You can use an existing domain name with your Shopify store but you have to set it up first. Here we look at how to connect your existing domain name to your Shopify online store.
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Using An Existing Domain Name For Your Shopify Store
Your domain name is the name of your website. By default, your store is created as a subdomain under the Shopify Domain. You need to purchase a Top-Level Domain for your store, either from Shopify or through a third party domain name provider like GoDaddy.
Choose a good domain name and register a name with the .com extension, as the first choice. You can buy additional domain names with other relevant extensions like .shop, .info etc. If you haven’t bought the domain name through Shopify, you need to configure the domain name records to connect it with your Shopify store. Domain names bought from Shopify are automatically set up to connect with your Shopify store.
Connecting the Third Party Domain to Shopify
If you choose to connect the domain name to Shopify, the domain name records and the domain management all remain with the third-party domain name provider. The domain records just point to your Shopify store. You will need to use the domain name provider admin panel to manage the settings.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to connecting your existing domain name to Shopify:
Add The Domain Name To Your Shopify Store
- You need to be logged in to your Shopify control panel
- From the admin panel navigate to Online Store and choose Domains
- Click on ‘Connect to Existing Domain’
- In the provided input box, you need to type in your custom domain name, for instance, trendybags.com
- Click Next to finish this step
You will now need to adjust the DNS settings at your domain name provider control panel to point the domain to your Shopify Store. For this, you will need to:
- Modify the ‘A’ Record
- Modify the CName Record
- If your A record already points to another primary domain, you will need to remove this old record
Setting Up Your Domain Name Records To Point To Your Shopify Store
- Log in to the control panel of your domain name provider
- Go to the DNS Management section
Changing the ‘A’ Record
Each domain settings interface might be different. Depending on the provider, you might have editable fields, dropdown lists, a table-based interface etc. You need to find the ‘A’ Record settings and change it
- Go to the ‘A’ Record section in the DNS management dashboard
- You will need to point your ‘A’ record to your Shopify IP Address
- You need to enter this IP address in the input box labeled @, or you might need to select @ from a dropdown list and then enter this value
- Type in 23.227.38.32 as the value for the @ setting, this is Shopify’s IP address
- Save the Record
This will take care of the ‘A’ Record. Now, you need to change the CName record to point to your hostname.
Changing The CName Record
While the value for the ‘A’ Record is an IP address, the CName value needs to be the hostname
- Find the CName settings in the domain management dashboard
- Now, set the www CName record to point to your store
- The value to enter is shops.myShopify.com
- Save this record by clicking the appropriate button in the settings panel
You have now finished setting up the main details for your domain name on the Domain Provider side. Now you need to verify the settings on the Shopify side.
Verify Connection
Go to the Shopify Admin Dashboard and click on Verify Connection to confirm that you have connected a custom domain to your Shopify Store.
It can take up to 48 hours for the changes to apply and for the custom domain to connect up to the Shopify store. If the changes haven’t still been applied after 48 hours, you will need to contact your domain name provider.
To Conclude
Now that you have finished setting up your domain connection, your custom domain name will point to your Shopify store. You can also create subdomains and point them to your Shopify store.
You now have a good domain name pointing to the shop instead of a subdomain under Shopify domain. This makes your store look more professional. The domain name also adds value to your brand identity and makes it easy for customers to identify and share your store URL with others.
