Connect your domain

Choose a method

You choose the method in the order wizard, in the first step. All three end in the same place: your domain opens your panel over HTTPS.

• Arty nameservers (recommended). You set the nameservers of your domain at your registrar to dns1.artypanel.com, dns2.artypanel.com, dns3.artypanel.com and dns4.artypanel.com. Arty then keeps the DNS records for you and you edit them in the DNS manager of your account. This method needs a main domain such as example.com; a subdomain such as panel.example.com is not possible with it.
• CNAME record. You keep your DNS where it is and add a CNAME record for your domain that points to the target we show you.
• A record. You keep your DNS where it is and add an A record for your domain that points to the address we show you.

The exact value to enter is on the progress page of your panel, in the card Point your domain at the panel, with a copy button. If you use a CNAME or A record, do not leave an older record for the same name in place.

What happens after you change it

You do not have to tell us. A panel that waits for its domain is checked automatically: often at first, then less often as time passes. We look at where the domain points, whether it reaches your panel, and whether anything blocks it. When it points correctly and the panel answers, the panel is activated.

You can press Check now on the progress page to ask for a check at once. The status line explains what we see:

• We have not checked your domain yet.
• Your domain does not point at the panel yet.
• Your domain points at the panel only in part. Check every record. With the nameserver method this usually means a nameserver of another provider is still listed, or fewer than two of ours are set.
• Your domain points at the panel and we are confirming it.
• Your domain is verified.
• Your domain points somewhere else as well. Remove the other record. This also covers a blocking CAA record or a proxy in front of the domain, such as a CDN with the orange cloud switched on.

How long it takes, and SSL

DNS changes can take a while, from minutes to a day or more, depending on your registrar and the domain extension. Give a change time to spread before you change it again. We keep checking by ourselves until your order expires after 14 days; if it never points in that time, the order is canceled and your advance goes back to your wallet.

The security certificate is issued automatically once the domain points at the panel. You buy and renew nothing. The progress page shows the step Securing the connection (HTTPS), and when it is done the owner of the panel receives the e-mail with the sign-in link.

The DNS manager

If you use the Arty nameservers, open your panel in your account and choose DNS. The page shows the four nameservers, a note whether your registrar already delegates the domain to them, and the list of records.

• Add a record. Choose a type (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, SRV or CAA), a name (@ for the domain itself, or a name such as www or mail), the value, and a TTL between 60 and 86,400 seconds. MX records also take a priority.
• Edit or delete a record of your own, with a confirmation before a delete.
• Records marked "Required for your panel" keep the panel connected. You cannot edit or delete them. They do not count against your record limit, and the page shows how many of your own records you have used.
• Undo lists your latest changes. You can undo one while the record is still exactly as that change left it.
• Restore the default records puts the records your panel needs back as they should be. Your own records are not touched.
• Export zone downloads all records as a zone file. It is made from our copy of the records, so it can be a few minutes behind a change you just made.

A change is applied in a moment, and the list of recent changes shows each as waiting, being applied, applied or refused, with the reason when it was refused. Typical reasons are a CNAME record at the root of the domain, a CNAME that shares its name with another record, or a value that does not fit the type.

If you switched on the nameserver method after you already had mail at the domain, add your mail records (MX, SPF and similar) in the DNS manager first, or your mail stops. If you use a CNAME or A record, the DNS manager only explains the setup; your records stay at your own DNS provider.

Change the domain of a running panel

An active panel can move to another domain of yours. Open the panel and choose Domain. The panel keeps its data, its customers and its licence, which follows the domain. The change needs your password.

• You can start up to 2 changes in 30 days, and only one at a time.
• Point the new domain the same way as before. The page shows the nameservers, or tells you where to find the CNAME target or A address.
• The statuses are: waiting for DNS, DNS is arriving, switched and verifying, verified, reverted, failed, expired and canceled. When the DNS arrives the panel switches by itself. If it never arrives within 7 days, the change expires and nothing changes.
• After the switch you can go back to the old domain for a limited time, shown on the page, even if the new domain works. You can go back at any time while the new domain is not verified yet.

Before you switch, read the warnings on the page. The old domain stops showing the panel immediately; everyone signed in to the panel is signed out; the return URLs of your payment methods inside the panel still name the old domain; and tools that use your panel's API or services list, and Google sign-in if you use it, must be updated to the new domain.

If the domain does not work

• Check that every nameserver, or the CNAME or A value, is entered exactly as shown, with no old record left for the same name.
• Turn off any proxy in front of the domain until the panel is active.
• Wait, then press Check now. A new nameserver setting can take a day or more to be seen everywhere.
• If the status stays the same for a long time, open a ticket from the support page. Say which method you chose.

Next: staff and permissions explains how to give your team their own sign-ins, and rent your first panel covers the order from the start.