Step-by-step instructions for connecting your Namecheap domain to WedSites.

If you registered your domain with Namecheap, follow these steps to add the DNS records needed to connect it to your WedSites wedding website.

Make sure you've added your domain to WedSites first. Go to Settings > General and enter your custom domain, then save. Then come back here to set up your DNS records.

You'll need access to your Namecheap account. Make sure you can log in and that you have permission to manage DNS for your domain.

You'll be adding these two records to your Namecheap domain:

Important: You only need the A record if you're using an apex domain (like yourwedding.com). You only need the CNAME if you're using a subdomain (like www.yourwedding.com). We recommend adding both so both versions of your domain work.

Go to namecheap.com and sign in to your account.

Namecheap often enables a parking page by default, which creates conflicting DNS records.

This will remove the default A records that point to Namecheap's parking page.

Look at the Host Records section and check for any existing A records with @ in the Host column.

If you see existing A records for @:
- You need to delete any A records that don't point to 37.16.10.26
- Having multiple A records causes your domain to only work sometimes
- Click the trash/delete icon next to each conflicting record

Common conflicting records to look for:
- Namecheap parking page A records
- Old website hosting A records
- URL Redirect records that might conflict

Using a custom subdomain? If you're using something like wedding.yourwedding.com instead of www, replace "www" with "wedding" in the Host field.

Namecheap saves changes automatically when you click the checkmark on each record. You should see your new records appear in the Host Records list.

Wait for DNS propagation. DNS changes on Namecheap usually take effect within 30 minutes, but it can take up to 24-48 hours in some cases.

SSL certificate is automatic. Once your domain connects, we'll automatically add an SSL certificate so your site works with https. This happens within a few hours of your domain connecting.

Test your domain. After waiting, try visiting your domain in a browser. You should see your wedding website!

Domain not working after 30 minutes?
- Double-check that you entered the DNS records exactly as shown above
- Make sure you deleted any conflicting A records for @
- Verify you turned off the parking page
- Check that you entered your domain in WedSites under Settings > General

Still seeing "This domain is parked"?
- Make sure you disabled the parking page in Step 3
- Delete all old A records for @ in the Host Records section
- Wait a bit longer and try clearing your browser cache

CNAME not working?
- Make sure the Host is "www" and not "@"
- Verify the Value is exactly: domains.wedsites.com (no http://, no trailing dot)
- Check that there are no other CNAME records with the same Host name

Need to verify DNS setup?
- Go to dnschecker.org
- Enter your domain and select "A" record type
- You should see 37.16.10.26 in the results worldwide

TTL (Time To Live): Namecheap's "Automatic" TTL setting works fine. You can also manually set it to a specific value (like 300 seconds or 5 minutes) if you prefer.

No trailing dot needed: Unlike some DNS providers, Namecheap doesn't require a trailing dot (.) at the end of CNAME values.

URL Redirect records: Don't use Namecheap's URL Redirect feature for your domain if you want to connect it to WedSites. Use A and CNAME records instead.

If you're stuck or something isn't working, reach out to our support team and we'll help you get your domain connected!