Connect a domain to your website, without skipping the checks

By Onelios · Reviewed October 3, 2026

A domain is the address people type; hosting serves the website at that address. Onelios can build and host your site without you buying a domain. Connecting an address you own is free right now, but your registrar still charges separately for buying and renewing it.

1. Which situation are you in?

2. Read the DNS records before changing them

DNS is the set of records that directs visitors and email to the right services. Onelios shows three records for the address you enter. The TXT record proves control of that address. A whole domain such as example.co.uk uses an A record for hosting; a subdomain such as new.example.co.uk uses a CNAME to the exact hosting target in your dashboard. A second website record sets up the www companion. Both website addresses must pass the checks.

These examples show names only. Copy the actual IP address, hosting target and unique verification value from your own dashboard. The table below intentionally contains no reusable production values.

If your provider automatically appends the zone name, enter only the part before it. In the example.co.uk zone, the CNAME for new.example.co.uk uses new, not @. Check the final full name shown by your provider matches the dashboard.

Separately delegated subdomain? If new.example.co.uk has its own DNS zone, that exact address is the zone's root and cannot use an ordinary CNAME. Use the dashboard's supported A-record alternative at @, keeping the ownership TXT and www CNAME. Existing working A-based subdomain connections also remain supported. Do not add A and CNAME records at the same name or replace a working connection just to follow the recommendation.

Protect your email and other services. Keep nameservers, MX records, existing email-verification TXT records and unrelated addresses unchanged. Add the new ownership TXT record separately. If an existing record uses the same name, or an email service depends on that address, ask your DNS provider before replacing it. IPv6 addresses supplied through the recommended CNAME are managed by the host. Do not remove an unfamiliar separate IPv6/AAAA record to make a check pass; contact support.

3. If a website already exists, make a move plan

Entering a domain in Onelios does not import its existing website. Changing its website DNS records sends visitors to the new hosting; it does not copy a shop, database, customer login, files or backend. Check what Onelios supports before replacing those services.

1. Keep a copy and a way back. Save the old DNS values, important pages, photos and downloads. Keep the old hosting available while you test.
2. Try an unused subdomain first. Check the new site there, including every service page and form, without changing the current website's address.
3. List the old links customers already use. For example, /services/lawn-care may not match the new /lawn-care page. Onelios currently has no owner tool for mapping old URLs to redirects. Resolve important unmatched addresses with support or your existing provider before switching.
4. Choose when to switch and check again afterward. DNS updates are not immediate, so different visitors may briefly reach different hosting. Keep the old setup available until you have checked the transition; no zero-downtime or ranking-preservation promise applies.

Google's site-move guidance explains preparing URL mappings, redirects and monitoring. A DNS connection alone does not complete that work.

4. Know when the connection is ready

The open domain screen checks every 30 seconds for up to ten minutes while setup is pending. This is a check interval, not a completion promise. DNS may take longer; use Verify my records again when needed.

Open both secure addresses

Check the connected hostname and its www companion. Neither should show a certificate warning or someone else's website.

Check a phone and a service page

Confirm the correct business name, contact details, photos and service content. Open pages directly, not only from the homepage.

Test an inquiry and check the inbox

Submit a clearly labeled test request and confirm it appears in your dashboard. Check the notification email separately; provider acceptance does not prove delivery. Test appointment requests only after saving availability.

Check business email separately

Send and receive a test through your existing email service. The website connection does not create a mailbox or replace your email provider.

5. Keep your website's search identity separate

Your business pages use your business identity and their own canonical addresses. They are excluded from Onelios's marketing sitemap. On a live, verified custom domain, /sitemap.xml lists your homepage and published service pages. Free Onelios addresses stay noindex and have no indexable pages in their customer sitemap.

Public, verified and indexed mean different things. Public means someone can open the address. Domain verification confirms the connection checks; Search Console verification confirms Google-account ownership. Neither makes Google index a page. See Google's noindex explanation.

1. After your custom domain works, open Domain → Google Search Console in the Onelios dashboard. Copy the Exact property URL.
2. In your own Google Search Console account, add that exact URL prefix property and choose HTML tag.
3. Copy only the code inside the tag's content quotes into Google verification code in Onelios. Select Save verification code, then return to Google and choose Verify.
4. Open your domain's /sitemap.xml, check its URLs and submit it in that Search Console property. Use Google's reports to check indexing and search performance.

A Google Domain property instead uses DNS verification at your provider; see Google's ownership instructions. The shared /s/ address does not have a separate verification setting in Onelios. Free subdomain verification becomes available only after that hosting rollout is enabled, and verification still does not remove noindex.

Onelios adds the saved ownership code; it does not request indexing, import Google rankings or run your Google account. Keep the code saved. Changing or removing the connected domain clears it, so check verification again after an address change. The customer dashboard's activity counts are separate from Google Search Console reports and Onelios's own marketing analytics.

6. Fix the specific check that failed

Need help with a connection? Contact Onelios with the address and the status you see. Still building? Return to the AI website walkthrough.