Add a Domain to Your InstaWP Studio Site
Every published site gets a free InstaWP address. You can also give it a domain of its own, such as yourbusiness.com, in InstaWP Studio (Beta). You can:
- buy a new domain
- use a domain your team already has on InstaWP
- connect a domain you registered somewhere else
The plan your site is on must allow a domain of its own. See Site Plans.
Buy a domain
You can buy a domain while you publish (in the Address step, click Find a domain), or later in Site details under Domain (click Buy a domain).
- Search for a name, for example
yournameoryourname.com. Each result shows its price for the first year and the yearly renewal price after that. Names that are not available are marked Taken. - Check the registrant details. Studio fills them in from your team or account. Click Edit to change them. Privacy protection is turned on where the domain ending allows it.
- Click Use {domain}.
- Confirm the purchase. In Site details the button reads Buy for $X. The domain renews yearly and is not refundable once registered.
If you chose the domain while publishing, it is bought only after the site is live.
Studio then registers the domain, points your site at it, and issues SSL. When it shows Connected:
- the domain is your site's main address, and the
wwwversion works too - your free InstaWP address keeps working
- auto-renew is on, and privacy protection is on where the domain ending allows it
Confirm the registrant email
For some domains, the registrar emails the registrant to confirm the email address. Confirm it within 15 days to keep the domain.
Use a domain your team already owns
In Site details, under Domain, each unused domain your team already owns on InstaWP has its own Use {domain} button. Click it, then click Use it to confirm. The domain becomes the site's main address, your InstaWP address keeps working, and there is no charge.
Connect a domain you already own
Connecting a domain you registered elsewhere (for example at GoDaddy, Namecheap or Cloudflare) is free. Your site must be live first.
- Open Site details and click Connect one you own.
- Enter your domain and click Continue.
Step 1: Show it is yours
At your domain registrar, add the TXT record Studio shows you:
- Host:
_instawp-verify - Value: the
instawp-domain-verification=…value shown on screen (use the copy buttons)
Then click Check the record. If Studio cannot find it yet, wait a few minutes and try again.
Step 2: Point it at InstaWP
At your registrar, replace the domain's nameservers with the ones Studio shows. Then click Check nameservers. This can take a few hours. For help with this step, see Update nameservers.
Move your other DNS records first
Once the nameservers point at InstaWP, InstaWP runs the domain's DNS. Any records you kept at your old registrar stop working until you add them on InstaWP, including email (MX) records. See Add and update DNS records.
Step 3: Your domain is active
When the checks pass, your site's address moves to your domain.
Studio checks every minute while the window is open. You can click Later and come back: Site details shows Finish connecting {domain} until it is done.
Manage your domain on InstaWP
DNS records, renewal, auto-renew and unlinking a domain are managed in the InstaWP dashboard. In Studio, click Manage on InstaWP. See:
If something goes wrong
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| The {plan} plan cannot use a domain of its own. Change the plan first. | Move the site to a plan that allows a domain, then try again. |
| Your bank asked to confirm this payment (3-D Secure), which Studio cannot show yet. | Nothing was registered. Buy the domain in the InstaWP dashboard (see Register a domain), then connect it from Site details. |
| InstaWP could not register {domain} | The payment is refunded. Try a different domain, or try again later. |
| The registration is taking longer than usual. | Registration carries on at InstaWP. Link the domain from Site details once it is ready. |