Connect your domain: step-by-step guides by provider (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare…)

Connecting your own domain takes one DNS record at the company where you manage your domain. The records are always the same; only the screens change from one provider to another. Pick yours below: each guide follows that provider's official help center and was reviewed on October 2, 2026.

Before you start

• Plan: a custom domain is included in Basic and Professional (1 domain) and Institutional (3 domains). The Free plan uses your built-in address, e.g. brightpath.acatudy.com, which never counts toward the limit.
• Add the domain in Acatudy first: go to My academy → General → Details & domain, find the Your own domain card, type the address (for example www.brightpathtutoring.com) and click Add domain. If it isn't verified within 14 days, it's released (it disappears from the list) and you have to add it again.
• Open How do I link my domain? on the same card: it shows your CNAME target and the IP address for a root domain. Keep that tab open; you'll copy from it.
• You need to sign in to the account where the domain is registered (or where its DNS is hosted).

Find your provider

Where did you buy your domain? Open its guide:

Is your provider not listed? Follow the general steps on this page: every DNS panel has the same three fields (type, name/host and value/target), sometimes with slightly different names.

The records Acatudy asks for

Copy the values from Your own domain → How do I link my domain?. They depend on your academy, so never copy them from an example:

With a CNAME to your academy address, no TXT record is needed. With an A record on the root (the IP address is shared by all academies), the TXT is required: it proves the domain is yours. The only exception: if www of the same domain already has the CNAME to your academy address.

www or the root domain?

www.brightpathtutoring.com and brightpathtutoring.com are one domain. You add one of the two forms, whichever you want as your main address. The other one works on its own as long as its DNS also points to Acatudy: it redirects (301) to the one you added, keeping the path, shares a single HTTPS certificate and counts, together with it, as 1 domain of your plan.

• Recommended: add www.brightpathtutoring.com with a CNAME to your academy address and also create an A record on @ to the IP shown in Acatudy, so anyone who types brightpathtutoring.com reaches your website. Since www already has the CNAME, the root doesn't need the TXT. You no longer need your provider's domain forwarding: if it's active on the root, remove it so you can create the A record.
• Root domain as your main address: add brightpathtutoring.com, create an A record on @ to the IP shown in Acatudy and the TXT record _acatudy-verify. If you also create the CNAME from www to your academy address, www redirects to the root and the TXT isn't needed.
• Can I use a CNAME on the root? The DNS standard doesn't allow a CNAME at the root, and most providers block it. Some offer an equivalent: ALIAS or ANAME records, or Cloudflare's CNAME flattening. They also work, but like the A record they need the TXT, and the A record is simpler.

Who manages your DNS? Check the nameservers

The records must be created where your domain's nameservers point, which isn't always where you bought it. For example, a domain registered at GoDaddy that uses Cloudflare's nameservers is edited in Cloudflare; one that uses your web host's nameservers is edited at the host.

• In your registrar's panel, look at the domain's nameservers (often called Nameservers, DNS servers or Servidores DNS).
• If they belong to another company (for example *.ns.cloudflare.com), open that company's guide instead.
• You don't need to change nameservers to connect Acatudy. Changing them can take hours and breaks your email if you forget to copy the MX records.

Remove records that get in the way

A name can't have a CNAME and other records at the same time, and two A records for the same name send visitors to two different places. Before adding Acatudy's records:

• Delete any old A, AAAA or CNAME record for the same name (www or @): parking pages, "coming soon" pages, an old website or a website builder.
• Delete the AAAA (IPv6) records of that name too: our HTTPS certificate is issued over IPv4, and an old AAAA makes it fail.
• Turn off any forwarding/redirect configured on that same name.
• Don't touch MX, SPF/TXT or DKIM records: they run your email.

TTL and how long it takes

• TTL is how long other servers remember a record. The provider's default (often 1 hour or "Automatic") is fine. If you're replacing an old record, its previous TTL decides how long the old value keeps answering.
• Propagation: new records usually work within minutes to a few hours. Providers quote up to 24 to 48 hours in the worst case.
• Verification: Acatudy checks pending domains every 10 minutes for 14 days, so you don't have to come back. You can also click Verify on the card at any time. If it isn't verified within 14 days, the domain is released and you have to add it again.
• HTTPS: once verified, we request a free Let's Encrypt certificate and renew it automatically. It's usually ready within minutes (we retry every hour if the DNS isn't ready yet). Until it's active, emails and Google keep using your brightpath.acatudy.com address. If the domain later stops pointing to Acatudy, or its certificate fails for several days in a row, Acatudy stops using it as your main address (it goes back to brightpath.acatudy.com) and emails the academy administrator.

Check it yourself

1. Look up the record

   On Windows, macOS or Linux, open a terminal and run nslookup -type=CNAME www.brightpathtutoring.com (or nslookup brightpathtutoring.com for an A record). The answer should show your academy address or the IP from Acatudy.

2. Or use a web tool

   Google's free Admin Toolbox Dig shows the public DNS answer for any record type.

3. Click Verify in Acatudy

   When the lookup shows the right value, click Verify on the Your own domain card. The badge changes from pending to verified.

Troubleshooting

Need a hand? Open a ticket

If the domain is still pending or verification failed after 24 hours, or it's verified but HTTPS doesn't work, open a ticket in Support from your panel (see Support and response times). Include the domain, your provider and a screenshot of its DNS records: we'll tell you exactly what to change.

For a broader overview of custom domains in Acatudy, see Connect your own domain.