What you need to know about connecting your domain for your new or migrated Wix website!
Starting with the Basics – What is a Domain?
A domain name is a lot like a street address for a house. It’s how a user accesses your website and it’s how someone would find your website in a Google search.
Purchasing a Domain
Getting a domain for your online business is a key step to getting online. You can purchase your domain from a domain name registrar (a company that manages the reservation of Internet domain names) such as;
What’s a Temporary URL?
When you are first creating your Wix website, you will be assigned a free URL, which if you plan to upgrade your Wix plan and use your own domain (this is recommended), will be a temporary url.
For example, when we create a Wix site for a client, our temporary url would be, border7.wixsite.com/client-website.
If you hit Publish when building your Wix website with your temporary url, your site will be “live,” however, people will only be able to find it if you share the link, optimize the site for SEO and make your site visible to search engines.
Connecting Your Domain
There are a couple of ways to connect your domain while keeping it with the domain host that you purchased it from (rather than transferring it to your website platform).
With both of these methods, you will need to make sure you have upgraded your Wix site to a Premium Plan.
Method 1: Connecting Your Domain Via Name Servers
This method is recommended by Wix and what happens is Wix will host your DNS (domain name system), but it will continue to be registered with your current domain registrar.
Step 1: Add the Domain you want to use to Your Wix Account
You’ll want to make sure you do this before making any changes to your domain settings.
Start by going to the Domains page in your Wix account and add the domain by selecting “Connect a domain you already own.”
Do this even if you did not purchase the domain through Wix.
Select the site you want to connect to your domain and click Next.
Enter your domain name and click Next. – *Keep this window open so you can verify your connection in Step 3.
Step 2: Update the Name Servers in Your Domain Host Account
To finish the process of connecting your domain via name servers, you’ll want to login to where you purchased your domain.
Sign in to your domain host account and navigate to your DNS or name server settings
Take a screenshot of your current name servers – we like to do this just in case there are ever any issues, so you can revert your changes if needed
Replace your current name servers with the following:
To connect your domain to Wix, setup your name servers as follows:
ns8.wixdns.net (216.239.32.101)
ns9.wixdns.net (216.239.34.101)
* Only add the IP addresses if required by your domain host.
Step 3: Verify Your Domain Connection Through Wix
Once you’ve updated your name servers, return to the Domains page (the window you left open at the beginning of Step 1) and click Verify Connection.
You can check which name servers have updated to servers around the world through DNS lookup.
Not Seeing Your Live Site Right Away?
Don’t worry! It can take up to 48 hours for your domain’s DNS records to propagate and your site to appear with your domain.
Method 2: Connecting Your Domain Via Pointing
This method should be used if you have complicated DNS records ( subdomains for other platforms, email settings, etc.) that you would like to remain the same after you’ve connected your domain.
Step 1: Add the Domain to Your Wix Account
Do this before updating the DNS settings in your domain host account. Start by going to your Domains page in your Wix Account and add the domain you want to use by selecting Connect a domain you already own.
Select the site you want to connect your domain to and click Next.
Enter the domain name.
Click DNS next to Connection Method at the bottom of the page.
Select Pointing.
Click Confirm.
Click Next – *Keep this window open so you can return to verify your connection in Step 3.
Step 2: Update the DNS Records in Your Domain Host Account
In order to finish the connection, you will need to update your domain’s DNS records in your domain provider account – where you purchased your domain.
To update your DNS records:
Sign in to your domain host account and navigate to DNS or name server settings.
Update your CNAME and A records as follows.
To connect your domain to Wix, setup your DNS records as follows:
For yourdomain.com, create an A record that points to: 23.236.62.147
For www.yourdomain.com, create a CNAME record that points to: www236.wixdns.net
*Both the A record and CNAME record need to be updated for pointing to work. If you do not include the CNAME record, your site will not be secure (http instead of https before your domain) and it will display a warning message to visitors.
Step 3: Verify Your Domain Connection in Wix
Once you’ve updated your domain’s DNS records, return to the Domains page you left open in Step1, and click Verify Connection.
Not Seeing Your Live Site Right Away?
Don’t worry! It can take up to 48 hours for your domain’s DNS records to propagate and your site to appear with your domain.
Feeling Stuck or Want Some Help?
Book a free strategy session with our team! We’ll chat about your business, your goals and how we can help!
