Domains

Connect a web address you already own (like www.yourclub.com) so members reach your ClubHelix site at your own brand instead of the default address. You'll find this under Domains in the admin sidebar, in the website-management group. SSL certificates are issued automatically once your DNS verifies, so visitors always get the secure padlock.

Who can use this

Only admins can add, verify or remove a custom domain, or request a founding place. Moderators can open the page, but the buttons won't work for them — the actions are restricted to admins. You also need access to your domain provider's DNS settings to add the records ClubHelix asks for.

Connecting a domain needs the Standard plan or above. On the Free plan, you can connect one once your organisation holds a founding place — see Request a founding place below.

What's on the page

The page is split into these cards:

• Founding domain offer (Free plan only) — where your founding place request stands, how many of the 200 places are left, the terms, and a Request a founding place button. Until a place is granted, the Add a domain form is disabled on the Free plan.
• Add a domain — a single Hostname field and an Add domain button.
• Configured domains — a list of every domain you've added, each with its status, the exact DNS records to create, and Re-check / Remove buttons.
• How to set the records at your domain provider — a grid of providers (Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Squarespace, Namecheap, VentraIP, Crazy Domains and many more). Pick yours and the step-by-step instructions adapt to that provider's control panel — where to click, what its record fields are called, and the quirks to watch for. There's a search box to find yours quickly, and an Other provider tile with generic steps if it isn't listed.

Paid plans don't see the founding card, and nothing else on the page changes for them.

Step by step

Request a founding place (Free plan only)

The first 200 organisations on the Free plan to be granted a founding place can connect their own domain and have their public site indexed by search engines on it, free. The rest of the Free plan stays as it is.

1. On the Founding domain offer card, read the terms and check how many places are left.
2. Click Request a founding place. The card now shows Requested, waiting for the ClubHelix team.
3. When the team decides, every admin of your organisation gets a notification.
4. If the place is granted, the Add a domain form unlocks — carry on with the steps below. If it is not granted this time, you can request again.

The terms of the offer:

• The ClubHelix team reviews every request, and each organisation can hold one place.
• Places are limited to 200 in total.
• A granted place stays with your organisation, including if you upgrade and later return to Free.
• Your site is indexed while your own domain is connected and verified and search visibility is left on.
• Places used for spam, or that break our terms, are withdrawn, and a withdrawn place can't be requested again.

Add your domain

1. In the Add a domain card, type the exact hostname members will use, for example www.yourclub.com.
2. Click Add domain.
3. If you add the apex (yourclub.com), ClubHelix automatically stages www.yourclub.com too (and vice versa). Whichever one you typed becomes canonical; the other one redirects to it.

Point your DNS records

1. Find your new domain in the Configured domains list. It will show a pending verification badge.
2. Each domain shows a table of DNS records — a TXT verification record and either an A record (for an apex) or a CNAME record (for a subdomain). Use the Copy button next to each value.
3. In the How to set the records at your domain provider card, click your provider's tile in the grid (or search for it). The instructions underneath update to match that provider — including a direct link to its DNS console. Your choice is remembered for next time.
4. Follow the tailored steps to add the records in your provider's DNS settings, then save.

Verify the domain

1. Back on the Domains page, click Re-check next to your domain.
2. While it checks, the button shows Checking…. If the record isn't visible yet, you'll see an amber message — DNS changes can take a few minutes to a few hours, so wait and try again.
3. Once it succeeds, the badge turns to verified, SSL is provisioned automatically, and your site is reachable at your domain within a few minutes.

What happens with search engines

You don't have to do anything here — it's automatic — but it's worth knowing what changes. This applies on the Standard plan and above, and on the Free plan once your organisation holds a founding place. A Free site without one stays hidden from search engines at every address, including its own domain.

1. With a founding place, indexing starts once your domain is verified and is the canonical address, as long as Allow search engines to index this site is left on in Settings. From then on your whole site, including its clubhelix.com/group/{your-slug} address, points search engines at your own domain.
2. Your domain starts serving its own robots.txt and sitemap.xml (at https://yourclub.com/sitemap.xml), listing every public page at your address.
3. Your pages stop being listed in ClubHelix's own sitemap. That's deliberate: a page advertised from two addresses at once looks like duplicate content to a search engine, so we list each page from one address only — yours.
4. Only the canonical domain gets a sitemap. The companion address serves the same site under a second name, so it advertises nothing of its own — that keeps one club's pages from being offered to search engines twice.
5. If Google Search Console is connected, ClubHelix registers your domain as its own property and submits that sitemap for you.

Remove a domain

1. Click Remove next to the domain.
2. Confirm the prompt. Visitors will stop reaching your site at that hostname.

Field reference

Tips & FAQ

• We're on the Free plan and the Add domain form is disabled. Connecting a domain needs the Standard plan or a founding place. Request a place on the Founding domain offer card, or upgrade under Subscription & billing.
• Do we lose our founding place if we upgrade? No. It stays with your organisation, including if you later return to Free.
• We hold a founding place but we're not on Google yet. Check your domain is verified and canonical, and that Allow search engines to index this site is on in Settings. Once all three are true your site is open to search engines, but each search engine still decides when to crawl it.
• It's not verifying. Check the record name and value match the table exactly — an extra space or a record in the wrong DNS zone are the usual culprits. Propagation is normally 15 minutes to 2 hours.
• It says another organisation has already verified this domain. Only one organisation can hold a domain verified. If your club owns it, the other organisation has to remove it before you can verify it here. Adding a domain without verifying it doesn't hold it: once you verify a domain, any other organisation's unverified claim on it is removed, and its admins get a notification.
• We added a domain but never verified it. If a domain stays unverified for 30 days after you add it, it's removed automatically and your admins get a notification. When you're ready, add it again here and verify it.
• Using Cloudflare? Set the routing records to DNS only (grey cloud), not proxied, or SSL won't provision. The on-page guide covers this.
• Apex vs www. Some registrars can't put a CNAME on an apex — use the A record shown, or an ALIAS/ANAME if your provider supports one. The per-provider instructions already tell you which applies.
• My provider isn't in the grid. Choose Other provider — the generic steps cover the record-name and apex variations most control panels use.
• Bought through Google Domains? Google Domains moved to Squarespace in 2023 — pick the Google Domains tile and it points you at the Squarespace console with the right steps.
• Verify it yourself first. The "Verifying the records yourself" section links to dnschecker.org and shows the dig commands to confirm your records are live before clicking Re-check.
• Which sitemap do I give Google? https://yourclub.com/sitemap.xml — your own address, not a clubhelix.com one. Your robots.txt already points at it, so Google usually finds it without being told. The old /group/{your-slug}/sitemap.xml address redirects there, so an existing submission keeps working.
• My companion address has an empty sitemap. That's correct. Both addresses reach the same site, so only the canonical one is advertised to search engines.

Once your domain is live, set up the rest of your site under Branding, Theme and Navigation. For an overview of all admin tools, see the Admin overview.