **without being a CNAME**, and a
domain connected that way cannot be activated: our certificate provider only
accepts a bare domain that is either a CNAME or hosted on Cloudflare. No extra
record changes that, so the **Addresses** card tells you instead of leaving you
waiting. You have two ways to finish:

1. **Move your domain's DNS to Cloudflare** (free). Cloudflare flattens a CNAME
   on the bare domain automatically
   ([CNAME flattening](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/cname-flattening/)),
   so add `@` as a CNAME to `customers.goosydoes.com` there. The bare domain then
   activates and redirects to `www`. Cloudflare's guide covers the move:
   [Add a site](https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/manage-domains/add-site/).
2. **Keep your DNS where it is and redirect the bare domain.** At your DNS
   provider or registrar, set a redirect (often called *forwarding*) from
   `example.com` to `https://www.example.com`. Your site lives on `www`, and
   anyone who types the bare domain lands there.

Either way, `www` works as soon as its CNAME is in place.

## Finishing the connection

After you add or change a record, press **Re-check** on the **Addresses** card.
Re-check asks for the domain to be verified straight away rather than on the
next scheduled pass, so a correct record usually turns the domain active
within minutes. The card also checks again on its own while it is open.

The steps on the card turn green in order: the record is found, the
certificate is issued, and the domain is ready. A ready domain serves your site
as soon as the site is published.

If the card says your domain currently resolves to a different address, the
record at your DNS provider points somewhere else — often a domain still
attached to another host keeps serving that host's records. Update the record
there, then press **Re-check**.