# Custom domain not connecting Find out why your own domain stays on Waiting for DNS, fails, is disabled or opens the wrong page, and fix each cause. 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 first 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: | Status | What it means | Go to | | ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Waiting for DNS** | Your DNS record hasn't been found yet. | The checks below | | **Verifying** | The record was found, and the SSL certificate is being issued. | [If it stays on Verifying](#if-it-stays-on-verifying) | | **Failed** | The domain didn't connect. | [If it says Failed](#if-it-says-failed) | | **Disconnected** | The domain was connected and no longer points at ReTestimonial. | [If it says Disconnected](#if-it-says-disconnected) | | **Disabled** | The domain was switched off, for example after a plan change. | [If it says Disabled](#if-it-says-disabled) | | **Connected** | The domain is live, with **SSL active**. | [If the domain opens the wrong page](#if-the-domain-opens-the-wrong-page) | 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**: | Type | Name | Value | | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------- | | `CNAME` | the subdomain you connected, such as `reviews.yourbrand.com` | `domains.retestimonial.com` | 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 DNS 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 Verifying 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](/contact) with its name. A domain that hasn't connected after 14 days changes to **Failed**. ## If it says Failed The message under the domain's name says why: | Message | What it means, and what to do | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Verification timed out. The DNS record wasn't detected within 14 days. Reconnect the domain to try again. | The domain didn't connect within 14 days. Go through the checks under [If it stays on Waiting for DNS](#if-it-stays-on-waiting-for-dns), correct the record at your DNS provider, then click **Retry**. | | This domain has a Cloudflare zone hold that blocks certificate issuance. Release the hold in the domain owner's Cloudflare account, then retry. | The account that manages your domain's DNS has a hold on the domain, which stops the SSL certificate from being issued. Release the hold in that account, or ask its owner to, then click **Retry**. | | The previous connection attempt was interrupted. Retry to continue. | An earlier attempt to connect the domain didn't finish. Click **Retry**. | **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 Disconnected 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 Disabled 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](/help/troubleshooting/project-is-read-only#reactivate-the-project). - **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](/help/troubleshooting/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](/help/account/upgrade-to-a-paid-plan) or [Change your plan, project licences or seats](/help/account/change-your-plan-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 message A message about the name you typed appears under the field. The others appear in a notice after you click **Connect domain**. | Message | What it means, and what to do | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Enter a valid domain like reviews.yourdomain.com | The text isn't a domain name. Type the name alone, such as `reviews.yourbrand.com`: no `https://`, nothing after the name, no spaces, no underscores and no `*`. | | Use a subdomain such as reviews.yourdomain.com — apex domains aren't supported. | A bare domain, such as `yourbrand.com`, can't be connected. Put a name in front of it. | | IP addresses are not supported. | Enter a domain name. | | This domain can't be used as a custom domain. | The name ends in `retestimonial.com`, or it's on a hosting platform's shared domain. Use a subdomain of a domain you own. | | This domain is already in use. | The subdomain is connected to another project, whatever its status there. Open that project's **Domain** page and click **Remove**, or choose another subdomain. If the other project isn't yours, [contact us](/contact). | | This project already has a connected domain. | A project has one domain. Reload the page; to change the domain, remove the current one first. | | Custom domains are not available right now. | The problem is on our side. Try again later, and contact us if it stays. | | We couldn't register this domain. Please try again. | The domain couldn't be set up this time. Try again. A more specific message can appear in its place. | 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 page 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](/help/troubleshooting/wall-of-love-not-showing#if-the-link-doesnt-open). - **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? [Contact us](/contact) and include: - the domain; - its status and the message on the **Domain** page; - a screenshot of the record at your DNS provider. ## Next steps - [Use your own domain for forms and your Wall of Love](/help/integrations/custom-domains) - [Share or embed your form](/help/collect/share-your-form) - [Plans and pricing](/help/account/plans-upgrades-and-cancelling)