The purpose of this guide is to provide you with general instructions for configuring an existing domain purchased through a third party for Shopify. You'll find setup instructions for the most popular domain providers, but we recommend buying your custom domain through Shopify if you want your setup done for you.

If you already have a domain, then there are three steps you need to take when you connect your domain in Shopify:

  1. Add the domain to Shopify.
  2. Log in to your domain provider and connect your domain to Shopify.
  3. Verify your connection in Shopify.

Tip

If you buy your custom domain through Shopify, the settings will be configured for you.

Note

Shopify Support is not allowed to log in to your third-party domain account for you, even if you give us explicit permission.

Add an existing domain to your Shopify store

First, you need to add your custom domain to your Shopify store. This step identifies you to Shopify as the owner of your custom domain. The procedure is the same in every case:

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Online Store, and then click Domains (or press G W D).

  1. Click Connect existing domain: 

    Gd add existing domain

  2. Enter your custom domain in the text field: 

    Gd root domain

  3. Click Next.

Now you need to set up your existing domain to point to Shopify.

Set up your existing domain to connect to Shopify

If you've purchased your domain through third party, then you need to edit your DNS settings and point your A record to Shopify's IP address, which is 23.227.38.32 Copy, and your CNAME record to point to shops.myshopify.com Copy.

  1. Log in to the account you have with your domain provider.

  2. Find your DNS settings. Look for your account admin panel, or your domain management area, or DNS configuration, or similar.

  3. Edit your A record to point to Shopify's IP address 23.227.38.32 Copy

    The admin panel might feature drop-downs or editable fields, or you might have to check boxes or edit a table. However you interact with the admin, you need to:

    • enter or choose the @ symbol, or A record
    • enter Shopify's IP address 23.227.38.32 Copy as the destination for the A record.

  4. Save the A Record (click Save, Save Zone File, Add Record, or similar).

  5. Find the CNAME record in your DNS settings.

  6. Change your www CNAME record to point to shops.myshopify.com Copy. This redirects your customers to your store when they enter www before your domain name. 

    Note

    Often, you need to provide just the prefix without the dot, but for some domain providers you need the whole subdomain. Use the existing entries as a guide, or follow your provider's instructions. 

    Note

    CNAME records must always point to a domain name, never to an IP address. 

  7. Save the CNAME Record (usually by clicking Save or Add record or similar).

Now you need to verify your connection in Shopify.

Verify your connection in Shopify

Click Verify connection in your Shopify admin to confirm that your custom domain has been connected to your store.

Note

It may take up to 48 hours for your custom domain to point to your Shopify store. If you have problems or need help setting your third-party domain, you can reach out to your provider.

Next steps after adding your custom domain to Shopify

After you've added your domain in Shopify, you need to choose your primary domain (the domain name that customers will see in the address bar while they browse your online store).

You can also set up email forwarding from the domain after you've added it to Shopify.