Connecting a Custom Domain

Instead of using the default StatusPage.me URL, you can use your own domain like status.yourcompany.com. This looks more professional and keeps your branding consistent.

Why Use a Custom Domain?

• Professional appearance - Matches your brand
• Trust - Users see your domain, not a third party
• Consistency - Fits with your other services
• Easy to remember - Users know where to go

Prerequisites

Before you start, you’ll need:

• Access to your domain’s DNS settings
• A status page already created
• A Starter plan or higher (custom domains are a premium feature)

Downgrade note: If your paid plan ends, your custom domain is deactivated and visitors see the platform subdomain instead. Your domain record and DNS verification status are preserved and re-activate automatically when you upgrade again. See What Happens When You Downgrade or Cancel.

How It Works

Connecting a domain is a guided, four-part checklist — enter your domain, add one DNS record, then let the page watch DNS for you. There’s no separate ownership-verification step to complete first, unless the domain you enter is already connected to a different status page — see Resolving an Ownership Conflict below.

Once you’ve added the DNS record, you don’t need to keep clicking a “check” button — the page checks automatically in the background, with the exact next step opening up as soon as the previous one is done. You can even close the page: if DNS hasn’t finished propagating yet, we keep checking behind the scenes and email you the moment your domain goes live.

Where to Find It

Open your status page, then either:

• Go to Settings → Domains and click Configure Custom Domain, or
• In the sidebar, expand Status Pages → [Your Status Page Name], then select Custom Domain.

Both take you to the same dedicated Custom Domain page.

Step 1: Your Domain

Most companies use a subdomain like:

Type your domain into the Your Domain field. As you type, the page checks the format and normalizes what you paste — pasting a full URL like https://status.yourcompany.com/ is fine, it’s cleaned up automatically.

If you enter a bare root/apex domain (e.g. yourcompany.com with no subdomain), you’ll see a warning: a CNAME record can’t point at an apex domain at most DNS providers. You can still proceed if your provider supports it (some do, via ALIAS/ANAME/CNAME-flattening), or click the one-click suggestion to switch to a subdomain like status.yourcompany.com instead.

Click Continue to save your domain and move to the next section.

Step 2: DNS Record

This section shows the exact CNAME record to add, and unlocks automatically once your domain is saved.

1. Go to DNS settings for your domain at your DNS provider (Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.)
2. Add a new CNAME record
3. Set the Host / Name to whatever the page shows (usually your subdomain, e.g. status — some providers expect the full domain instead, and the page adjusts the format shown to match)
4. Set the Value to what the page shows (your platform domain)
5. Save the record

Example DNS record:

If we recognize your domain’s DNS provider, the page shows a link straight to that provider’s DNS settings and calls out anything provider-specific — for example, Cloudflare users are reminded to set the record to DNS only (grey cloud, not orange) so the CNAME resolves correctly. See Using Cloudflare? below either way.

A copy of this record also stays pinned on the right side of the page (on wider screens) so it’s still visible while you’re in another tab adding it at your DNS provider.

Note: DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to spread worldwide, but usually work within 5-30 minutes.

Click I’ve added it — start watching once the record is saved at your DNS provider.

Step 3: Watching DNS

This section checks your DNS automatically — first every few seconds, then backing off to about once every 30 seconds. You don’t need to click anything.

• Still propagating: You’ll see a live “still propagating” message with an elapsed-time counter. This is normal while DNS spreads.
• Wrong record found: If we detect a specific problem — like an A record where a CNAME should be, or a CNAME pointing to the wrong target — the message names exactly what was found and what’s expected, instead of a generic error.
• Already connected elsewhere: See Resolving an Ownership Conflict below.
• Success: The section marks itself done automatically and the next section (SSL & go live) unlocks.

If it’s taking a while, you don’t have to wait on the page — after about 10 minutes you’ll see a note that you can close the page and we’ll keep checking in the background, emailing you once it’s live. You can also click Check now at any time to check immediately instead of waiting for the next automatic check.

Step 4: SSL & Go Live

Once DNS is confirmed, an SSL certificate is issued automatically — this usually takes 1-3 minutes. This section shows a spinner while that happens, then confirms once your certificate is active, with an Open Your Status Page link to your new domain. If you’d rather not wait, I’ll check back later takes you back to Settings; the certificate finishes provisioning in the background either way.

Your custom domain also becomes your status page’s primary URL at this point, so visitors landing on the old *.statuspage.me subdomain are redirected to it — see Primary URL Enforcement below. If you’d rather keep serving from the platform subdomain, Use platform subdomain instead on this page switches it back at any time.

Managing a Connected Domain

Once a domain is connected, visiting the Custom Domain page (or Settings → Domains) shows a management view instead of the setup checklist, with:

• Your domain’s connection and SSL status, including certificate issuer and expiry
• Set as Primary Domain — makes this domain the canonical URL (see Primary URL Enforcement below)
• Remove Custom Domain — disconnects it (see Removing a Custom Domain below)

Resolving an Ownership Conflict

If the domain you enter is currently active on a different status page (yours or someone else’s), a successful CNAME check alone isn’t enough to prove you should get it — anyone can see where a domain’s DNS points, but only the true owner can add an arbitrary new DNS record on demand. In this case:

1. You’ll see a message that the domain is already connected elsewhere, and the page automatically switches to a TXT ownership-verification screen.
2. Add the TXT record shown (name hsp-domain-ownership-verification, value is your unique verification token) at your DNS provider.
3. Click Verify Now. Once the TXT record is found, the domain is automatically reassigned to your status page, the previous status page’s custom domain is disconnected, and both accounts receive an email confirming what happened.
4. If you don’t verify within 7 days, the verification attempt expires and you can try again.

You only need to do this once per domain — after ownership is established, future DNS checks on that domain for your status page work normally.

Troubleshooting

“Still propagating” / “No CNAME found yet”

• Make sure the record matches exactly what Step 2 showed
• Wait a few minutes for DNS to update — this checks automatically, or click Check now to check immediately
• Try using a DNS checker tool to verify your record from outside your own network

“Your CNAME points to [x]; it needs to point to [y]”

• Update your CNAME record’s value to exactly what the page shows
• Some registrars silently append your domain to the value (creating a mismatch) — check the record as saved, not just as typed

“Found an A record where a CNAME is needed”

• Remove the A (or AAAA) record for the domain — hosted status pages require a CNAME, not an IP address
• Add the CNAME record shown on the page instead

“This domain is already connected to another status page”

• See Resolving an Ownership Conflict above
• If that other status page is also yours, connect the domain there or remove it from that page first, then retry here

“SSL certificate pending” message

• This is normal - certificates take a few minutes to generate
• If it takes longer than 30 minutes, check your DNS settings

Domain shows the wrong page

• Make sure you’re using the exact subdomain you configured
• Clear your browser cache
• Try a different browser or device

Using Cloudflare?

If you use Cloudflare for DNS:

1. Set the CNAME record with the orange cloud turned OFF (DNS only mode)
2. Or keep it on, but be aware response times may vary

Both work, but “DNS only” mode is simpler for status pages. The setup page warns you about this automatically once it detects your domain is on Cloudflare.

Removing a Custom Domain

If you want to go back to the default URL:

1. Open the Custom Domain page (Settings → Domains, or Status Pages → [your page] → Custom Domain in the sidebar)
2. Click Remove Custom Domain and confirm
3. Optionally remove the CNAME record from your DNS provider

Your status page immediately switches back to the default StatusPage.me URL, and its old custom domain is freed up — either for you to reconnect later, or for someone else to claim (via the CNAME + ownership-verification flow above, if it’s still theirs).

Primary URL Enforcement

Your custom domain becomes the primary URL automatically when you connect it. While it is primary, your status page enforces a strict canonical redirect:

• All free subdomain URLs (your-slug.statuspage.me, your-slug.sp.fyi, your-slug.hostedstatus.page) will 301 redirect to your custom domain.
• Only your custom domain serves content (HTTP 200).
• Paths and query strings are preserved during the redirect (e.g. /incident/123?id=456 stays intact).

This eliminates duplicate content issues and ensures all traffic and SEO signals consolidate to your custom domain.

Note: If you switch back with Use platform subdomain instead, the platform subdomain selected under Free Domain Options becomes primary again. In that case your custom domain serves content independently, without enforcing a redirect.

What’s Next?

• Customize your status page branding
• Add components to your page
• Set up subscriber notifications