Custom domains

Every store ships with a free yourstore.sellerlane.io address, but you can run the storefront on a branded platform subdomain or on your own domain. All domain work happens in one place: Settings → Domains, a screen titled Domains and email that bundles storefront domains, DNS records, branded email, ownership claims, and an activity log.

The page has a header row with three actions — Refresh DNS, Add platform subdomain, and Connect domain — and five tabs: Storefront, DNS records, Email, Claims, and Activity.

Note

This page covers storefront domains. To send order and customer emails from your own domain (DKIM, SPF, bounce domain), use the Email tab on the same screen — see Email & deliverability.

Prerequisites

• A store you can administer. Custom domains and branded subdomains may depend on your plan — see Plans & billing.
• For a custom domain: access to your domain registrar or DNS provider (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Hostinger, Cloudflare, etc.) so you can add records.

Three ways to connect

You can point the storefront at any of the following. Choose based on whether you own a domain and whether you want it at the root.

A. Add a free platform subdomain (brand.sellerlane.io)

No registrar needed — DNS and SSL are handled entirely by the platform, so the domain is live almost immediately.

1. Click Add platform subdomain.
2. Enter just the label in Subdomain label (for example brand or outlet-brand) — not the full hostname.
3. Click Check availability. If the label is taken, the checker returns suggested alternatives you can pick from.
4. Optionally tick Make primary now to route the whole storefront to it.
5. Click Add subdomain. Because the platform controls this zone, it moves straight to Connected with no records to add.

B. Connect a custom subdomain (shop.brand.com)

A subdomain is verified with a single CNAME record, which every registrar supports.

1. Click Connect domain and enter the full hostname, e.g. shop.brand.com.
2. Optionally tick Make this the primary storefront domain after it becomes ready.
3. Click Connect domain. The next screen and the DNS records tab now show the records to add.
4. At your registrar, create the CNAME record exactly as shown (name, value, TTL).
5. Save at the registrar, then come back and use Refresh DNS to re-check.

C. Connect an apex / root domain (brand.com)

1. Click Connect domain and enter the bare domain, e.g. brand.com.
2. Click Connect domain to generate the records.
3. At your registrar, add the A records (and AAAA for IPv6) shown in the DNS records tab. Sellerlane uses A/AAAA at the root because most registrars do not allow a CNAME on the apex.
4. Save and Refresh DNS.

Tip

Root vs. www. A clean setup connects both brand.com (A/AAAA records) and www.brand.com (CNAME), then makes one of them primary so the other redirects to it. If your registrar offers CNAME flattening at the root, you can sometimes use a CNAME there instead — but the A-record path always works.

What the setup lifecycle looks like

After you connect a custom domain, it walks through a series of phases. The Storefront tab shows the current Status and a Setup summary (DNS and certificate state) per domain.

1. Waiting for DNS — the platform is looking for the records you were asked to add.
2. Verifying ownership — records are detected; the platform confirms you control the domain.
3. Issuing certificate — ownership is confirmed and an SSL certificate is being issued.
4. Connected — the domain serves your storefront over HTTPS.

If something regresses (a record was removed, a certificate is expiring), the domain moves to Needs attention and the row is flagged so you know to act.

Reading per-record DNS status

In the DNS records tab each record carries a status so you can self-diagnose:

• Detected — the record is live and correct. Nothing to do.
• Missing — the platform can’t find it yet. Re-check that you saved it at the registrar.
• Mismatch — a record with that name exists but the value is wrong (often a leftover record). Fix the value to match.
• Pending — the record hasn’t been confirmed yet; DNS may still be propagating, so give it time and refresh.
• Invalid — the record exists but is malformed.

At the domain level, the Setup summary on the Storefront tab can also read Propagating while a detected record is still spreading across the internet’s DNS.

DNS records reference and refresh

The DNS records tab lists every record across all your domains and email identities, with Purpose, Type, Name, Value, Status, and Last checked. Name and value are copy-to-clipboard. Purposes you may see include:

• Storefront CNAME and Storefront apex A / AAAA — point the domain at the storefront.
• Domain ownership and Certificate validation — prove control and unlock SSL.
• Certificate CAA — authorizes the platform’s certificate authority to issue for your domain.
• Email DKIM / SPF / DMARC / bounce-domain records — only when you set up branded email.

To re-check after editing your DNS:

• Refresh on a single row re-checks just that record.
• Refresh all DNS (in the tab) or Refresh DNS (in the page header) re-checks everything at once. Checks are queued, so statuses update a moment later — refresh the list to see them.

Caution

DNS changes are not instant. Most records propagate within minutes, but some registrars take up to a few hours (occasionally longer if you set a high TTL). If a record still reads Missing after you’ve saved it, wait and Refresh DNS again rather than re-adding it.

Set the primary domain

The primary domain is the canonical address customers and search engines see; every other connected domain redirects to it, which keeps your SEO consolidated on one URL.

1. On the Storefront tab, open the Actions menu for the domain you want as canonical.
2. Choose Make primary.

You can only make a domain primary once it is ready — the option stays disabled while a custom domain is still verifying or issuing its certificate, so finish setup first. When you switch the primary, the previous primary keeps working and simply redirects to the new one. Each domain row shows its serving mode (serve the store, or redirect to another domain) under the domain name.

Remove a domain

1. On the Storefront tab, open the domain’s Actions menu and choose Remove.
2. Confirm the prompt — it warns: “Customers will no longer reach your store through this domain.”

Removal is queued, the domain stops serving the storefront, and its DNS records are no longer monitored. The free default platform domain is permanent and can’t be removed.

Ownership claims (transfer a domain from another store)

If you try to connect a domain or sender address that’s already attached to a different Sellerlane store, you’ll see an Already connected notice with a Create ownership claim button instead of an error. Claims let the rightful owner prove control and move the domain over, with a response window for the current holder. Open claims live on the Claims tab.

1. Start a claim from the conflict notice, or open the Claims tab and click Create claim. Enter the Resource (e.g. example.com or [email protected]) and pick the Scope (Storefront domain or Email domain).
2. The claim shows a DNS challenge record (name, type, value). Add it at your registrar to prove you control the domain.
3. Use Refresh verification until the challenge is detected.
4. Once verified, the current owner gets a response window to react before the transfer completes. The deadline shows in the Deadline column.
5. If a claim is raised against your store, respond from its Actions menu: Reverify control to keep the domain, Accept transfer to release it, or Request manual review. You can Cancel a claim you started.

Note

Claims are for moving a domain between stores on Sellerlane. They do not transfer the domain at your registrar — registrar ownership is separate.

Troubleshooting

• Stuck on “Waiting for DNS” / record reads Missing. Confirm the record was saved at the registrar, that you used the exact name and value (no extra characters), and that you edited the right zone. Then Refresh DNS.
• Record reads Mismatch. A conflicting record with the same name already exists — usually a parked-page or old hosting record. Edit it to the value shown, or delete the stale one.
• Stuck verifying or “Needs attention”. Use Refresh DNS (header) or Refresh setup in the domain’s Actions menu to force a re-check.
• Certificate won’t issue. A CAA record on your domain may be blocking the certificate authority. Add the Certificate CAA record listed in the DNS records tab, or remove a conflicting CAA, then refresh.
• Apex CNAME rejected by registrar. Many registrars don’t allow a CNAME at the root — use the A / AAAA records Sellerlane provides for the apex, and keep CNAME for www and other subdomains. If your provider supports CNAME flattening, that’s an alternative at the root.
• Cloudflare users. If you proxy DNS (orange cloud), set the storefront records to DNS only during setup so the platform can validate and issue the certificate.

Next steps

Branded email

Authenticate your domain for sending order and customer emails on the Email tab — see Email & deliverability.

Go live

Connecting your domain is one of the launch steps — finish up in Go live.

Plans & billing

Check what your plan includes for domains in Plans & billing.

DNS troubleshooting

Deeper deliverability and DNS diagnostics live in DNS & deliverability troubleshooting.