Domains and DNS
Your domain is the address visitors use to reach your site (e.g., example.com), and DNS (Domain Name System) is what connects that domain to your site on Kinsta by directing traffic to the right server. Together, they determine whether your site is reachable, secure, and set up to handle things like email and subdomains correctly.
This section covers domain setup, SSL, DNS and email configuration, and more specific scenarios like temporary URLs, reverse proxies, and troubleshooting.
Domain settings such as adding a domain, pointing it, and setting it as primary are managed from Sites > sitename > Domains in MyKinsta. If you use Kinsta’s DNS to manage your records, that’s handled separately under DNS management.
Below are the topics covered in this section:
- Add a domain: Add your custom domain, point it to Kinsta with the right DNS records, and set it as your site’s primary domain.
- SSL Certificates: Every domain gets a free SSL certificate by default so your site loads securely over HTTPS. Learn how this works, and how to use your own certificate instead if you need to.
- Kinsta’s DNS: Manage your domain’s DNS records directly within MyKinsta, instead of through a separate DNS provider, including linked DNS zones, which connect a DNS zone to a specific site.
- Google MX Records: Configure MX records so email for your domain routes correctly.
- Temporary URL: Every site is given a temporary
kinsta.clouddomain when it’s created, useful for testing before you add and point a custom domain. - Reverse Proxy: Set up a reverse proxy if you need to serve your site through another server or platform in front of Kinsta.
- Domains and DNS Troubleshooting: Running into an issue while adding, pointing, or verifying a domain? Find your specific problem and how to resolve it.
If you’re new to this, we recommend starting with Add a domain; the other pages cover more specific configurations or troubleshooting, depending on what you run into.