Custom domains and DNS, explained

When you publish in Vorx your app gets a live URL right away, at your-app.vorx.live. Putting it on your own address — app.yourcompany.com — is a small extra step that comes down to one thing: DNS. Here's what that means in plain terms.

What DNS actually does

DNS is the internet's address book. When someone types your domain into a browser, DNS tells that browser which server to talk to. To point a domain at your Vorx app you add a record saying "send this name to Vorx."

You manage DNS wherever you bought the domain, or wherever it's hosted — your registrar or DNS provider, which has a dashboard where records live.

The record types you'll meet

Vorx tells you which to add, but it helps to know what each is:

• A record — points a domain at a specific IP address
• CNAME record — points a domain at another domain name
• TXT record — stores text, used here to verify you own the domain

In practice you add one record pointing the address at Vorx plus a TXT record proving the domain is yours. For an apex domain like acme.com, an ALIAS or ANAME record is better than an A record if your provider supports one, because it follows Vorx if the address ever changes.

Either way you're copying values Vorx shows you rather than guessing.

Connecting your domain

The flow is short and the same every time:

• Publish your app so it has a live URL
• Open Publish → Connect domain and enter your domain
• Copy the records Vorx shows you
• Paste them into your DNS provider's dashboard and save
• Come back and click Verify

Once the record resolves, your app answers on your own domain and HTTPS is set up automatically. Nothing to buy, nothing to renew.

Why changes aren't instant

DNS updates propagate across the internet, which takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. That's normal, and it's the single most common reason people think a domain connection has failed when it hasn't.

Add the record, make a coffee, check back. Most domains connect well before the coffee is cold.

Common snags

Most domain problems are small mismatches rather than hard failures. Run through these before troubleshooting further:

• You edited DNS for the exact name you entered in Vorx, including the subdomain
• There's no old, conflicting record for the same name
• The record value matches what Vorx gave you, with no trailing spaces
• Propagation has had enough time before you retry

If your DNS provider offers a proxy or CDN layer in front of records, turn it off for this name while you verify — a proxied record answers on someone else's behalf, which is exactly what verification is trying to see through.

Which name to use

A subdomain like app.yourcompany.com is the easy choice: you only touch that record, and your main website is untouched. Use the apex — yourcompany.com — when the Vorx app is the site, and check your provider supports ALIAS or ANAME before you commit.

Once your domain is live it stays connected across publishes, so you can keep iterating in chat and ship whenever you like. For the publishing side, see Deploy to a custom domain.

In the docs: Custom domains.