Dubb Agent can build the site and Dubb Studio can host it. The last mile is DNS, and it is where most people get stuck, because every registrar asks for the same four values under four different labels and nothing warns you when a value is wrong. This article covers both ways to connect a domain you own: a full website on your root domain, and custom landing pages on a subdomain.
There are two types of configuration. Pick the one that matches what you are building, follow the steps for it, and use the troubleshooting section if the green checkmark does not appear.
Which configuration do you need?
Homepage or root domain, yourdomain.com. Use this for full website development. The record is an A record pointing at a fixed Dubb IP address, 44.234.236.55. This takes over whatever is served at your root domain today, including an existing website.
Custom subdomain, subdomain.yourdomain.com. Use this for custom landing pages only. The record is a CNAME pointing at cname.dubb.com.
A CNAME cannot sit on the root of a domain, which is why the root uses A records and the subdomain uses a CNAME. Never put both on the same host.
If you are not sure, start with the subdomain. It is quicker, it cannot affect your company email, and it works at every registrar. You can add the root domain configuration later.
Before you start
You must own the domain, or have login access to wherever it is managed.
Custom domains are a paid Dubb feature. Confirm your plan supports them before you begin.
Know which provider actually controls the DNS. If your nameservers point at Cloudflare, Wix, Squarespace or a web host, your DNS lives there, and edits made at the registrar you bought the domain from do nothing at all, with no error message.
Choose your subdomain label before you touch anything, lp, go, pages, watch or video, and do not change it halfway through. The DNS record and the Dubb entry have to match character for character.
Do not touch your MX records. Those are your email.
Expect a wait. DNS changes take as little as 10 minutes and can take up to 72 hours.
Setting this up for a customer? Ask for mouse control or a screen share and make the DNS edits for them. It takes minutes instead of a week of screenshots. Then jot a note to check their domain the next day, because a DNS failure is silent and you would rather find it than hear about it.
Configuration 1. Homepage, yourdomain.com (full website development)
Step 1. Specify the domain in Dubb
In Dubb Studio, open Assets in the left navigation, click Landing Pages, then click Configuration. In the domain field, which already shows an https:// prefix, enter your domain, for example yourdomain.com, and click the save icon to the right of the field.
Leave that panel open. The icon beside the domain tells you where you stand:
Green checkmark. The domain is connected and served over HTTPS. You are done.
Clock. The record is verified and the SSL certificate is being issued, which usually takes a few minutes.
Warning icon. The records do not point at Dubb yet.
Click Verify DNS, the circular arrow, at any point to check again without re-saving anything.
Step 2. Make one page the homepage
A website needs a single page served at the bare domain. Without one, nothing loads at yourdomain.com.
Open Assets, then Landing Pages.
On the row for the page you want, click the three dots, then Settings.
Tick Homepage and save.
The page has to be published first. Until it is, the checkbox is disabled and the panel tells you to publish the page.
Only one page can be the homepage. Choosing a new one replaces the current one, and the panel names the page it is replacing.
Only members who can edit the team profile can set or clear the homepage.
Once it is set, the row shows a house icon reading Homepage, served at https://yourdomain.com/.
Step 3. Add the A record in your DNS provider
Open the DNS records editor at the provider that controls your DNS and add a new record:
Record type: A
Name or Host: @
Value or Points to: 44.234.236.55
TTL or Time: Custom, 600s
Delete anything already parked on @ before you add this. GoDaddy ships a parked record on the root, and sometimes a Website Builder record, and either one stops Dubb from verifying, because every A record on that host has to belong to Dubb. A stray record sends part of your visitors somewhere else and blocks the SSL certificate.
At GoDaddy, for example: sign in, open the account menu and click My Products, find your domain (click Show More, or use Command-F on a Mac or Ctrl-F on Windows to search the page), click DNS, then Manage DNS Records, then Add New Record. The host field takes @ for the root. No http:// and no trailing slash belongs in the value. Set the TTL to Custom, 600 seconds.
Step 4. Save, then check Dubb
Confirm the saved record appears in the list exactly as you entered it, then return to Dubb and look for the green checkmark next to the domain. Green means the domain is connected. Red, or a spinner, means DNS has not propagated yet: wait 30 minutes and check again before assuming it is broken.
Configuration 2. Custom subdomain, subdomain.yourdomain.com (custom landing pages)
Step 1. Pick your label and specify the subdomain in Dubb
Choose the label first. It can be anything you like: lp, go, pages, watch, video. Once you have chosen one, do not change it mid-setup, because the DNS record and the Dubb entry have to match.
Open the Configuration popup in Dubb and enter the full subdomain, including the label and your domain, for example lp.yourdomain.com. Not just lp.
Step 2. Add the CNAME record in your DNS provider
Record type: CNAME
Name or Host: lp
Value or Points to: cname.dubb.com
TTL or Time: Custom, 600s
The label must match the subdomain you entered in Dubb exactly. If Dubb says lp.yourdomain.com and your record says pages, it will never verify.
Four things break this record, and all four of them are silent:
The Host contains the full domain. Enter the label only. If the box reads lp.yourdomain.com you will create lp.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com.
The Value has a stray character. It must read cname.dubb.com exactly, with two b characters. No http://, no trailing slash, no trailing dot where the provider does not want one, no accidental capital letter, and no space carried in from a paste.
A record already exists on that host. A CNAME cannot coexist with any other record on the same host, so delete a parking record or an old A or URL Redirect record on that label first.
Cloudflare is proxying. The proxy toggle must be grey and read DNS only. An orange cloud means Cloudflare answers with its own IP addresses and Dubb will never verify the domain.
Step 3. Save, then check Dubb
Check the saved row in the record list rather than the form, because some providers silently rewrite what you typed. Then return to Dubb and look for the green checkmark. Your landing pages are live at your subdomain, for example lp.yourdomain.com.
Where the record goes at other providers
Same four values, different labels. The Host field almost always wants the label only, never the full domain.
Namecheap: Domain List, Manage, Advanced DNS, Host Records, Add New Record. Delete the default URL Redirect on @ and the www CNAME first, and click Save All Changes, not just the row checkmark.
Cloudflare: select the domain, DNS, Records, Add record. The proxy toggle must be grey and read DNS only.
Google Domains and Squarespace: account.squarespace.com, Domains, the domain, DNS, Custom records. Squarespace blocks the full domain in the Name field, so use the label.
Wix: Domains, Domain Actions, Manage DNS Records, the CNAME section. If the domain is connected by pointing rather than nameservers, the DNS has to be edited at the original registrar. Never delete the apex A record or the www CNAME, it takes the site down.
Hostinger: hPanel, Domains, DNS, Manage DNS records, Add Record. Hostinger appends the domain for you.
Shopify: Settings, Domains, the domain, DNS settings, Manage, Add custom record. Shopify appends the domain on some paths, so trust the saved row over the form.
Porkbun: Domain Management, DNS, Manage DNS Records, Add Record, and delete the default pixie.porkbun.com parking records first.
cPanel and shared hosts: cPanel, Domains, Zone Editor, Manage, Add Record. cPanel appends the domain and stores the full name, so type the label only.
If your provider is not listed, every panel is the same four things wearing different labels. Find the section called DNS, DNS Records, Advanced DNS or Zone Editor, click Add Record, choose CNAME, put the label in the field called Host, Name, Hostname, Subdomain or Refers to, and put cname.dubb.com in the field called Value, Target, Points to, Content, Data or Answer.
Confirm it worked
A green checkmark next to the domain in Dubb.
Your website loads at yourdomain.com, or your landing page loads at your subdomain.
The record appears in your provider's list exactly as you entered it.
Set a reminder to check the domain again the next day. DNS problems are quiet, and 30 minutes is not always long enough to know.
Troubleshooting
You have not waited long enough. Under 30 minutes is completely normal, however correct the record is.
You edited the wrong DNS panel. Check your nameservers. If they point anywhere other than your registrar, the DNS lives at that other provider.
A Cloudflare proxy is on. Set the record to DNS only, grey cloud, and save again.
The host field holds the full domain. Correct it to the label only.
The value has a stray character. A leading http://, a trailing slash, a trailing dot that does not belong, an accidental capital letter, a missing b in cname.dubb.com, or a trailing space from pasting.
You added a second record instead of replacing the old one. A CNAME cannot share a host with anything else. Check the whole list for an old A, ALIAS or URL Redirect record on that label.
The record type is wrong. An A record where a CNAME is required, or a URL Redirect instead of a CNAME.
Only one of the two saves happened. Some providers need you to save the row and then save the whole page. Reload the DNS page. If the record is gone, it never saved.
Dubb has the label instead of the full subdomain. Enter the whole thing, lp.yourdomain.com, in the Configuration popup.
The label does not match. The Host field and the Dubb entry have to read the same, character for character.
An old answer is cached. If your TTL was high, check the domain from a phone on mobile data, or from a different network.
A parked record is still on the root. For the A record configuration, every A record on @ has to be one of Dubb's. Delete the parking record, and the Website Builder record if there is one.
The root already serves a website. Adding the A record points that domain at Dubb and takes the old site down. If that is not what you want, use a subdomain instead.
The registrar will not let you point the root at Dubb. A few providers refuse. Use the A record configuration, or move that domain's DNS to a provider that supports a flattened root.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use both configurations at the same time?
Yes. They live on different hosts, the root and your chosen subdomain, so the A record and the CNAME do not conflict. Many teams run the full website on the root and landing pages on lp.
Which one should I use for landing pages?
Configuration 2. A subdomain is the right home for custom landing pages, it needs one record, and it leaves your root domain free.
Can I point my root domain at a CNAME instead?
No. The DNS specification does not allow a CNAME on the root of a domain, which is why the root uses A records pointing at Dubb's fixed address. If your provider offers an ALIAS or ANAME record at the root, that is a flattened record, and there it can be used instead of the A record.
Do I need a developer for this?
No. It is one record in a form, and the values are printed above. The only skill involved is copying them exactly.
How long does it take to go live?
Usually 10 to 30 minutes. Slow registrars can take up to 72 hours. There is nothing else to do while you wait.
What if the checkmark stays red?
Work the troubleshooting list above in order, starting with how long it has been. If the record is correct and 30 minutes have passed, contact support at support@dubb.com with a screenshot of the saved record as it appears in your provider's list, and a screenshot of the domain in your Dubb Configuration popup. Those two images are usually enough to spot it.
Still stuck after 30 minutes with a record that looks correct? Send us those two screenshots and we will find it with you.