Custom domains

Every site keeps its free *.playbase.ai address (and on Hobby and Pro its vanity address, {site}.{namespace}.playbase.ai). You can also connect a domain you already own, bought from GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare or anywhere else. Adding a domain publishes nothing and takes nothing offline.

Ask your agent

With Webly connected over MCP, say something like "connect example.com to my site." The agent:

• asks which address you want;
• gives you the exact record to add;
• keeps checking in the background;
• tells you when DNS is found, when HTTPS is ready, and when the domain is live.

Or do the same from the dashboard: open the site, then Domains → Add your domain. Every domain in the workspace is listed under Settings → Domains.

www or the bare domain?

• www.example.com (recommended). Works with every DNS provider. Afterwards, turn on domain forwarding (sometimes called redirect) at your registrar from example.com to https://www.example.com, as a permanent (301) redirect. It's free at most registrars, so visitors who type example.com still land on your site.
• example.com directly. Only works if your DNS provider supports CNAME flattening or ALIAS records at the root, as Cloudflare, Namecheap and Porkbun do.

Subdomains like shop.example.com work with any provider.

The three steps

1. Add DNS record. If your domain's DNS is at Cloudflare, setup shows Connect with Cloudflare: sign in there, approve, and Webly adds the record for you (for a www domain it also forwards the bare domain if you allow redirects and nothing else uses it; otherwise set up the forward yourself as shown). If records are already there, you see exactly what would be replaced and approve or cancel before anything changes. Webly gives up the access as soon as it's done. Otherwise sign in where you manage the domain, open its DNS settings, and add the record Webly shows you. It is usually a CNAME from www (or @ for the root) to sites.playbase.ai.
   • Type only the name shown, such as www or @. GoDaddy and Namecheap add the rest of the domain for you.
   • On Cloudflare, set the record to DNS only (grey cloud).
   • DNS changes usually spread within minutes, occasionally up to 48 hours.
2. Issue HTTPS certificate. Once Webly sees the record, it gets a certificate for your domain. This usually takes a few minutes.
3. Live. Your domain serves the same published version as your *.playbase.ai address.

While the page is open it updates on its own every few seconds; Webly also keeps checking after you close it. The status dot pulses while it checks, and each step shows up in a short list as it happens: finished steps with the time they happened, the one in progress with how long it has been running. While you wait for DNS or the certificate, there's a little game under the list: click it (or focus it and press Space or Enter) to fly the Webly logo yourself. If setup fails, fix the record and use Check now (or ask your agent) to try again.

Moving a domain that's already live elsewhere

Setup also shows one or more optional TXT records. Add those first and leave your current record alone. Webly verifies the domain and issues HTTPS in the background. Wait until the domain shows Live, meaning ownership is verified and the certificate is deployed, before you switch the CNAME.

Removing a domain

Remove it from the domain's ⋯ menu. Visitors stop reaching your site at that address right away; your other addresses keep working. If Webly set up the domain's DNS records for you at Cloudflare, you can also have them deleted: leave Also delete the DNS records Webly added ticked, and approve in the Cloudflare tab that opens. Only records Webly added are removed.

Make it the primary address

The first of a site's domains to go live becomes its primary address, if the site doesn't have one yet: all other addresses, including *.playbase.ai, redirect to it. If the site already had one (another domain, or a playbase.ai address you picked), that one stays. To change it, open the domain's card in Settings → Domains: it lists every address that reaches the site, primary first. Choose Select new primary and click the address you want (or ask your agent). That can be one of your *.playbase.ai addresses too: your custom domains then redirect to it instead, until you pick a custom domain again. On the site's Domains tab, choose Make primary on the domain (or on its playbase.ai address) instead. The address menu, on each project card and at the top of the site's page, lists every address your site answers at, primary first, plus its draft address; pick one to copy it.

If your domain says it can't be found

Removed a domain and added it again, or deleted its DNS records and put them back? Your browser may show "server IP address could not be found" for a while, usually up to 30 minutes, even though Webly is serving it: your computer remembered that the domain didn't exist for a moment. It clears by itself. Flushing your computer's DNS cache can make it sooner, unless the answer is cached by your router or internet provider, in which case it just takes the wait. Your site's preview in Webly keeps working in the meantime.

Limits

• Up to 10 custom domains per site.
• A domain belongs to one site at a time. A claim that never goes live is released after 7 days.
• If a live domain's DNS is later changed to point elsewhere, it stops serving and shows Needs attention. Fix the record and check again.