Connect a DonDominio domain (DNS zone, CNAME and ANAME)

Did you buy your domain at DonDominio, or does DonDominio manage its DNS? This guide shows, step by step, where to create in DonDominio the records Acatudy asks for.

Before you start

• In Acatudy, go to My academy → General → Details & domain, type your address in Your own domain (for example www.brightpathtutoring.com) and click Add domain. A custom domain is included in Basic and Professional (1 domain) and Institutional (3 domains).
• Open How do I link my domain? on that card and keep it at hand: it shows your CNAME target (like brightpath.acatudy.com) and the IP address for a root domain.
• DonDominio's DNS zone only applies if the domain uses DonDominio's DNS servers (ns1.dondominio.com and ns2.dondominio.com). Its help says you need the free redirect and parking plan or a hosting plan to use them. You can check this in the domain's DNS section (Edit DNS servers): with custom servers, edit the records at that provider.

Step 1. Open your DNS records at DonDominio

1. Open your domain

   Sign in to your DonDominio customer area, go to Domains and click the domain name.

2. Open the DNS zone

   Open the DNS Zone tab. DonDominio's articles also reach it through Manage Parking → Parking & DNS Zone or, with hosting, through the hosting's Manage button; the zone is the same.

3. Create or edit an entry

   Use +Create for a new entry. To change one, click the three dots → Edit and save.

Step 2. Point www to your academy (CNAME)

Add this record (or edit the existing www record if there is one):

DonDominio's zone already has a CNAME starting with www.. Its help says to edit that CNAME and change the destination host: put your academy address there instead of creating a second www record.

Using another subdomain, such as learn? Use it as the name instead of www, and add that same address in Acatudy. With this CNAME no TXT record is needed.

Step 3. Remove records that get in the way

• The default zone has an ANAME on the root and the CNAME www.. If you serve the root from Acatudy, DonDominio's help says to delete the ANAME entry and create an A entry pointing to your server's IP.
• Delete any AAAA entry on the name you point to Acatudy, and any redirect configured for it.

Don't touch MX, SPF or DKIM records: they run your email.

Step 4 (optional). The root domain

brightpathtutoring.com (without www) and www.brightpathtutoring.com are one domain: if the root also points to Acatudy, it works on its own, redirects (301) to the address you added keeping the path, shares its HTTPS certificate and doesn't count as an extra domain. So you no longer need to forward the root to www from DonDominio.

Create the A record on the root

If the root has a redirect in Manage Parking → Redirections, delete it first: it conflicts with the A record. Since www already has the CNAME, the root doesn't need the TXT. Create this record, replacing any existing A record on the root:

For the root, DonDominio's examples leave the host field blank. DonDominio also supports ANAME records on the root ("lets you point to a CNAME, including from the root of the domain"): an ANAME works too, but like the A record it needs the TXT, and the A record is the simplest choice.

Prefer the root as your main address? Add brightpathtutoring.com in Acatudy instead of www, create the same A record and the TXT record (see below). If you also create the CNAME on www, www redirects to the root and the TXT isn't needed.

Step 5. Verify in Acatudy and get HTTPS

1. Wait for propagation

   DonDominio's help doesn't give a TTL for zone entries; leave the default. Zone changes usually work within hours; a change of DNS servers takes 6 to 12 hours according to its help.

2. Verification is automatic

   Acatudy checks pending domains every 10 minutes for 14 days. To check right away, click Verify on the Your own domain card: the badge changes from pending to verified.

3. HTTPS is automatic too

   Once verified, we issue a free Let's Encrypt certificate and renew it for you, usually within minutes (we retry every hour if the DNS isn't ready). There's nothing to install at DonDominio.

4. Check it yourself (optional)

   Run nslookup -type=CNAME www.brightpathtutoring.com in a terminal, or use Google's Admin Toolbox Dig: the answer should be your academy address.

The TXT record (required with an A record on the root)

If you use an A record on the root, Acatudy requires a TXT record to prove the domain is yours (the IP address is shared by all academies). With the CNAME on www you don't need it, not even for the root. The card shows its Host (e.g. _acatudy-verify.brightpathtutoring.com) and Value (acatudy-verify=…).

Create a TXT entry with the value from Acatudy. DonDominio's help doesn't say whether the host is relative; the root host is left blank, so type the host without your domain and check it with a lookup.

Common problems at DonDominio

Still not verified after 24 hours, or verified without HTTPS? Open a ticket in Support from your panel with the domain and a screenshot of your DNS records at DonDominio (see Support and response times).

Official documentation and related guides

DonDominio official documentation consulted for this guide:

• DNS zone
• Point a domain to a server IP
• What are DonDominio's DNS?
• Change a domain's DNS servers (in Spanish)
• Redirecting a domain to a page hosted elsewhere (in Spanish)

In Acatudy: Connect your domain: guides by provider (www vs root, nameservers, TTL and troubleshooting) and Connect your own domain.