Domain Settings

Once your domain is connected, you can manage it from Settings › Domains. This page covers all the settings available for your connected domains—primary domain selection, redirects, SSL status, and more.

Your domains list

The Domains page shows all domains connected to your store:

  • Domain name – The domain itself
  • Status – Connected, Pending, or Error
  • SSL status – Active, Pending, or Failed
  • Primary – Badge indicating your primary domain
  • Type – CartOS Domains or External

Your free CartOS subdomain (yourstore.cartos-stores.com) always appears in the list and can't be removed. It automatically redirects to your primary custom domain when one is set.

Primary domain

Your primary domain is the main address for your store. It's used in:

  • Email templates (order confirmations, shipping notifications)
  • Canonical URLs for SEO
  • Social sharing links
  • Your store's internal links
  • API responses

Setting your primary domain

  1. Go to Settings › Domains
  2. Find the domain you want as primary
  3. Click the ⋮ menu and select Set as Primary

The change takes effect immediately. All other domains (including your CartOS subdomain) redirect to the primary domain.

Choosing between root and www

If you have both yourstore.com and www.yourstore.com connected, pick one as primary:

  • Root domain (yourstore.com) – Shorter, cleaner, more modern
  • www subdomain (www.yourstore.com) – Traditional, some consider more recognizable

Either works fine. The important thing is consistency—pick one and stick with it. The other will redirect automatically.

Domain status

Connected

DNS is correctly configured and the domain is working. This is the status you want.

Pending

The domain was added but DNS isn't verified yet. This usually means:

  • DNS records haven't been added at your registrar
  • DNS changes are still propagating

Click Verify to check if DNS has propagated. If it's been more than 48 hours, review your DNS configuration.

Error

Something is wrong with the domain configuration. Click the domain to see details about the error. Common issues:

  • DNS records pointing to wrong values
  • Conflicting DNS records
  • Domain expired or transferred
  • SSL certificate issues

SSL certificates

CartOS provides free SSL certificates for all connected domains. SSL encrypts traffic between customers and your store—essential for security and required for accepting payments.

SSL status

Active – SSL is working. Your site loads over HTTPS and shows the padlock icon in browsers.

Pending – Certificate is being provisioned. This usually takes a few minutes after DNS verification. Wait and check back.

Failed – Certificate couldn't be provisioned. Usually a DNS issue. See troubleshooting below.

Automatic renewal

SSL certificates are renewed automatically before they expire. You don't need to do anything—CartOS handles this in the background.

Troubleshooting SSL issues

If SSL fails to provision:

  1. Wait for full DNS propagation – SSL can only provision once DNS is pointing to CartOS everywhere
  2. Check for Cloudflare proxy – If using Cloudflare, set records to "DNS only" (gray cloud)
  3. Check CAA records – If you have CAA records, add 0 issue "letsencrypt.org"
  4. Retry manually – Click Retry SSL in the domain menu

If SSL continues to fail after 24 hours, contact support.

Redirects

Automatic redirects

CartOS handles these redirects automatically:

  • HTTP to HTTPS – All traffic is redirected to secure HTTPS
  • Non-primary to primary – All connected domains redirect to your primary domain
  • CartOS subdomain to custom domain – Your .cartos-stores.com address redirects to your custom domain

All redirects use 301 (permanent) redirects, which is best for SEO.

Custom redirects

For page-level redirects (like redirecting old URLs after a migration), see URL Redirects.

Domain details

Click any domain to view its details page:

DNS records

Shows the DNS records needed for the domain. Useful for verifying your configuration or if you need to reconfigure after changes at your registrar.

SSL certificate

Shows certificate status, issuer, and expiration date. Certificates typically last 90 days and renew automatically.

Connection history

Log of when the domain was added, verified, and any SSL events. Helpful for troubleshooting.

Managing CartOS Domains

Domains purchased through CartOS Domains have additional settings:

Auto-renewal

Domains renew automatically before expiration. Toggle auto-renewal off if you don't want to keep the domain (it will expire and become available to others).

Domain lock

Prevents unauthorized transfers. Keep this enabled unless you're intentionally transferring the domain away.

WHOIS privacy

Hides your personal information from public WHOIS lookups. Enabled by default on supported extensions.

Contact information

Update the registrant, admin, and technical contact information for domain registration records.

Transfer away

If you want to move your domain to another registrar:

  1. Disable domain lock
  2. Get the transfer authorization code (EPP code) from domain settings
  3. Initiate transfer at your new registrar using the code

Adding more domains

You can connect multiple domains to one store:

  • Brand protection – Own .com, .net, .co variations
  • International – Country-specific domains like .co.uk, .de
  • Marketing – Campaign-specific domains that redirect to your store
  • Typo protection – Common misspellings of your brand

All additional domains redirect to your primary domain. To add a domain, click Add Domain and either purchase through CartOS Domains or connect an external domain.

Removing a domain

To disconnect a domain from your store:

  1. Go to Settings › Domains
  2. Click the ⋮ menu next to the domain
  3. Select Remove Domain
  4. Confirm removal

What happens when you remove a domain

  • The domain stops pointing to your store
  • SSL certificate is released
  • DNS records at your registrar remain (you may want to update them)
  • If it's a CartOS Domain, you still own it—it just isn't connected to this store

You can't remove

  • Your CartOS subdomain (it's permanent)
  • Your only primary domain (set another as primary first)

Subdomains

Adding a subdomain

To connect a subdomain like shop.yourbrand.com:

  1. Click Add Domain
  2. Enter the full subdomain (shop.yourbrand.com)
  3. Add the CNAME record at your registrar
  4. Verify the connection

Subdomain considerations

  • Subdomains are treated as separate domains for SSL
  • You can have multiple subdomains pointing to your store
  • Each subdomain can have different DNS configured

Domain and email

Your CartOS domain settings only affect your website. Email is separate:

  • Adding a domain to CartOS doesn't give you email at that domain
  • If you already have email at your domain, it continues working—MX records are separate from A/CNAME records
  • To set up email, use a service like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or your registrar's email offering

See Email Settings for configuring sender addresses for store emails.

SEO considerations

Canonical URLs

CartOS automatically sets canonical URLs to your primary domain. This tells search engines which domain to index, preventing duplicate content issues.

Changing primary domain

If you change your primary domain, search engines will eventually update. The redirect from old to new preserves most SEO value. However, there may be a temporary ranking fluctuation.

To minimize impact:

  • Update Google Search Console with the new domain
  • Submit a new sitemap
  • Update backlinks where possible
  • Keep the old domain redirecting (don't delete it)

Multiple domains and SEO

Having multiple domains doesn't help SEO—search engines see them as redirects to your primary domain. Keep multiple domains for branding and convenience, not for SEO.

Troubleshooting

Domain shows "Pending" for a long time

  • Verify DNS records are correctly added at your registrar
  • Check for typos in the IP address or hostname
  • Remove conflicting old records
  • Wait up to 48 hours for propagation (usually much faster)
  • Use dnschecker.org to verify DNS globally

Domain was working but stopped

  • Check if DNS records were changed at your registrar
  • Verify the domain hasn't expired
  • Check if your registrar changed name servers
  • Look for any notifications from your registrar

SSL certificate expired

This shouldn't happen—certificates auto-renew. If it does:

  • Verify DNS still points to CartOS correctly
  • Click Retry SSL in domain settings
  • Contact support if it doesn't renew

"Not secure" warning in browser

  • Check that SSL status shows "Active"
  • Try clearing your browser cache
  • Ensure you're accessing via HTTPS, not HTTP
  • Check for mixed content (HTTP resources on an HTTPS page)

Best practices

  • Pick a primary domain and stick with it – Changing later has SEO implications
  • Keep domains you're not using redirecting – Don't remove domains if anyone might have bookmarked or linked to them
  • Monitor domain expiration – Even with auto-renewal, keep an eye on your domains
  • Keep domain lock enabled – Prevents unauthorized transfers
  • Use WHOIS privacy – Reduces spam and protects personal information

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