Adding a custom domain to your brand guide

Every Guidelines site comes with a free guidelines.site subdomain. With a paid plan, you can connect your own domain so your brand guidelines are available at a URL you control — like brand.yourcompany.com or guidelines.yourcompany.com. You can also set your custom domain as the primary domain, making it the canonical URL used in preview links and share buttons.

Custom domains are available on all paid Guidelines plans. If you're on a free plan, you can upgrade your plan to get started.

To add a custom domain to your brand guide:

1. Open Site Settings by clicking the button in the top left corner of the editor
2. Go to the Domains tab
3. In the Custom Domains section, enter your domain (e.g. docs.example.com)
4. Click Add Domain
5. Click Setup to view the required DNS records
6. Add the DNS records at your domain provider (see below for details)
7. Return to Guidelines, click Setup, then click Check Status to verify your domain

DNS record types

The DNS records you need depend on the type of domain you're connecting:

• Root domains (e.g. example.com): Add an A record pointing to the IP address shown in the Setup dialog
• Subdomains (e.g. docs.example.com): Add a CNAME record with the value shown in the Setup dialog
• TXT records: If your domain needs ownership verification, you'll also need to add a TXT record with the value shown in the Setup dialog

You can copy each record value directly from the Setup dialog using the copy button next to each row.

Domain statuses

After adding your domain, you'll see a status badge indicating where you are in the setup process:

• Awaiting Verification — Domain ownership hasn't been proven yet. Add the TXT record shown in the Setup dialog, then click Check Status.
• Needs Configuration — Ownership is verified, but the A or CNAME record still needs to be added. Add the routing record and click Check Status.
• Verified — Your domain is fully connected and serving your brand guide.

Setting your primary domain

By default, your guidelines.site subdomain is the primary domain — the URL used in preview links and share buttons. Once a custom domain is verified, you can make it the primary instead.

To change your primary domain:

1. Open Site Settings by clicking the button in the top left corner of the editor
2. Go to the Domains tab
3. Find the domain you want to make primary (either your custom domain or your guidelines.site subdomain)
4. Click Make Primary

The primary domain is shown with a Primary badge. Your other domains will continue to work — only the canonical URL changes.

To remove a custom domain, you must first switch the primary back to your guidelines.site subdomain.

Troubleshooting

• DNS propagation: Changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate, though most updates take effect within a few minutes.
• Records not working: Double-check that the record type, host, and value match exactly what's shown in the Setup dialog.
• Still having issues: Contact our support team for help configuring your domain.