Connect your own domain

Your Famlo website goes online at a web address you already own, like www.yourschool.org. You type the address in Website › Domain, add two records where you bought it, and Famlo connects it, usually within an hour. You need the Website plan and School settings set to Edit settings.

Before you start

• A domain you own. Famlo doesn't sell or register domains. If you don't have one yet, buy it from any domain seller first. There's no free famlo.co address for your website.
• A sign-in where you bought it. You'll add two records in its DNS settings. If someone else bought the domain, ask them to sign in with you, or send them this page.
• A few minutes in your DNS settings. Then Famlo does the waiting for you.

Add your address in Famlo

1. Open Website, then the Domain tab (1).
2. In Web address (2), type the address you own, like yourschool.org. You can paste a full link too. Famlo tidies it.
3. Check the line under the field. A plain domain opens at its www address: "Your site will open at www.yourschool.org. The address without www will forward there."
4. Select Next: connect it (3).

Famlo then shows the records to add, under Add these two records.

Add the two records

Sign in where you bought your domain and find its DNS settings. Add both records exactly as Famlo shows them, and delete any older record with the same name.

Record	Type	Name	Value	What it does
1	CNAME	www	The value shown in Famlo. It ends in .sites.famlo.co.	Sends www.yourschool.org to your Famlo site.
2	A	@	The address shown in Famlo, on the Domain tab.	Makes yourschool.org, without www, forward to www.yourschool.org.

The CNAME value is made for your organization and this address, so copy it from your own screen, not from the picture below. Use the Copy button on each record (1 and 2), and paste the value with nothing added: no http://, no slash and no spaces.

Tips that work at most DNS companies:

• Type only www in the Name field, not the whole address. Most DNS companies add your domain for you, and typing it all can create www.yourschool.org.yourschool.org.
• Some companies write the root differently. Where Famlo shows @, a few want the Name left blank. Your company's panel under Find your registrar's steps says which.
• Replace, don't add. A name with a CNAME can't have any other record. If there's already a www record, edit it or delete it first. On @, delete every other A record and any AAAA record.
• Leave your email alone. Don't touch MX or TXT records. They run your email and other services.
• Edit where your nameservers point. If your domain uses another company's nameservers (for example Cloudflare's, or a website builder's), add the records there, not where you bought the domain.

Once both records are in, go back to Website › Domain and select Check now (3), or wait for Famlo's hourly check.

If you use a subdomain

You can put your site on a subdomain instead, like families.yourschool.org. Type the whole subdomain in Web address. Famlo keeps it exactly as typed and shows Add this record: one CNAME whose Name is the first part (here, families) and whose Value is the one shown in Famlo. There's no A record to add, and your main domain isn't touched.

What not to do

Some DNS companies offer shortcuts that look helpful but stop your site from connecting.

Don't	Why, and what to do instead
Turn on domain forwarding, a URL redirect, or "connect to a website" for yourschool.org or www	It replaces or locks the records Famlo needs. Turn it off, then add the A record. Famlo forwards the address without www for you.
Use an ALIAS, ANAME or "flattened" CNAME on @	Visitors who type your address without www get a security error. Use the A record Famlo shows.
Make www an A record	www must be the CNAME Famlo shows. Famlo won't find an A record there, and your site won't open.
Turn on a proxy or CDN for these records, such as Cloudflare's orange cloud	Famlo can't see a proxied record. In Cloudflare, set both records to DNS only (the gray cloud).
Keep old website records beside Famlo's	Delete the old A, AAAA and www records left by a previous website, parking page or website builder.

While Famlo checks your records

Famlo checks your address every hour, and straight away when you select Check now. The line under the Website heading follows along, from "Connecting www.yourschool.org." to "www.yourschool.org · Live".

What you see	What it means	What to do
Waiting for your records, with "Not found yet" on each record	Famlo hasn't seen your www record yet. The yellow box shows the last check and what Famlo found.	Check the records, then wait. "Changes usually show up within an hour, sometimes up to a day."
Almost ready and Securing your site	"Both records found. We're setting up the padlock (https) for your address. This takes a few minutes."	Nothing. Famlo emails you the moment it's live.
Live	"Families can reach your site and sign in here." The address without www forwards there too.	Turn on Show in Google search when your pages are ready.

If the yellow box names a problem, such as a record that still points to your old website builder, see Domain troubleshooting.

Famlo holds your address for 7 days. The waiting card says "We'll hold this address for you until" a date a week after you started. If Famlo still hasn't seen your records by then, it lets the address go and emails you "We stopped waiting for www.yourschool.org". Nothing on your site changes. Add the address again whenever you're ready. Famlo shows the same records as before, so any you already added keep working.

To use a different address before this one connects, select Cancel and use a different address.

The "Your site is live" email. When your address connects, Famlo emails you and everyone else who can edit your website: "Good news: www.yourschool.org now opens your Famlo site." Families can browse, sign in and book there from then on.

When your site is live

Show in Google search (1) starts off for every new address, so Google doesn't list half-built pages. When your pages are ready, tick it. The notice says "Your site can now show in Google search." Untick it to hide the site again ("Hidden from Google search."). It saves straight away.

Your site is on its address once it's published and the address is Live. If you haven't published yet, see Publish, schedule and restore versions.

Change your address

Your site stays live on its current address while the new one connects.

1. Open Website › Domain and select Change address (2).
2. Type the new address and select Next: connect it.
3. Add the records Famlo shows for the new address at the company where you bought it.

While you wait, the top card says Live now: "Stays live until your new address is ready. Nothing changes for families yet." The card below, Moving to, shows the new address, its records and Check now. When the new address works, Famlo switches your site to it by itself. To stop, select Cancel the change.

You can change to one new address at a time. Finish or cancel a change before starting another.

After the switch:

• Your old address forwards to the new one, so old links, bookmarks and Google results still land on your site. Famlo suggests keeping it for a few months, and renewing the old domain while you do.
• Families sign in again once. Anyone who was signed in at the old address needs to sign in again at the new one.
• The new address starts hidden from Google. Turn on Show in Google search again.

To stop forwarding the old address, select Stop forwarding on its card and confirm. Links to it then stop working. Famlo says "www.oldschool.org is no longer one of your site's addresses.", and the card may show Removing… for a few minutes.

There's no button to take a live address off your site without moving to another one. If you need that, open a support ticket.

Send old addresses to your new pages

Moving from an old website? At the bottom of Website › Domain, Old addresses sends links to your old pages to the right new ones, so Google results and saved links keep working.

1. In Old address, type the old page's path, like /meetmarni.
2. In Goes to, type the page on your Famlo site, like /instructors. Famlo suggests your published pages as you type.
3. Select Add redirect.

Redirects save straight to your live site. To delete one, select Remove beside it in the list.

• Both addresses are paths on your own site, starting with /. You can't send visitors to another website.
• Capital letters, a slash at the end and anything after ? in the old address are ignored.
• Each old address can be added once, and it can't go to itself.
• A redirect only applies where no page exists at that address. If you later make a page with that address, the page wins.

Find your registrar's steps

Find the company where you bought your domain, or where its nameservers point. Each panel says where its DNS settings are, what trips people up there, and links to that company's own help. Wherever you are, add the two records exactly as shown in Website › Domain.

GoDaddy

Where DNS lives: Sign in and open your Domain Portfolio. Select the domain to open its Domain Settings page, then select the DNS tab.

• Type www in Name for the CNAME, and @ in Name for the A record. Don’t type your whole domain.
• If a www record or an A record on @ is already there, edit it instead of adding a second one.
• Forwarding locks the A record on @. Delete it first under DNS › Forwarding.
• A connection to another service, such as Squarespace, also locks records. Select Remove next to its name above the records table.
• Leave MX and TXT records alone. Deleting them can stop your email working.

GoDaddy's own help:

• Edit a CNAME record
• Edit an A record
• Delete DNS records
• Remove domain forwarding
• Remove a connection to another service

Squarespace DomainsAlso former Google Domains

Where DNS lives: In the Domains dashboard, click the domain, then DNS › DNS Settings. Add your records under Custom Records with Add record.

• Delete the Squarespace Defaults first, with the trash can beside that section’s heading. Squarespace says your domain can’t point to another site while they’re in place.
• The CNAME’s value goes in Data. The A record’s value goes in IP Address.
• If you see “Conflicting domain forwarding rule”, select Manage rules, delete the rule, then add the record again.
• Squarespace asks for your password, or your two-factor code, before it saves a change.

Squarespace Domains's own help:

• Point a Squarespace domain to another site
• Edit or delete DNS records
• Fix DNS record conflicts

Namecheap

Where DNS lives: Open Domain List, select Manage next to the domain, then the Advanced DNS tab. Your records are under Host Records.

• Delete Namecheap’s parking records first: the URL Redirect on @ and the www CNAME to parkingpage.namecheap.com. Use the trash bin icon.
• Type www or @ in Host. Namecheap adds your domain for you.
• Namecheap’s CNAME guide suggests a URL Redirect for @. Skip that step and add Famlo’s A record instead.
• Host Records only show when the domain uses Namecheap BasicDNS, PremiumDNS or FreeDNS. Otherwise, add the records wherever your nameservers point.
• Save each record with the green checkmark, or Save All Changes.

Namecheap's own help:

• Connect a domain to outside hosting
• Add a CNAME record
• Add an A record

WixDomains bought from Wix

Where DNS lives: In your Wix account, go to Domains, click the Domain Actions icon next to the domain, then choose Manage DNS Records.

• For the A record, leave Host Name blank. Wix uses a blank Host Name where Famlo shows @.
• Type www as the Host Name for the CNAME.
• Change or delete Wix’s own A record and www CNAME, so each name has only Famlo’s record. Wix warns that your Wix site may go offline.
• You can’t move a Wix domain’s nameservers, so make the changes in Wix. If your domain was only pointed to Wix, change the records at the company you bought it from.
• After you select Save on a new record, select Save Changes in the pop-up.

Wix's own help:

• Connect a Wix domain to an outside site
• Add, edit or delete DNS records
• Check where your records are managed

Network Solutions

Where DNS lives: In Account Manager, click Domains and choose your domain. Under Advanced Tools, click Manage next to Advanced DNS Records.

• Each record has a Refers to menu. Choose www for the CNAME and @ for the A record.
• The CNAME’s value goes in Alias to. The A record’s value goes in Points to.
• If Web Forwarding is set up, delete it: Advanced Tools › Manage beside Web Forwarding, then the pencil › Delete.
• Advanced DNS works only while the domain uses Network Solutions’ own nameservers.
• Older accounts that sign in at support.web.com use Domains › manage › Advanced Settings › DNS Records instead.

Network Solutions's own help:

• Add or edit A and CNAME records
• Add, edit or delete records (support.web.com accounts)
• Remove Web Forwarding

Bluehost

Where DNS lives: In the Bluehost Portal, open Domains in the left-hand menu, click the domain, then the DNS tab.

• Use + Add record for each record. Change or remove an old one with its ⋮ menu: Edit or Delete.
• For the A record, choose @ in Refers to and paste the value in Points to.
• A CNAME can’t share its name with another record, so remove any old www record first.
• If your domain uses another company’s nameservers, change the records there instead.

Bluehost's own help:

• Add, edit or delete DNS records
• Examples of an A record on @ and a www CNAME

IONOS

Where DNS lives: Open Menu › Domains & SSL, click the Actions menu next to the domain, then select DNS. Use Add record to add one.

• For the A record, type @ in Host name or leave it empty. Typing your whole domain creates a record for yourschool.com.yourschool.com.
• Keep only one A record on your main domain. Delete the old one that points to IONOS, and any AAAA record there.
• IONOS can’t rename a record’s host name. Add the new record, then delete the old one.
• If www isn’t listed, create it first under Actions › Manage subdomains.
• If the IONOS CDN is on for www, turn it off. It changes the www record.

IONOS's own help:

• Add or change an A record
• Add a CNAME record
• Example: an A record and a www CNAME for an outside site

Cloudflare

Where DNS lives: In the Cloudflare dashboard, select the domain, then open DNS › Records. Use Add record, or Edit on a record’s row.

• Set both records to DNS only (the gray cloud). Cloudflare turns its proxy on by default, and Famlo can’t see a proxied record.
• Delete the old www record before you add Famlo’s CNAME. Cloudflare won’t let a CNAME share its name.
• Delete any other A or AAAA records on @. Cloudflare allows several, so it won’t warn you.
• Don’t use CNAME flattening, Redirect Rules or Page Rules for your domain. They only work with the proxy on.
• Type www or @ as the Name, and leave TTL on Auto.

Cloudflare's own help:

• Add, edit or delete DNS records
• Turn off the proxy (DNS only)
• Add a record on @ (then set it to DNS only)
• Fix “a record with that name already exists”

Hostinger

Where DNS lives: In hPanel, go to Domains, select Manage next to the domain, then DNS / Nameservers in the left sidebar.

• Type @ for the A record and www for the CNAME. Hostinger adds your domain for you.
• Delete the A records already on @, and any AAAA record there, before you add Famlo’s.
• Your domain may already have a www CNAME. Edit it to Famlo’s value instead of adding a second one.
• Turn Hostinger CDN fully off first. It also leaves a CNAME ALIAS on @, which you need to delete.
• Records only take effect while the domain uses Hostinger’s nameservers.

Hostinger's own help:

• Point a domain to an outside service
• Add, edit or delete a CNAME record
• Add, edit or delete an A record

Porkbun

Where DNS lives: On the Domain Management screen, click DNS under the domain’s name. Manage DNS Records opens.

• Leave Host blank for the A record. Type www as the Host for the CNAME.
• Delete Porkbun’s default records that point to pixie.porkbun.com first, or you’ll see “A CNAME or ALIAS record with that host already exists”.
• Porkbun’s guide for root domains suggests an ALIAS record. Famlo needs the A record instead.
• Don’t park the domain later. Parking removes the records on @ and www, including Famlo’s.

Porkbun's own help:

• Add DNS records
• Delete the parking records and add an A record
• Fix “a record with that host already exists”

Name.com

Where DNS lives: Click MY DOMAINS, click the domain name, then Manage DNS Records under Domain Actions.

• Leave Host blank for the A record. Type www as the Host for the CNAME, and never leave Host blank on a CNAME.
• Name.com’s A record guide goes on to add a second record with Host *. Stop after the first one.
• If URL forwarding is on, turn it off. Name.com changes your A records to make forwarding work.
• Records here work only while the domain uses Name.com’s default nameservers.

Name.com's own help:

• Add a CNAME record
• Add an A record

Dynadot

Where DNS lives: Go to My Domains › Manage Domains, tick the domain, click Action and choose DNS Settings. Pick Dynadot DNS in the menu at the top.

• Put the A record in the Domain Record section, without typing @. Choose A, not ANAME, Forward or Stealth Forward.
• Add the CNAME under Subdomain Records, with www as the subdomain.
• Dynadot’s CNAME guide sets the Domain Record to Forward, and its A record guide adds a www A record. Skip both of those steps.
• Nothing is saved until you click Save Settings. Don’t use Clear Settings: it deletes your email records too.

Dynadot's own help:

• Add a CNAME record
• Add an A record
• Set up Dynadot DNS

Troubleshooting

Famlo still says "Not found yet" after an hour. Check that the CNAME's Name is just www and its value matches Famlo's exactly, and that no other www record is left. Some companies take longer, up to a day. See Domain troubleshooting for each message Famlo shows.

Check now says "We checked a moment ago." Wait a few seconds, then try again.

My address said Live, and now it doesn't. Someone may have changed your DNS, or your domain may have renewed with new settings. See Domain troubleshooting.

I'm stuck. Open a support ticket and include your web address.

What's next

• Domain troubleshooting
• Publish, schedule and restore versions
• Analytics, the cookie banner and your calendar feed
• Your Famlo website: what you get