Custom domain not connecting

When a domain you connected to a project doesn't reach Connected, its status on the Domain page, and the message under it, say what's wrong. Custom domains are on Pro, Premium and Business, and the workspace owner and the project's Admins can open the page.

While a domain isn't connected, links on it don't work. Your forms and Walls of Love stay available at their retestimonial.com addresses, and the links you copy in the dashboard use those addresses.

Check this firstCopy Anchor Link

Open the project, click the gear icon (Project Settings) next to its name at the bottom of the sidebar, then click Domain. The badge beside your domain's name is its status:

A domain that's Waiting for DNS needs one record at your DNS provider. The page shows it, marked Required — points your domain at us:

Compare it with the record saved at your DNS provider:

• Type is CNAME.
• Name is the subdomain you connected. Some DNS providers want only the first part (reviews) and add the rest themselves.
• Value is exactly what the page shows. Use the copy buttons beside Name and Value instead of typing.
• The record is saved where your domain's DNS is managed, which isn't always the company you bought the domain from.

Records marked Optional aren't needed. If your DNS provider can proxy the record, either setting works; "DNS only" is the simplest.

Then give it time. DNS changes can take up to an hour to spread. ReTestimonial checks a waiting domain every few minutes, and once more when you open the Domain page. To check right away, click Check status. It answers "Your domain is connected." or "Not connected yet. DNS changes can take up to an hour."

Once the record is found, the status moves to Verifying, then to Connected, and you get a notification.

If it stays on Waiting for DNSCopy Anchor Link

A domain can wait for 14 days before it changes to Failed. If the record matches and the domain is still waiting after an hour, check these:

• Your domain has a two-part ending, such as .co.uk or .com.au. Connect a subdomain, such as reviews.yourbrand.co.uk. The bare domain (yourbrand.co.uk) isn't supported. For the common endings the field refuses it and names the subdomain to use. If yours was accepted anyway, it usually waits here until it fails: click Remove, then Remove domain, and connect the subdomain.
• The record is for another name. The name on the Domain page and the record's name have to be the same. Correct the record, or remove the domain and connect the name you used.
• The subdomain still has an older record. If it pointed at another service before, replace that record with the CNAME instead of adding a second one.

If it stays on VerifyingCopy Anchor Link

The SSL certificate for your domain is being issued. Leave the CNAME record as it is: nothing else is needed from you, and the status moves to Connected when the certificate is ready. Check status asks for the certificate to be checked again, at most once every couple of minutes.

If the domain is still Verifying a day later, contact us with its name. A domain that hasn't connected after 14 days changes to Failed.

If it says FailedCopy Anchor Link

The message under the domain's name says why:

Retry connects the same domain again: its status goes back to Waiting for DNS, and the 14 days start over. To use a different subdomain, click Remove, then Remove domain, and connect the new one.

If it says DisconnectedCopy Anchor Link

The message reads "Your domain is no longer connected. The DNS record may have been changed or removed. Reconnect it to restore your custom domain."

A connected domain is checked again about once a day, and this one no longer points at ReTestimonial. Links on it don't work until it's connected again.

Put the CNAME record back at your DNS provider, then click Retry. The page shows the record again while the domain goes through Waiting for DNS and Verifying.

If it says DisabledCopy Anchor Link

A disabled domain serves none of your pages, and it stays off until you switch it on again. The page says "This domain was disabled. Re-enable it to reconnect and re-issue the certificate."

Fix what disabled it first:

• Your plan no longer includes custom domains. The page shows an upgrade card, and the domain has no Re-enable button. Move to Pro, Premium and Business. Upgrading doesn't switch the domain back on by itself.
• The project is read-only. A project beyond your plan's project licences is read-only. Its public pages stay live for up to 30 days, and its domain is disabled when that time ends. Reactivate it first: see Project is read-only.
• A payment failed. The Payment recovery required notice on Billing gives the date your widgets and walls stay protected until. After it, the domain is disabled. Click Update payment method. See Payment failed.
• A removal didn't finish. You saw "Couldn't fully release the domain. It's been disabled and cleanup will retry shortly." The removal is tried again on its own, so there's nothing to do.

For the billing steps, see Upgrade to a paid plan or Change your plan, project licences or seats.

Then open the Domain page and click Re-enable. The domain starts again at Waiting for DNS. It needs the same record as before, so if the CNAME is still at your DNS provider, there's nothing to add. If Re-enable answers that the project or the workspace is read-only, the cause isn't fixed yet.

If Connect domain shows a messageCopy Anchor Link

A message about the name you typed appears under the field. The others appear in a notice after you click Connect domain.

Any other message is a passing problem: try again in a moment. If it keeps coming back, contact us.

If the domain opens the wrong pageCopy Anchor Link

A connected domain serves one project's public pages, at the addresses listed under it on the Domain page:

• /: the project's default collection form;
• / followed by a form's slug: that form;
• /love/ followed by a Wall of Love's slug: that wall.

When the page isn't the one you expected:

• The domain itself opens a form, not your Wall of Love. The address with nothing after it is always the default form. Copy a wall's address with Copy link, under Share in the wall builder's top bar.
• It says "No Form Available". The project's default form is paused. Open it from Forms, click its status badge and choose Activate form, or choose Set as Default in another form's menu on the Forms page.
• It shows a page-not-found error. Nothing in this project has that address. Check for a typing mistake, a form or wall that belongs to another project, a paused form or a wall that's still a draft. /love with no wall slug after it isn't a page either. See Wall of Love not showing on your website.
• Your own website no longer opens there. A connected subdomain shows only your ReTestimonial pages. If you connected one your site uses, such as www, click Remove, put your site's record back at your DNS provider, and connect a subdomain you don't use for anything else.
• A share page or widget still has a retestimonial.com address. That's expected: testimonial share pages and widget embed codes don't use your domain.

Still not connecting?Copy Anchor Link

Contact us and include:

• the domain;
• its status and the message on the Domain page;
• a screenshot of the record at your DNS provider.

Next stepsCopy Anchor Link

• Use your own domain for forms and your Wall of Love
• Share or embed your form
• Plans and pricing