Connect a domain you already own

Point your whole domain or just an ordering address to the site Selflane hosts for you. Add the DNS records shown in the Back Office at your current DNS provider, then take a full site live.

DNS is the address book that sends visitors to your website. You can make these changes with any company that manages your DNS.

Get ready

Before you change anything, make sure you have:

• Access to the account that manages DNS for your domain. This is not always the same company where you bought the domain.
• The DNS records for your domain. They list the exact Type, Name, and Value to add.
• A copy or screenshot of your current DNS records. Keep it until the site is live.

Find your DNS records

After you set up your site, Settings → Domain shows the Connect your domain card. It lists each address that is still on its way live, with a status badge:

The records table shows the Type, Name, and Value of each record to add, with a copy button beside the name and value. Status shows Found once Selflane sees the record, or Not found yet. Use the exact values for your domain. Add a TXT record only when it is listed.

Do not change your nameservers. Keep your current DNS provider so your email and other records stay as they are.

If someone else manages your DNS, click Email these to whoever manages your DNS. Enter up to 5 addresses under Recipients, or leave it empty to send to the business owners, then click Send. The email includes instructions for adding the records.

If a Selflane rep set up your website, the Website Setup Progress tracker shows instead, and Selflane emails you the records to add.

If the card shows We couldn't finish setting up your site., click Try again.

Choose the address to connect

• To use yourrestaurant.com and www.yourrestaurant.com for your Selflane site, follow Connect your whole domain below. This usually takes two records.
• To keep your main website where it is and use only order.yourrestaurant.com for Selflane, follow Connect only an ordering address below. This usually takes one record.

Connect your whole domain

Your domain has two common versions. Each needs its own record:

@ means the domain without www. It is not an email address. Some DNS providers show it as the domain name, root, or a blank Name field. Use the option your provider gives you for the domain without www.

The two records work separately. If www.yourrestaurant.com works but yourrestaurant.com does not, check the A record for @.

Add or update the DNS records

1. Sign in to the company that manages DNS for your domain.
2. Open the DNS records or DNS zone for your domain.
3. Find the A record named @ or your domain without www. Enter Selflane’s A value. If an old website A record exists, update it instead of adding another.
4. Check for other A records named @. Remove old website values so only Selflane’s A value remains. If you are unsure what a record is for, ask Support before changing it.
5. Find any website record named www. Replace it with the CNAME and value from Selflane. Do not leave an old www website record alongside it.
6. Add any other record listed in your Selflane instructions. Leave the TTL at your provider’s default unless Selflane says otherwise.
7. Save your changes.

Your provider may call Name the Host, and Value the Points to, Target, Data, or Destination. The screen may look different, but the record types and values are the same.

Connect only an ordering address

Use this option when your main website stays at yourrestaurant.com or www.yourrestaurant.com, and customers order at order.yourrestaurant.com. For example, Shoku House’s ordering site  uses an order address.

1. Find the CNAME record for your order address in the Connect your domain card.
2. Sign in to the company that manages DNS for your domain. Open the DNS records or DNS zone.
3. Find any record named order. If one exists, check what it is for before replacing it. Ask Support if you are unsure.
4. Add or update the order record as a CNAME. Enter the exact value shown in the Back Office. Do not leave another record named order alongside it.
5. Add any other record listed in your Selflane instructions, then save your changes.

Do not change the A record for @ or the www record for this option. They keep your main website where it is. Your provider may call Name the Host, and Value the Points to, Target, Data, or Destination.

Take your site live

When the records for a full website are found, the badge changes to Ready to go live and a Go live section appears.

1. Review the price shown. Going live starts Website Hosting at $50 per location per month ($60 CAD in Canada). A site with several locations is charged for each location that doesn’t have Website Hosting yet.
2. The business owner clicks Go live.

If you go live in the last 7 days of a month, the rest of that month is free. If every location already has Website Hosting, the card says going live adds no charge.

Managers see Ask the business owner to take the site live. instead of the button.

After you go live, the card shows Your DNS is connected. We're turning your site on, which can take up to 15 minutes. Click Check now to see whether it’s done. If you see Your site isn't connected yet. Check the DNS records and try again., check the records, then click Go live again.

Add an ordering link to your site

A full website can also take orders at an address such as order.yourrestaurant.com. The ordering link is included with your site at no extra charge.

1. In the Ordering link card under Settings → Domain, check the Ordering link address. It starts as order. followed by your domain.
2. Click Add ordering link.
3. Add the CNAME record that appears in the Connect your domain card. See Connect only an ordering address.

The Ordering link card disappears once your site has an ordering link.

Protect your email

Website records and email records are separate. Only change the records listed in the Connect your domain card or your Selflane DNS instructions.

Do not remove or change your email records, including MX, SPF, DKIM, or DMARC. A TXT record listed by Selflane is for website verification. Add it only with the exact name and value provided.

For Google Workspace or other business email on a records-connected domain, contact Support. The self-serve Google Workspace card and site verification controls require DNS hosted by Selflane. See Business email.

Wait for the connection

Adding the records takes about 10 to 20 minutes. Selflane checks every few minutes. DNS changes usually show up within an hour, but they can take up to 48 hours.

To check right away, click Check now in the Connect your domain card. If the records aren’t found yet, you see Not connected yet. If you just added the records, give it a little longer.

An ordering link goes live by itself once its record is found. A full website waits for the business owner to go live.

An ordering link you add to an existing website is removed if its record isn’t found within 14 days, so nobody holds a domain they don’t use. Add it again when your DNS is ready.

After the change has had time to update, test the address you connected in a private browser window:

• For your whole domain, open both yourrestaurant.com and www.yourrestaurant.com.
• For only an ordering address, open order.yourrestaurant.com. Your main website should still open as it did before.

If only the www version works, check every A record for @ again. An old A value may still be present. If your chosen address still shows an old website or an error after 48 hours, contact Support.

Get help

Contact Support if you cannot find the DNS screen, an address stays on Waiting for DNS for more than a day after you add its records, or you see a record you are not sure whether to replace. Include your domain name, DNS provider, and a screenshot of the records screen.

Related links

• Site settings — manage the website Selflane hosts for your business.
• Business email — use email at your domain without changing where the website is hosted.