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How to Map a custom domain to InstaWP Site

Domain mapping allows you to connect your custom-branded domain to your InstaWP site, replacing the automatically generated domain with one that represents your brand. This makes your website easier to recognize, remember, and access.

This feature is available in paid plans only. View Pricing here. If you are not logged in, use this link to view pricing.

In this documentation, we will be elaborating on the steps you need to follow in order to map or redirect www and non-www versions of your domain.

Mapping a Domain at InstaWP

Step 1: To start the domain mapping process for a site, you need to identify the specific site from the list on the Sites page. Once the site is identified, click on the horizontal ellipsis button and select the Map Domain option. It'll take you to the map domain page of the site.

Step 2: Click the Map Domain button from the page. A modal window will appear.

Step 3: Enter a custom domain name, decide whether to designate the domain as 'Primary' or 'Alias', copy the provided CNAME records and add them into your DNS record settings.

The primary domain is your main website address, while the alias domain is an additional domain that redirects to the primary one. For example, if 'example.com' is your primary domain, you could set 'example.net' as an alias domain that redirects visitors to 'example.com'.

Step 4: Go to the domain registrar panel (such as Namecheap) and create a CNAME record to map a domain of your site. To do that proceed to Records page and click Add Record.

Step 5: Add the CNAME record for the domain and click on Save.

To point your domains to your InstaWP site, set @ for the root domain and www for the main subdomain with your InstaWP hostname (e.g., your-site-name-instawp.site) as the Target/Value, and for any additional subdomains, use the subdomain name as the Name/Host with the same InstaWP hostname as the Target/Value.

Step 6: After adding CNAME record, go to map domain page and click on the Map Domain button from the modal window. This will complete your domain mapping to the site.

Once done, it'll show a domain mapping initiated message on the to right corner of the page.

Mapping Root Domain Using ANAME/ ALIAS Record

If your domain registrar does not allow adding a CNAME record for the root domain but supports ANAME or ALIAS records, this provides an alternative way to point your root domain to your InstaWP site. Since InstaWP uses a CDN with dynamic IPs (which can change frequently), a fixed IP cannot be used. ANAME/ALIAS records ensure your domain always points to the correct hostname, keeping your site accessible without interruptions.

Steps to add an ALIAS/ANAME record

Step 1: Go to your domain registrar’s DNS management panel and Choose to add a new record.

Step 2: Select ALIAS or ANAME as the record type, enter your root domain (@) in the Name/Host field, and paste your InstaWP hostname (e.g., your-site-name-instawp.com) in the Target/Value field.

Step 3: Save the record.

Step 4: After adding ANAME/ ALIAS record, go to map domain page on InstaWP Dashboard and click on the Map Domain button from the modal window. This will complete your domain mapping to the site.

This method ensures that both your root domain and subdomains always point to the correct InstaWP site, even when behind a CDN with dynamic IPs, keeping your site accessible without interruptions.

Mapping Root Domain to InstaWP Using Cloudflare DNS Manager

If your domain registrar does not allow adding a CNAME or ANAME record for the root domain, you can use Cloudflare’s DNS Manager to map your root domain to your InstaWP site. This ensures proper connectivity even when a fixed IP cannot be used due to a CDN or dynamic IPs.

Step 1: Create a free Cloudflare account and add your domain. Then, update your domain’s nameserver at your registrar to point to Cloudflare. You can follow this documentation for detailed instructions on adding a domain to Cloudflare.

Step 2: Once the domain is pointed to the Cloudflare, To start the domain mapping process for a site, you need to identify the specific site from the list on the Sites page. Once the site is identified, click on the horizontal ellipsis button and select the Map Domain option. It'll take you to the map domain page of the site.

The user can also navigate to the map domain option by directly clicking on the staging site and selecting the map domain option.

Step 2: Click the Map Domain button from the page. A modal window will appear.

Step 3: Enter a custom domain name, decide whether to designate the domain as 'Primary' or 'Alias', copy the provided CNAME records and integrate them into your DNS record settings.

Step 4: Go to the Cloudflare DNS Manager and create a CNAME record to map the root level domain and www domain of your site. To do that proceed to DNS > Records page and click Add Record.

Step 5: Add the CNAME record and click Save.

It'll be displayed on the recorded list once it's added

You need to enter your site domain name and paste the copied hostname in the “Name” & “Target” fields respectively. For example, “www or @” as a subdomain for the host field & “your-site-name-instawp.xyz” that you copied as a domain name for the value field.

Step 6: After adding CNAME record, go to map domain page and click on the Map Domain button from the modal window. This will complete your domain mapping to the site.

Once done, it'll show a confirmation message on the to right corner of the page.

Enable/Disable Proxy

Using Cloudflare, the proxies redirect traffic through Cloudflare's network and protect your website from DDOS attacks, SQL injection, and spam comments. Once you've mapped a custom domain to your staging site, you can also enable the proxy afterwards, or if you want to disable it, follow the below steps demonstration below.

Go to DNS Records page, toggle of the switch of Proxy Status and click Save.

Updated on: 12/11/2025

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