Reference → Subdomain configuration and DNS setup

Subdomain and DNS configuration

Connect a custom domain or subdomain to your SGEN site — with the right DNS records and SSL provisioned automatically.

A site at `mysite.sgen.com` is functional.
A site at `www.yourband.com` or `shop.youragency.com` is yours.
The subdomain step is where the platform-managed URL becomes a domain that your audience recognises, your SEO tracks, and your analytics attributes correctly.

SGEN provisions SSL automatically once a domain or subdomain is verified.
You do not buy a certificate.
You do not configure NGINX.
You add a DNS record, verify it, and the platform handles the rest.

This page covers the full connection workflow: finding the domain settings surface, understanding which DNS record type to use, adding the record in your DNS provider, verifying the connection, and confirming SSL is active.
It also covers subdomains — cases where you are connecting `blog.yourdomain.com` or `store.yourdomain.com` to a specific SGEN site — alongside the more common root-and-www case.

What is this for?

Use this page when you are connecting a domain or subdomain to an SGEN site for the first time, or when you are changing the domain an existing site uses.

This page is a how-to.
It does not cover the domain registrar's interface — you will need to follow your registrar's own documentation to add DNS records.
It does not cover wildcard subdomains or multi-tenant subdomain routing — those are platform-engineering configurations.

Good use cases

Launching a new SGEN site and connecting the production domain before go-live.
Adding a subdomain — `blog.yourdomain.com` or `support.yourdomain.com` — to a site that is separate from the main domain.
Migrating a domain from a previous platform to SGEN and confirming the connection is live before changing nameservers or switching DNS.
An agency connecting a client domain to the client's workspace site.
Adding a staging subdomain (`staging.yourdomain.com`) so the team can review changes on a real URL before they go to production.

What NOT to use this for

Purchasing a domain.

SGEN does not sell or register domain names.Use a domain registrar of your choice and then connect the domain here.

Wildcard subdomain routing.

If you need `*.yourdomain.com` to map to many different SGEN sites dynamically, that is a platform-engineering configuration — contact support.

Email routing.

Adding a domain to your SGEN site does not configure email for that domain.MX records are managed separately in your DNS provider.Setting up the domain in SGEN does not affect or overwrite existing MX records.

Changing where your root domain points if you use email on the same domain.

CNAME records cannot be placed on the root (`@`) in most DNS providers.The root domain setup uses an A record or a provider-specific alias (ALIAS/ANAME).Read the root domain note in step 3 before making any changes.

How this connects to other features

Set up a custom domain — the dedicated end-to-end guide for connecting a root domain (with the `www` + root redirect pair).

This page covers the broader DNS picture including subdomains.

CDN and asset strategy — after the domain is connected, asset delivery routes through the SGEN CDN.

Understanding the CDN URL shape matters for cache strategy and image path hygiene.

Security — SSL is provisioned automatically on domain verification.

The security surface shows the certificate status for each domain attached to the site.

White-label and reseller — the agency login domain is a separate DNS step from the client site domain.

Both use CNAME records but point to different SGEN targets.

Before you start

You have access to the DNS management interface for the domain.

This is usually your domain registrar (Namecheap, GoDaddy, Google Domains, Cloudflare, etc.) or a separate DNS provider if you have moved DNS management there.

You know which subdomain you are connecting.

`www.yourdomain.com`, `blog.yourdomain.com`, and `shop.yourdomain.com` are all different subdomains — each needs its own DNS record and its own domain entry in SGEN.

If the domain is currently live on another platform, plan the cutover window.

DNS changes propagate globally over minutes to hours.During propagation, some visitors will hit the old platform and some will hit SGEN.For minimal disruption, cut over during a low-traffic window.

The site exists in SGEN and is in a state worth serving.

A domain connected to an empty or broken site receives visitors immediately after DNS propagates.

Where to find it

Domain settings live in the admin → Settings → Domains.

The Domains panel lists every domain and subdomain connected to the current site.
Each row shows the domain, the DNS verification status, the SSL status, and the primary-domain flag.

To add a new domain, click Add domain in the top right.

Steps

The workflow has four parts: add the domain in SGEN, get the DNS record, add the record in your DNS provider, and verify the connection.

1. Add the domain in SGEN

Open the admin → Settings → Domains.
Click Add domain.

Enter the full domain or subdomain in the input field.
Include the subdomain prefix if you are connecting a subdomain.
Examples:

`www.yoursite.example` — the www variant of a root domain
`blog.yoursite.example` — a blog subdomain
`shop.yoursite.example` — a shop subdomain
`yoursite.example` — the root (read the root domain note in step 3 before adding this)

Click Add.SGEN validates the format and adds the domain to the list with status DNS not configured.

SGEN also shows you the DNS record you need to add.
The record details appear immediately in the domain row.
Do not close this panel — you will need the record value in the next step.

2. Understand which DNS record type to use

SGEN requires different record types depending on whether you are connecting a subdomain or a root domain.

For subdomains (www, blog, shop, staging, etc.) — use a CNAME record.

A CNAME record maps your subdomain to SGEN's edge endpoint.
The CNAME target will be in the form `edge.sgen.com` or similar — the exact value is shown in the Domains panel.

Most DNS providers accept a CNAME on any subdomain.
A CNAME cannot be placed on the root (`@` or the bare domain `yourdomain.com`) in most providers.

For root domains — use an ALIAS, ANAME, or CNAME-flattening record.

Some DNS providers (Cloudflare, DNSimple, NS1) support ALIAS or ANAME records that behave like CNAMEs on the root.
If your provider supports these, use them.
If your provider does not support root CNAMEs or ALIAS records, you have two options:

Option A: Move DNS management to Cloudflare (which supports CNAME flattening on the root and is free for DNS-only).
Option B: Use A records pointing to SGEN's current IP addresses (shown in the Domains panel).
A records are less resilient than CNAME/ALIAS because SGEN's IPs can change — if you use A records, monitor the Domains panel for notices about IP changes.

The SGEN Domains panel shows the recommended record type for your domain and the correct value.
Follow the panel's recommendation rather than making assumptions.

3. Add the record in your DNS provider

Add a new record:

Type: CNAME (for subdomains) or ALIAS/ANAME (for root)
Name / Host: the subdomain prefix only — for `www.yoursite.example`, enter `www`.

For root domains, enter `@`.

Value / Points to: the CNAME target shown in the SGEN Domains panel.
TTL: set to 300 seconds (5 minutes) for the initial setup.

This makes propagation faster and makes it easier to correct mistakes.Once the domain is verified and stable, you can increase TTL to 3600 (one hour).

Save the record in your DNS provider.

If you are connecting both the root and www, add both records:
One ALIAS/ANAME on `@` and one CNAME on `www`, both pointing to the SGEN target.
SGEN handles the redirect between root and www — you configure which one is primary in the Domains panel.

Common DNS provider paths:

Provider	Where to find DNS records
Cloudflare	Dashboard → select domain → DNS → Records
Namecheap	Domain list → Manage → Advanced DNS
GoDaddy	My Products → DNS → Manage Zones
Google Domains / Squarespace DNS	DNS → Custom records
AWS Route 53	Hosted zones → select zone → Create record

4. Verify the connection in SGEN

Return to the admin → Settings → Domains.

Click Verify on the domain row.
SGEN checks whether the DNS record is resolving correctly.

If the DNS record is live and propagated, the domain status changes from DNS not configured to Verified.
SSL provisioning begins automatically.
Within a few minutes the SSL status shows Active and the site is accessible at the new domain.

If verification fails with "DNS not found," the record has not propagated yet or was entered incorrectly.
Wait five minutes and try again.
If it continues to fail after 15 minutes, confirm the record in your DNS provider using a DNS lookup tool (entering the subdomain and checking for the CNAME record you added).

A common cause of failure: the Name/Host field was entered with the full domain instead of the subdomain prefix.
For `www.yoursite.example`, the Name field should be `www` — not `www.yoursite.example`.
Some providers automatically append the domain; others require the full value.
Check your provider's documentation if unsure.

5. Set the primary domain and configure redirects

Once at least two domains are connected and verified (for example, root and www), click Set as primary on the domain you want visitors to land on.

The primary domain is the canonical URL for the site.
The other verified domains redirect to the primary.
SGEN handles the redirect automatically — no additional configuration needed.

The standard setup for most sites: set `www.yourdomain.com` as primary, verify that `yourdomain.com` (root) redirects to it.
Or the reverse — set root as primary if that is the preferred canonical form.

For a site that has both a primary production domain and a staging subdomain, set the production domain as primary and leave the staging subdomain without primary status.
Staging traffic stays on the staging subdomain; production traffic stays on the main domain.

What success looks like

The domain setup is complete when:

The domain row in SGEN shows Verified status.
The SSL status shows Active.
Opening the domain URL in a browser loads the SGEN site over HTTPS with a valid certificate.
The browser address bar shows the correct domain without being redirected to a SGEN-hosted URL.
If you added both root and www, one redirects cleanly to the other.

What to do if it does not work

Verification fails after 30 minutes.

Open a DNS lookup tool and search for the subdomain.If the CNAME record is not showing, the record was not saved correctly in the DNS provider.Re-enter the record, confirm the value matches exactly what SGEN showed, and retry verification.

SSL shows "Pending" for more than 15 minutes after verification.

SSL provisioning depends on DNS verification completing first.If verification is showing Verified but SSL is stuck at Pending, the domain may have a CAA record that blocks SSL issuance from SGEN's certificate authority.Check for a CAA record on the domain and add an entry for `letsencrypt.org` if one is missing.

Site loads but browser shows "Not secure."

SSL has not yet propagated to all edge nodes.Wait 10 minutes and refresh.If it persists, open the Domains panel and check the SSL status — if it shows Active, the certificate is issued but may not have reached all nodes yet.

Root domain redirect is sending traffic to the wrong site.

If you have multiple sites under the account, confirm the root domain is attached to the correct site.An A record or ALIAS on the root pointing to SGEN routes to the primary site for that account.Verify the Domains panel on each site to confirm which site the root domain is attached to.

CNAME record conflicts with existing records.

A domain can only have one CNAME record per name.If an existing CNAME record is present on the same subdomain (from a previous service), delete the old record before adding the SGEN CNAME.Duplicate CNAME entries cause unpredictable resolution.

TTL was left at a high value and propagation is taking hours.

High TTLs (86400 — 24 hours) mean DNS caches hold the old value for up to a day.Wait out the TTL window.For future changes, reduce TTL to 300 before making DNS changes; increase it again after the change is confirmed.

Examples

Example A — connecting www and root for a new site launch.
A product studio builds a new SGEN site.
They open Domains, add `www.yoursite.example`, and copy the CNAME target.
In Cloudflare, they add a CNAME record on `www` pointing to the SGEN target.
They also add a CNAME-flattened record on `@` (Cloudflare supports this natively).
Both records save.
Back in SGEN, they click Verify.
Both domains verify within two minutes.
SSL shows Active.
They set `www.yoursite.example` as primary.
The root redirects to www.
Launch day, the site is live at the production URL.

Example B — adding a blog subdomain to an existing site.
A services firm runs `www.yoursite.example` on SGEN.
They decide to run their blog at `blog.yoursite.example` as a separate SGEN site.
They create the blog site in SGEN, open its Domains panel, add `blog.yoursite.example`, copy the CNAME.
In their DNS provider, they add the CNAME on `blog`.
Verify. Active.
The blog is live at its own subdomain, independently managed.

Example C — staging subdomain for pre-launch review.
An agency building a client site adds `staging.yoursite.example` as a second domain on the site.
DNS is set; staging verifies.
The client reviews the site at the staging URL before the production domain is connected.
When approved, the agency adds the production domain, verifies it, sets it as primary, and removes the staging domain from the Domains list.
Clean handover, no traffic on the staging URL after launch.

Reference — DNS record summary by use case

Use case	Record type	Name/Host	Value
www subdomain	CNAME	`www`	SGEN edge target (from Domains panel)
Blog subdomain	CNAME	`blog`	SGEN edge target
Shop subdomain	CNAME	`shop`	SGEN edge target
Root domain (Cloudflare)	CNAME (flattened)	`@`	SGEN edge target
Root domain (other providers)	ALIAS or ANAME	`@`	SGEN edge target
Root domain (no ALIAS support)	A record	`@`	SGEN IP (from Domains panel)

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