Setting up your own domain is the first step in starting your online brand or business. In this guide, we’ll walk through the process to buy a custom domain name and point it to your website on Hatch. This is a pro Hatch feature, so be sure to upgrade to Hatch Pro to connect a custom domain.
Domain names are typically purchased from domain registrars. Picking a domain registrar can seem daunting because there are a lot of registrars and wide range of offers available. Some registrars offer low starting rates, some offer discounts for longer contracts. Some of the top trusted registrars with reasonable domain name prices include:
- GoDaddy offers a very low price for the first month. Ideal for short-term projects.
- Google Domains offers a fixed, acceptable price. Ideal for long-term projects.
- Namecheap is right in-between, offering both good entry and renewal prices.
Choosing a custom domain name
Once you’ve picked a registrar, it’s time to pick a name. Ideally, the name for your website should be short, easy to memorize and reasonably reflect your brand or business. In the case your ideal domain name is not available, you can try a different domain extension or add a hyphen. Once you’ve registered your own domain name, it’s time to point it to your Hatch page.
Connecting a custom domain name to your Hatch page
Every website has an IP (internet protocol) address which is a unique set of identifying numbers. Those numbers are hard to remember, so domain names are how typical internet users identify websites. When you type a domain name into a browser address bar, the browser sends a request to the Domain Name System (DNS) to translate the domain name into the corresponding IP address. The DNS contacts the server where the site is hosted and the server displays the appropriate page in the browser of the person that typed in the request.
Connecting a custom domain name to the IP address for your site is how we bring it all together. First, you’ll need to access your domain settings via the registrar you purchased the name from. In your account, find the area where you manage your domain so you can access the settings specific to that domain. Inside your domain settings, find DNS or nameserver settings. The nameserver is a location setting that lets the DNS server know where to send the incoming traffic for your domain name. Here is where you’ll input the specific nameservers for your site so the domain will point to your webpages properly.
How do I find my Hatch page DNS nameserver information?
Your nameserver information comes from your website host, which is us if you’re pointing to a Hatch page. To find your nameserver information, log in to your Hatch Pro account and go to your account page: hatch.one/account. Scroll down past your subscription information to your connected domains.
Click to add a domain and input the domain you’d like to connect. The next screen will pop up with the information you need to provide to your domain registrar.
Once you’ve set up this all up, it can take 24-72 hours before the domain URL is pointing to your site. If you have any trouble as you connect a custom domain, reach out to us at hatch.one/support and we’ll help you out.