---
title: "Use your own domain"
description: "Show your Matchai Site at an address you own. Buy a new domain or connect yours, add one record, and choose the address visitors see."
last_updated: "2026-10-21"
lang: "en"
status: "beta"
canonical: "https://matchai.co/docs/guide/online-presence/custom-domain"
---

# Use your own domain

> Show your Matchai Site at an address you own. Buy a new domain or connect yours, add one record, and choose the address visitors see.

**In closed beta. This feature is open to a small group of professionals while we finish it, so it may change. It is coming to every account.**

Source: https://matchai.co/docs/guide/online-presence/custom-domain

Your site always has its free Matchai address, such as `jane.matchai.co`. With the custom domain add-on, it can also answer at an address you own, such as `listings.yourcompany.com` or `yourcompany.com`.

If the window says **Custom domains aren't switched on yet**, the add-on is not available on your account yet. Your site keeps working on its Matchai address.

## What it costs [#what-it-costs]

Two separate things, billed by two separate companies:

| | Who charges | Price |
|---|---|---|
| **Custom domain add-on** | Matchai | Free for the first 30 days, then $50 a month |
| **Domain name** | The company you buy the domain from | Their price. You renew it with them each year |

Matchai shows both lines before any button that leads to a payment, so you know what you are agreeing to. If you connect a domain you already own, you keep paying for it where you bought it, as you do today.

Once the add-on is active, it appears in **Settings → Billing**, under **Subscriptions**, with the date of your next charge or the end of your free trial.

<Callout title="Why it works this way">
The add-on is what Matchai charges to serve your site on your own address. The domain name is something you own, registered in your name, with the company that sold it to you. Keeping the two apart means your domain stays yours whatever you decide about Matchai.
</Callout>

## Start the add-on [#start-the-add-on]

<Steps>
<Step>
Open **Settings → My site**. Under **Your own domain**, select the **Custom domain** row.
</Step>
<Step>
Read what the add-on includes and what it costs, then choose **Start the free trial**.
</Step>
<Step>
Complete the checkout. Back in Matchai, the window moves on to **Add your own web address**.
</Step>
</Steps>

**Already paid but still asked to start the trial?** Choose **Already paid? Check again**. Matchai checks for your payment and continues if it finds it.

## Choose how to get your domain [#choose-how-to-get-your-domain]

Under **Add your own web address**, you have two choices.

- **Buy a new domain.** Search for a name and buy it without leaving Matchai. Matchai points it at your site and secures it for you, so there is nothing else to set up.
- **Connect a domain you already own.** Point a domain you own at your site. It stays registered where it is.

### Buy a new domain [#buy-a-new-domain]

<Steps>
<Step>
Choose **Buy a new domain**.
</Step>
<Step>
Search for a name, then complete the purchase in the window that opens.
</Step>
<Step>
Matchai confirms with **Domain bought. We are pointing it at your site now.** The domain's status moves to **Live** on its own once it is ready.
</Step>
</Steps>

If Matchai says it couldn't load the domain shop, an ad blocker is often the cause. Pause it for this page and try again.

If **Buy a new domain** says buying isn't switched on yet, connect a domain you own instead.

### Connect a domain you already own [#connect-a-domain-you-already-own]

<Steps>
<Step>
Choose **Connect a domain you already own**.
</Step>
<Step>
Under **How would you like to connect it?**, choose **Connect manually**. **Quick connect**, which would add the record for you, is marked **Feature planned**.
</Step>
<Step>
Under **Your domain**, type the address without `https://`, for example `listings.yourcompany.com`. Then choose **Connect domain**.
</Step>
<Step>
Matchai shows **Add the record**, with the exact record to create. Sign in where you manage your domain, open its DNS settings, and add the record as shown. Each field has a copy button.
</Step>
<Step>
Wait. Matchai checks on its own and switches your site over as soon as the record works. You can close the page.
</Step>
</Steps>

A subdomain such as `listings.yourcompany.com` is the simplest to set up, and nothing else about your domain changes. A plain `yourcompany.com` works too. For that one, Matchai also suggests a second record under **Also recommended: make www work**, so `www.yourcompany.com` reaches your site as well. Your site works without it.

### Fill in the record [#fill-in-the-record]

The record has four fields. Your domain provider usually shows them in the same order.

| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| **Type** | Choose it from the list of record types your provider shows. |
| **Name** | Only the part that comes before your domain, such as `listings`. For a plain domain it is `@`, meaning the root of your domain. Some providers want it left blank instead, and some want the domain typed out in full. |
| **Value** | Where the record points. Paste it exactly, with nothing added. |
| **TTL** | How long the record is remembered. Leave whatever your provider fills in. |

When Matchai recognises your domain provider, it names it and gives you a link straight to its DNS settings. Otherwise, look for a section called DNS, Name servers or Advanced DNS.

Changes usually show up within a few minutes. Some providers take a few hours.

## Follow your domain's status [#follow-your-domains-status]

The **Custom domain** row in **Settings → My site** shows where your domain stands.

| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| **Checking DNS** | Matchai has not seen your record yet. | Add the record exactly as shown, then wait. |
| **Wrong record** | Your domain answers, but it points somewhere else. | Check that the value matches exactly, and delete any older record with the same name. |
| **Securing** | The address works. Matchai is issuing its security certificate, usually in under a minute. | Nothing. |
| **Live** | Your site is serving on this domain. | Nothing. |
| **Needs attention** | Something went wrong with this domain. | Choose **Check now**. If it keeps failing, remove the domain and contact us. |
| **Ended** | The add-on has ended, so your site is back on its Matchai address. | Start the add-on again to bring the domain back. |

Matchai checks often at first, then less often. After a while it stops and says so. Once your record is in place, choose **Check now** to look again straight away.

## Choose the address visitors see [#choose-the-address-visitors-see]

When your domain is **Live**, it becomes your site's address. Your Matchai address keeps working and sends visitors to your domain, so no old link breaks.

You can switch back at any time. Under **Site address**, choose between **Your own domain** and **Your Matchai address**. The one marked **In use** is what visitors see, what you share and what search engines show. The other one redirects to it.

Switching to your Matchai address asks you to confirm with **Use your matchai.co address instead?**. Links to your domain then send visitors to your Matchai address, and nothing breaks. Search engines can take a few weeks to show the change. Your domain stays connected, and the add-on keeps billing. Choose **Use matchai.co address** to confirm.

<Callout title="Why it works this way">
Your Matchai address never goes away, whichever address you choose. It is a backup that always works: while your domain is being set up, if the add-on ends, or if you remove the domain, visitors still reach your site. That is also why switching between the two addresses only redirects links and never breaks them.
</Callout>

## If the add-on ends [#if-the-add-on-ends]

When you cancel, or a payment does not go through, Matchai shows **Your custom domain plan has ended** in the domain window. Your domain keeps working until the end of the period you paid for.

After that, your site goes back to its Matchai address and the domain's status becomes **Ended**. Visitors who use your domain are sent to your Matchai address. Your domain stays registered in your name. To bring it back, start the add-on again.

## Remove your domain [#remove-your-domain]

<Steps>
<Step>
In **Settings → My site**, select the **Custom domain** row, then choose **Remove domain**.
</Step>
<Step>
Read **Remove this domain?**, then choose **Remove domain**.
</Step>
</Steps>

Your site goes back to its Matchai address right away. Links to your domain stop working until you connect it again. You keep the domain: this only stops Matchai from using it.

## Cancel the add-on [#cancel-the-add-on]

Open **Settings → Billing** and choose **Open billing portal** to cancel the add-on. It keeps working until the end of the period you paid for.

If you no longer want the domain itself, cancel it with the company you bought it from. Otherwise it keeps renewing.

<Cards>
  <Card title="Your Matchai Site" href="https://matchai.co/docs/guide/online-presence/matchai-site">
    Create, publish and share your site.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Energy and billing" href="https://matchai.co/docs/guide/energy-and-billing">
    Your subscriptions, invoices and payment methods.
  </Card>
</Cards>

## Sitemap

- [Every page of Matchai Docs](https://matchai.co/docs/sitemap.md)
- [llms.txt](https://matchai.co/docs/llms.txt)