Connect a GoDaddy domain (CNAME, A record and TXT)

Did you buy your domain at GoDaddy, or does GoDaddy manage its DNS? This guide shows, step by step, where to create in GoDaddy 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.
• GoDaddy only manages your DNS if the domain uses GoDaddy Nameservers. Check it in DNS → Nameservers: if it says the domain uses other nameservers, GoDaddy's own help notes that the DNS zone lives in that other company's account. Edit the records there instead (for Cloudflare, see the Cloudflare guide).

Step 1. Open your DNS records at GoDaddy

1. Sign in to your Domain Portfolio

   Sign in to GoDaddy and open your Domain Portfolio.

2. Open the domain

   Select your domain to open its Domain Settings page.

3. Open the DNS records

   Select DNS to see the DNS records. That's where you'll edit the www record and, if needed, select Add New Record.

Step 2. Point www to your academy (CNAME)

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

GoDaddy usually already has a CNAME named www whose value is @. GoDaddy's help says that to change www you edit that CNAME: open it with the edit (pencil) icon, replace @ with your academy address and Save. In the Name field type only www: GoDaddy's Name is the prefix without the domain name.

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

• A domain without a website is usually parked: its A record on @ points to GoDaddy's parking IPs (3.33.130.190 or 15.197.148.33, according to GoDaddy's parking article). To make the root open your academy too (Step 4), edit that A record; if you only use www, you can leave it.
• Delete any AAAA record on the same name you point to Acatudy.
• GoDaddy's help: if you can't delete a DNS record, check that there's no forwarding on the domain first.

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 GoDaddy.

Create the A record on the root

If you set up forwarding for the domain (DNS → Forwarding), 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:

GoDaddy doesn't allow a CNAME on @ ("Cannot be the @ symbol"), and its help articles don't mention ALIAS or ANAME records, so use the A record for the root. Only one A record should remain on @: remove any extra value added with "Add another value".

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

   GoDaddy's default TTL is 1 hour. Its help says most DNS changes take effect within an hour but can take up to 48 hours to update globally.

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 GoDaddy.

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=…).

GoDaddy adds your domain to the Name automatically, so remove .yourdomain.com from the Host that Acatudy shows.

Common problems at GoDaddy

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 GoDaddy (see Support and response times).

Official documentation and related guides

GoDaddy official documentation consulted for this guide:

• Add a CNAME record
• Add an A record
• Add a TXT record
• Manage DNS records
• Delete DNS records
• Forward my GoDaddy domain
• Change my domain nameservers

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