Domains » Use a Domain You Already Own (Domain Connection)

Have you already purchased a domain name with another provider, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, or 1&1? If you prefer to keep your domain registered with your current provider, you can use it with your WordPress.com site by connecting your domain (also referred to as domain mapping).

Connecting your domain means that instead of an address like yourgroovysite.wordpress.com, you can make your site’s address something like yourgroovydomain.com without the WordPress name in the address.

There are three important steps to connecting your domain to your WordPress.com site:

1. Attaching your domain to your WordPress.com site. Jump to steps.
2. Updating your domain’s “name servers” to point to WordPress.com. Jump to steps.
3. (Optional, but important) If you have an email service with your domain provider, adding the email configuration to WordPress.com. Jump to information.

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Domain Connection Overview

Domain connection means:

• You keep the domain registered with the company you purchased it from (the registrar), such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, or 1&1, but point the domain to your WordPress.com site.
• You will still need to pay the current registrar to keep the domain active every year. There are no charges from WordPress.com to map your domain – it is free with any paid WordPress.com plan.
• Some domain settings and configurations will need to be made with the current registrar. We explain those in this guide.
• If you have an email service through your domain provider, you may need to add the necessary “DNS records” to your site here on WordPress.com to make sure there is no loss of email service. You can obtain those records from your email provider.

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Video Overview: Getting Started With Domain Connection

Watch a brief video on how to connect your domain name to your WordPress.com site below.

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Steps to Connect a Domain

1. Go Upgrades → Domains.

2. Select Add a domain to this site on the right.

3. Select Use a domain I own. Enter the domain you’d like to connect and click the Next button.

4. On the next screen, click Select that appears next to the Connect your domain option. After a few moments, the domain will be added to your site.

5. Click the Start setup button that will guide you through the process of changing your domain’s name servers, also explained in the next section of this guide.

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Change Your Domain's Name Servers

Name servers tell the domain where to point to. These must be changed with the company you purchased your domain from in order for the domain to load your WordPress.com site. You have two options for getting your name servers updated to point to your WordPress.com site.

Option 1: Update Name Servers Yourself

You can log into your account at your domain registrar and replace any existing name servers with these three domain name server (DNS) addresses:

ns1.wordpress.com
ns2.wordpress.com
ns3.wordpress.com

Remember to remove your old name servers when you add the WordPress.com name servers.

You can find your domain provider in this list of common providers for further instructions.

Option 2: Contact Your Domain Registrar

If you’re not comfortable making the change yourself, you can contact the support department at your domain registrar for help. Here is a sample email you can send them:

I would like to use my domain with a WordPress.com site. In order to do this, I need to point my domain’s name servers to the following:

ns1.wordpress.com
ns2.wordpress.com
ns3.wordpress.com

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Instructions for Common Domain Providers

The process for changing your name servers is different for each registrar.

For convenience, we have included links to instructions for common registrars below. If your provider is not listed here, consult your provider’s help center or contact them for assistance.

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Alternatives to Using Name Servers

While we strongly recommend that you use name servers to connect your domain name to WordPress.com, there are alternative ways to connect your existing domain to WordPress.com.

Connecting with A Records

We strongly recommend that you use name servers to point to WordPress.com. However, in some cases, the domain registrar will only accept IP addresses. In those cases, you can find the IP addresses (A records) with the following steps:

1. Go to Upgrades → Domains.
2. Click the connected domain with the Complete setup label next to it.
3. Click Advanced Setup as seen in the following screenshot:

4. Click Start Setup.
5. In the next screen, you will be asked to log into your domain provider. On your domain’s provider site go to domain’s management settings. If you are not sure how to find this section, we suggest contacting your domain provider’s customer support.
6. Click the button I found the domain’s settings page to see the records for your site.

7. In the next screen, we provide the IP records that you need at your domain’s provider. Make sure to find the root A records and replace them with the ones we provide.
8. You then want to add a CNAME record to make sure there is a redirection between www and your root domain. Replace the “www” CNAME record of your domain by adding your domain in the value field.
9. Once you made these changes, click Verify Connection

If Your Domain is Registered Through GoDaddy or 1&1

If your domain is registered with GoDaddy or 1&1, you may see an option to Connect Your Domain which can configure the DNS changes for you.

1. Go to My Sites → Upgrades → Domains. Choose the domain you connected.

2. Click on Connect Your Domain.

3. Click the Configure Your Domain Settings button.

4. Log into your account at your domain registrar (or DNS provider) when you see the prompt.

5. Confirm that you want to set your domain to point to WordPress.com

6. This will create the necessary DNS changes at your registrar/DNS provider to use your domain here.

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After Changing Name Servers

• The domain might not load right away. It can take up to 72 hours for your domain name servers (DNS) to update fully. You may also need to clear your browser’s cache.
• Once you confirm that your site loads when visiting your domain, you can follow a few steps to set the primary domain.
• Important: If you had other services connected to your domain, such as email or subdomains, you may have to add the necessary DNS records in your WordPress.com account.
• If you later decide you no longer want to point your domain to WordPress.com, you can log into your registrar/DNS provider to remove the DNS records and point the domain elsewhere.

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Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs)

Your domain name is an IDN if it contains language-specific characters such as ä, û, ע, ж, 字, मा. Domain registration, transfers-in, and connecting for IDNs, also known as Internationalized Domain Names, are not currently supported.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting Tips: