Configuring a custom domain and custom email
Understand what this section controls
Open Community Settings and go to Customization to configure Custom Domain and Custom Email.
These options help a superhost strengthen the external identity of the community. Instead of relying only on default Zoho CommunitySpaces URLs and sender addresses, you can let members access the community and receive emails through your own branded web address and sender identity.
This is especially useful when you want the community to feel more fully white-labeled and aligned with your organization’s brand.
Set up a custom domain
Use Custom Domain when you want members to access the community using your own domain instead of the default Zoho URL.
For example, if your domain is zylker.com, members can access the community using a branded address such as community.zylker.com.
To configure it:
- Open Custom Domain.
- Click Add Custom Domain.
- Enter the domain.
- Click Add.
After that, follow the on-screen steps to verify ownership by adding the provided CNAME record in your DNS provider, using the given host and value.
This helps a superhost make the community feel more directly connected to the organization’s brand and digital presence.
Verify the custom domain and launch it
After creating the CNAME record, wait for DNS changes to propagate, then click Submit & Verify.
DNS changes usually reflect in 10 to 15 minutes, but in some cases can take up to 48 hours.
Once the CNAME is verified, the SSL certificate is installed (by the Zoho CommunitySpaces Support team) so the domain works securely over HTTPS.
After SSL installation is complete, return and click Submit & Verify again to launch the custom domain for the community.
This two-step flow is important because verification and SSL readiness do not always complete at the same time.
After activation, the superhost can temporarily disable it at any time to let users access the community through the Member Portal URL, or delete it permanently and configure a different custom domain when needed.
Set up a custom email address
Use Custom Email when you want community emails to be sent from your own branded sender address instead of the default sender.
For example, instead of using the default sender, you can configure a branded address, such as customid@sitename.com.
To configure it:
- Open Custom Email.
- Click Add custom email.
- Enter the email address.
- Click Add.
This helps a superhost make community emails feel more trustworthy, recognizable, and aligned with the organization’s brand.
Verify the custom email address
After adding the custom email, verify ownership by adding the provided CNAME record in your DNS provider, similar to the custom domain setup.
After DNS propagation, click Submit & Verify.
This usually completes in 10 to 15 minutes, but may take up to 48 hours in some cases.
Once verified, the community’s email notifications start going out using the custom sender address.
This is especially useful when you want invitation emails, notification emails, and other communication from the community to feel more official and brand-consistent.
After activation, the superhost can edit it at any time, or delete it permanently and configure a different custom email when needed.
Next: After configuring branded access and branded email delivery, continue with Customizing invitation emails and using quick signup links in Zoho CommunitySpaces to control how new users are invited into the community.