# How to add your own domain to your account **URL:** \ **Category:** Domains and DNS\ **Created:** [March 26, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-add-your-own-domain-to-your-account/49227 "2020-03-26T23:00:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Admin](https://forum.infinityfree.com/user_avatar/forum.infinityfree.com/admin/32/36437_2.png) [@Admin](https://forum.infinityfree.com/u/Admin)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-add-your-own-domain-to-your-account/49227/1 "2020-03-26T23:00:00Z")
While a free subdomain is a great way to get started, a website looks a lot more professional with a custom domain name. Fortunately, you can register your own domain name with an external company (like [Spaceship](https://www.infinityfree.com/go/spaceship)) and use it on InfinityFree. ## Adding your domain name to your hosting account To add your domain name to your hosting account, you first need to have a hosting account. Even if you only want to host your own domain with us, you’ll first need to create a hosting account with a subdomain, so you can add your own domain to it afterwards. ### Through the Client Area To add your domain to your account through the client area: 1. Go to your hosting account. 2. Find the Domains list. 3. Click the Add Domain button in the corner. 4. Choose the Domain Type as Custom Domain. 5. Enter the domain name in the field. 6. Choose the directory where the domain should be linked to. You can choose to setup a new directory for the domain, or make it an alias of another domain on your account. 7. Click the Add Domain button to save it. ### Through the Control Panel There are two ways to add your domain through the Control Panel: - As an **Addon Domain** : an Addon Domain gets it’s own, new website directory, so you can upload a new site to it, separate from your existing website. The directory will have a name like `/htdocs`. - As a **Parked Domain** : if you add your domain as a Parked Domain, you can select one of your existing domains on the account, which will link the domain to the same directory as the existing domain. This is the easiest way to get an existing website on your new domain. ## Validating your domain name Before you can add your own domain name to your account, you will need to configure some settings to prove that you own the domain name. There are two ways to validate your domain: using nameservers or using CNAME records. ### Validating your domain by updating the nameservers The recommended way to verify your domain name is by updating the nameservers. This is the easiest method, and requires the least steps. Nameserver validation works for adding domains while creating accounts or adding them to existing accounts. > [@How to point your domain name to InfinityFree nameservers](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-point-your-domain-name-to-infinityfree-nameservers/49232): > > Before adding your domain name to your hosting account, you need to point it to the InfinityFree nameservers. This guide will walk you through the necessary steps using [Spaceship](https://www.infinityfree.com/go/spaceship) as an example. Keep in mind that different domain registrars have different interfaces, so the exact steps may vary. Step 0: Find the correct nameservers Before changing your nameservers, you need to determine which nameservers to use. The appropriate nameservers depend on your account type: For new accounts or exist… However, some domain extensions and domain name providers do not support setting the nameservers of your domain to nameservers that have not been set up yet. Changing the nameservers may also cause downtime if you already have a website set up. For those cases, you can use CNAME verification instead. ### Validating your domain with a CNAME record If changing the nameservers is not a good option for you, you can also verify your domain name with a CNAME record. Note that CNAME validation only works for adding domains to existing accounts. If you want to setup a new account with your own domain name, please create the account with a free subdomain first and add the CNAME record afterwards. > [@How to add your domain with CNAME verification](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-add-your-domain-with-cname-verification/87420): > > If you want to host your own domain name with InfinityFree, the default way to verify your domain is to set the nameservers first. However, there are cases where setting the nameservers ahead of time is not desirable (for example if you have an existing site which cannot go down) or if your domain provider does not let you set our nameservers. Fortunately, InfinityFree now has the ability to host your domain name with us without having to change your nameservers ahead of time! This guide explai… Please note that the CNAME record you’ve added is only used for verification. To host your website with InfinityFree, you will need to change your domain’s DNS settings after it has been added to your account. You can either setup the correct DNS records at your current DNS provider or change the nameservers of your domain to point it to your hosting account. ## After adding the domain: wait for DNS propagation After you’ve added the domain name to your account, it probably won’t show your website right away. That’s because adding your domain name needs to configure our nameservers to point your domain name to the right hosting account. This change, like most DNS changes, can take up to 72 hours to be visible everywhere. Unfortunately, we can’t speed that up, but [there are some workarounds you can try](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/when-will-my-domain-name-start-working/49237). ---
**Author:** ![KangJL](https://forum.infinityfree.com/user_avatar/forum.infinityfree.com/kangjl/32/12130_2.png) [@KangJL](https://forum.infinityfree.com/u/KangJL)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 2:08pm UTC](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-add-your-own-domain-to-your-account/49227/2 "2023-06-19T14:08:50Z")
A post was split to a new topic: [Zoho Issue](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/zoho-issue/77825) ---
**Author:** ![Greenreader9](https://forum.infinityfree.com/user_avatar/forum.infinityfree.com/greenreader9/32/22847_2.png) [@Greenreader9](https://forum.infinityfree.com/u/Greenreader9)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-add-your-own-domain-to-your-account/49227/3 "2024-05-31T14:18:16Z")
A post was split to a new topic: [Domain not working](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/domain-not-working/94242) ---
**Author:** ![AlvinHowse102](https://forum.infinityfree.com/user_avatar/forum.infinityfree.com/alvinhowse102/32/50633_2.png) [@AlvinHowse102](https://forum.infinityfree.com/u/AlvinHowse102)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2024, 5:36pm UTC](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-add-your-own-domain-to-your-account/49227/4 "2024-11-11T17:36:02Z")
Why did you make it so that you have to use a subdomain first (although I don’t have a custom domain to use)? ---
**Author:** ![EdwardSkunk](https://forum.infinityfree.com/user_avatar/forum.infinityfree.com/edwardskunk/32/66982_2.png) [@EdwardSkunk](https://forum.infinityfree.com/u/EdwardSkunk)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-add-your-own-domain-to-your-account/49227/5 "2024-11-11T18:07:43Z")
> [@I can't find to add custom domain](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/i-cant-find-to-add-custom-domain/98531/3): > > The account creation flow was changed yesterday and the ability to create an account with a custom domain was removed. To create an account with a custom domain, you’ll need to first create it with a subdomain, and you can add the custom domain once the account is created. This was done to reduce friction in the account creation process. And if you wanted to add your domain with CNAME verification, you had to go this route anyway. > [@20000 forum users - Awesome Special Event!](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/20000-forum-users-awesome-special-event/75660/4857): > > By “reducing friction”, I had hoped to make it easier for users. This is twofold: > > Firstly, setting up an account should be simple, fast and easy. If you want to host a custom domain, then having to first update your nameservers, wait a day, and then try creating the account again, seemed like a frustrating road block. ---
**Author:** ![etetly9](https://forum.infinityfree.com/letter_avatar/etetly9/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@etetly9](https://forum.infinityfree.com/u/etetly9)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 9:16pm UTC](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-add-your-own-domain-to-your-account/49227/6 "2024-11-12T21:16:26Z")
Can anyone help. I already have a subdomain. Can I add my domain name which was created with my router as ddns Is there charge May I have steps how to transfer to infinityfree? Also in my website I have some midi sons with .mid extension. When I click on the title,but ask me first to download and when I say yes it will play. How do I get this to automatically play? With my mp3 songs I don’t have the issue Please help thanks ---
**Author:** ![Greenreader9](https://forum.infinityfree.com/user_avatar/forum.infinityfree.com/greenreader9/32/22847_2.png) [@Greenreader9](https://forum.infinityfree.com/u/Greenreader9)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-add-your-own-domain-to-your-account/49227/7 "2024-11-12T21:24:39Z")
What subdomain? You can create domain names locally and expect them to work globally, you need to own the subdomain globally in order for it to work globally. > [@etetly9](#): > > May I have steps how to transfer to infinityfree? InfinityFree is not a domain registrar, so you can’t. It’s also impossible to transfer subdomains in general. You can host it here however, just add it to your account and point an A record to your free hosting IP. > [@etetly9](#): > > I have some midi sons with .mid extension. When I click on the title,but ask me first to download and when I say yes it will play. Not all browsers support playing midi files. If it’s not supported, the user will be prompted to download it. Convert the file to mp3 or add your own code to read and play the file ---
**Author:** ![Admin](https://forum.infinityfree.com/user_avatar/forum.infinityfree.com/admin/32/36437_2.png) [@Admin](https://forum.infinityfree.com/u/Admin)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 2:00pm UTC](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-add-your-own-domain-to-your-account/49227/8 "2024-11-14T14:00:25Z")
> [@etetly9](#): > > May I have steps how to transfer to infinityfree? Please note that there is another article for that: > [@How to transfer a domain to InfinityFree](https://forum.infinityfree.com/t/how-to-transfer-a-domain-to-infinityfree/49231): > > If you currently have a website with another hosting provider, you may be wondering: how do I transfer everything to InfinityFree? To answer that question, it’s important to note the difference between a Hosting Account and a Domain Registration. A Domain Registration gives you the ownership of a particular domain name (e.g. [example.com](http://example.com)), and enables you to make services like websites and email addresses available on that domain. However, a domain registration itself does not provide those se…