Connect a custom domain to a portal

Every portal is served at your-address.help.chat. You can also serve it on your own domain, such as help.example.com, with one DNS record.

1. Save the domain in help.ai#

1. Open Portals and select your portal.
2. Go to the Domain tab.
3. Under Custom domain, enter the Domain without https://, for example help.example.com.
4. Select Save changes.

The tab now shows the DNS record to add, with the status Waiting for DNS. A domain can belong to one portal only.

2. Add the CNAME record#

At your DNS provider, create this record:

Copy the exact values from the Domain tab. Many DNS providers want only the first part of the name, such as help, and add the rest of your domain for you.

3. Check DNS#

Back on the Domain tab, select Check DNS. help.ai calls your domain to see whether it reaches your portal. The check runs only when you select it, so select Check DNS again if the record isn't found yet. DNS changes usually show within minutes and can take a few hours.

Once it's active#

Your custom domain becomes the portal's main address. Sign-in emails, links in search results, the sitemap and Open site all use it. The your-address.help.chat address keeps working.

Good to know#

• Use a subdomain such as help, support or community. Most DNS providers don't allow a CNAME record on a root domain.
• Cloudflare's proxy (the orange cloud) works, and so does its Always Use HTTPS setting: the check calls your domain and looks for your portal, so the record can stay proxied.
• Saving the domain again, or a different one, sets the status back to Waiting for DNS, and the domain stops serving your portal until a check passes. Select Check DNS right after you save.
• A check that fails while the domain is Active sets it to Not connected, and the domain stops serving your portal until a check passes.
• To stop using the domain, select Remove and confirm. Links to that domain stop working, and the portal stays at its your-address.help.chat address.