DNS configuration

A. CNAME records  

1. To verify the domain, you need to add a CNAME Record, as shown in the screen displayed when the domain is added to the site. It includes the hostname that points to zhs.zohosites.com. 

• The token shown in the picture is a sample. It will be different for each domain.
  

• EU users must point their CNAME Records to zhs.zohosites.eu. Likewise, CN, IN, JP, and AU users will use zhs.zohosites.com.cn, zhs.zohosites.in, zhs.zohosites.jp, and zhs.zohosites.com.au, respectively.
  

2. Another CNAME Record needs to be added with the host name 'www. and pointing to zhs.zohosites.com. 

EU Users must point their CNAME Records to zhs.zohosites.eu. Likewise, CN, IN, JP, and AU users will use zhs.zohosites.com.cn, zhs.zohosites.in, zhs.zohosites.jp, and zhs.zohosites.com.au, respectively.

B. Domain forwarding

Zoho Sites does not provide an A Record IP address to map a third-party domain to Zoho Sites. If you have an A Record added by default in your DNS Manager, you can leave it as such. Adding CNAME Records and setting up domain forwarding are the only two steps required to map a third-party domain to Zoho Sites.

Note: Forwarding the root domain with the https protocol (https://sampledomain.com to https://www.sampledomain.com)

1. Ensure that the current DNS provider redirects https://sampledomain.com to https://www.sampledomain.com with SSL.
   
   
2. Alternatively, use a DNS provider that supports CNAME for the root domain. You can set it up if your existing provider supports it. If not, you can use Cloudflare or ManageEngine CloudDNS.
   

Domain mapping steps  

Your domain provider will have provided an administrative console to manage and configure your domain. The administrative console's user interface may vary depending on the domain provider. However, the following basic steps are similar.

1. Log in to your domain provider's administrative console.

2. Go to the DNS Setting sections. Search for the Forwarding option and click on the link to set domain forwarding.

3. Forward the domain name (domain name without www) to www.yourdomain.com (domain name with www) and save the changes.

4. Navigate to DNS configurations / Manage DNS section. Add a CNAME Record containing the hostname as an alphanumeric token to zhs.zohosites.com.

5. Add another CNAME Record with the hostname 'www' and point to zhs.zohosites.com.

For steps 4 and 5, EU users must point their CNAME Records to zhs.zohosites.eu. Likewise, CN, IN, JP, and AU users will use zhs.zohosites.com.cn, zhs.zohosites.in, zhs.zohosites.jp, and zhs.zohosites.com.au, respectively.

6. Save the changes and log out.

If you face any issues while mapping your domain to Zoho, you may contact your domain provider's support team. You may provide them with the steps given above and have them assist you. Usually, the changes are reflected in 10-15 minutes. However, in some cases, it could take up to 48 hours.

Domain provider instructions  

GoDaddy, Wild West Domains and plenty of other domain providers use similar Domain Manager.

For information about URL forwarding and CNAME configuration for other commonly used domain providers, you can check the help links given below.

GoDaddy

• CNAME configuration: https://in.godaddy.com/help/add-a-cname-record-19236

• URL/Domain forwarding: https://in.godaddy.com/help/manually-forwarding-or-masking-your-domain-name-422
  

NameCheap  

• CNAME configuration: https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/9256/29/how-can-i-edit-dns-zone-in-cpanel#cnamerecord

• URL/Domain forwarding: https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/385/77/how-do-i-set-up-url-redirect-for-a-domain
  

iWantMyName  

• CNAME configuration: https://help.iwantmyname.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360014960137-How-do-I-add-a-CNAME-record

• URL/Domain forwarding: https://help.iwantmyname.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360015395577-How-do-I-set-up-forwarding-redirect
  

DnsMadeEasy  

• CNAME configuration: https://support.dnsmadeeasy.com/support/solutions/articles/47001001393-cname-record

• URL/Domain forwarding: https://support.dnsmadeeasy.com/support/solutions/articles/47001001437-http-redirection-record
  

Network Solutions  

• CNAME configuration: https://knowledge.web.com/subjects/article/KA-01097/en-us#NS

• URL/Domain forwarding: https://knowledge.web.com/subjects/article/KA-01161/en-us
  

Bluehost  

• CNAME configuration: https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/cname#create

• URL/Domain forwarding: https://www.bluehost.com/help/article/redirecting-domain-name
  

MyDomain.com  

• CNAME configuration: https://www.mydomain.com/help/article/dns-management-how-to-update-cname-aliases

• URL/Domain forwarding: https://help.dreamhost.com/hc/en-us/articles/215455377-How-do-I-redirect-my-domain-
  

1and1  

• CNAME configuration: https://www.ionos.com/help/domains/configuring-cname-records-for-subdomains/configuring-a-cname-record-for-a-subdomain/

• URL/Domain forwarding: https://www.ionos.com/help/domains/forwarding-a-domain/forwarding-a-domain-to-a-different-domain/ 
  

DreamHost  

• CNAME configuration: https://help.dreamhost.com/hc/en-us/articles/215414867-How-do-I-add-custom-DNS-records-#CNAME_record

• URL/Domain forwarding: https://help.dreamhost.com/hc/en-us/articles/215455377-How-do-I-redirect-my-domain-
  

register.com  

• CNAME configuration: https://knowledge.web.com/subjects/article/KA-01097/en-us#Rcom

• URL/Domain forwarding: https://www.register.com/website-forwarding.rcmx
  

Hostgator  

• CNAME configuration: https://www.hostgator.com/help/article/how-to-change-dns-zones-mx-cname-and-a-records

• URL/Domain forwarding: https://www.hostgator.com/help/article/url-redirect-how-to-create

If your domain provider does not provide a URL/domain forward option, you can make use of third-party URL redirect service providers like CloudFlare or NameCheap that provide you with an option to forward your domain name.