Vercel Custom Domain Setup Guide

🔗 Relevant Links

1. Vercel Official Website

2. Vercel Domain Management Documentation

3. Cloudflare Official Website (Optional DNS Provider)

1️⃣ Prerequisites

1. A project already deployed to Vercel
• If not deployed, refer to Vercel Deployment Guide.

2. Ownership of a domain
• Purchase one from registrars like Namesilo Namecheap, GoDaddy, or Alibaba Cloud.

2️⃣ Step 1: Add Domain in Vercel

1. Log in to the Vercel Dashboard and select your project.

2. Navigate to Settings → Domains.

3. Enter your domain (e.g., yourdomain.com or blog.yourdomain.com) and click Add.

4. Vercel will automatically detect the domain configuration and prompt you to set up DNS records.

3️⃣ Step 2: Configure DNS Records

A. Using Vercel’s Default DNS

• In your registrar’s DNS settings, add these records:

B. Using Cloudflare (Recommended)

1. Log in to the Cloudflare Dashboard and add your domain.

2. Under DNS Management, add a record:

3. Ensure Cloudflare’s SSL/TLS mode is set to Full.

4️⃣ Step 3: Verify HTTPS Certificate

1. Vercel automatically requests a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate (may take 1–24 hours).

2. Check certificate status:
• View domain status in Vercel’s Domains section.
• Test accessibility via https://yourdomain.com.

3. If the certificate fails:
• Confirm DNS propagation (use DNS Checker).
• Manually retry certificate issuance in Vercel (click Refresh).

5️⃣ Advanced Configurations

Redirects

• Add rules to vercel.json to redirect www.yourdomain.com to yourdomain.com:

Subdomains

• To bind additional subdomains (e.g., docs.yourdomain.com), repeat Steps 1–2.

❌ Common Issues

Q1: DNS Not Propagating

• Check TTL settings (recommended: 600 seconds).

• Verify with dig yourdomain.com or WhatsMyDNS.

Q2: HTTPS Certificate Errors

• Disable Universal SSL in Cloudflare (may conflict with Vercel).

• Remove and re-add the domain in Vercel.

📌 Summary

1. Add domain in Vercel → Obtain DNS records.

2. Configure DNS with your registrar (A/CNAME records).

3. Wait for HTTPS auto-provisioning.

4. Test access at https://yourdomain.com.