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What are domains?

A domain is the web address people type into their browser to visit your site, like example.com. When you publish a project with Bolt, it automatically goes live on a free bolt.host domain. This gives you an instant address you can share and lets you test your project right away.

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Who can use custom domains?

If you want your own custom domain (like example.com), you can purchase one through Bolt or connect a domain you already own. Custom domains are only available on paid plans, so you’ll need to upgrade from Free to any paid tier to use one.
This applies to new Bolt projects or projects moved from Netlify to Bolt. To learn more, see Switch from Netlify to Bolt hosting.

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Purchase a domain

If you are on a paid plan and have set up billing with Bolt, you can buy custom domains directly through your account by following the steps below: Animated GIF showing process of searching and purchasing domain in Project Settings
  1. Click the gear icon in the upper-right of your screen to open Project settings.
  2. Click Domains & hosting.
  3. Click Buy a new domain.
  4. Enter your domain keyword or phrase.
  5. Click Search.
  6. Review the available list of domains, as shown in the example screenshot below:
  7. Click Buy next to your preferred domain.
  8. Choose to Purchase domain or Cancel the purchase.
Once you’ve purchased your domain, it will show up in the Domains & Hosting window of your Project settings. You’ll need to wait up to 24 hours for the domains to properly attach to your project and for the SSL certificates to generate.
To learn more about your rights as a domain owner, see the ICANN article on Registrants’ Benefits and Responsibilities.

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Purchasing failures due to billing issues

To buy a custom domain through Bolt, you must have billing set up with a valid payment method on your account. If no card is on file, the purchase will fail and you’ll see an error message saying “Something went wrong,” as shown in the screenshot below: Screenshot of error message provided when billing failure occurs due to lack of card on file

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Domain types (TLDs)

A domain name ends with what’s called a top-level domain (TLD), such as .com, .org, or .studio. Bolt offers the ability to purchase most common TLDs directly through the platform, but not every TLD is available. If your domain uses a TLD Bolt doesn’t sell, you can register it with another provider. Once it’s registered, you can still connect it to your Bolt project by following the steps in the Connect your domain section later on this page.

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WHOIS Privacy

All Bolt domain purchases automatically include domain privacy protection, except for TLDs that do not support it. For example, .us domains do not allow domain privacy. Domain privacy hides your personal contact information from the public WHOIS database, which helps reduce spam and protect you from unwanted contact.

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Connect your domain

If you’ve already purchased a domain through another registrar or previously had your domain pointed at a Netlify deployment, follow these steps to connect it to your Bolt project.
1

Add your domain name in Bolt

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper-right of your screen to open Project settings.
  2. Click Domains & hosting.
  3. Click Connect a domain you own.
  4. Enter your domain name.
  5. Click Verify.
  6. Click Add domain after you see confirmation that Bolt recognizes the domain as already registered. (If the domain is not already registered, then it needs to be purchased.)
Note that Bolt will automatically add the www version of your domain as well. This allows people to enter the domain directly into the navigation bar, such as https://example.com, as well as www.example.com.
After completing Step 6, you should see a message that says: “Your custom domain has been added but is not yet functional.”
2

Update your DNS settings

While still in Project settings > Domains & Hosting, follow the steps below to point your domain from your registrar to Bolt.
  1. Click Resolve DNS issues.
  2. Keep this DNS Configuration window open. (You’ll need this information.)
  3. In a new tab, log in to your domain registrar account. (This is the company you registered your domain with.)
  4. Find the area that allows you to manage your DNS settings.
  5. Create an ALIAS record as instructed in the DNS configuration window.
If you can’t find your DNS settings or create records, reach out to your domain registrar’s support team for help connecting your domain to Bolt.
3

Wait for the changes to take effect

It can take time for your DNS changes to update across the internet. Most domains connect within a few hours, but in some cases, it may take up to 24 hours before your site is fully accessible on the new domain.
4

Verify status

After giving the domain some time to make the change, you can return to Bolt and verify its status by following the steps below:
  1. Click the gear icon in the upper-right of your screen.
  2. Click Domains & hosting.
  3. Verify that your domains show a green shield over the domain icon next to them, meaning that the domain is registered and connected with a working SSL certificate in place.

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Disconnect a domain

If you want to remove a domain from one of your projects, follow these steps:
  1. Click the gear icon in the upper-right of your screen.
  2. Click Domains & hosting.
  3. Click the three dots on the right side of the domain name row.
  4. Click Remove.

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Check domain status

To check the status of your connected domains, follow these steps:
  1. Click the gear icon in the upper-right of your screen.
  2. Click Domains & hosting.
  3. Review your list of domains for status issues.
Clicking Check DNS status will refresh the status of your domains.

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Domain statuses

Domains can have multiple statuses:
  • Pending resolution means that Bolt is trying to resolve your domain to your hosting. This typically occurs after purchasing a new domain. This may take up to 24 hours.
  • Resolve DNS issues indicates a problem with a domain’s configuration.
  • An orange shield over the domain icon next to a domain means it is registered and connected, but does not have a functioning SSL in place. Screenshot of Domains window showing Pending SSL status
  • A green shield over the domain icon next to a domain means it is registered and connected with a working SSL certificate in place

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Temporary issues after connecting a domain

With modern content delivery networks and caching systems, a new domain may take time to operate smoothly after connecting. In the first 24–48 hours, there’s a small chance you will see outdated content, missing assets, or other minor glitches as networks update. These issues are not specific to Bolt or your site. It is simply how content distribution works across the internet, and these issues usually resolve on their own.

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SSL certificates and HTTPS

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the technology that encrypts the connection between a visitor’s browser and your site. When a domain has a valid SSL certificate, it can be accessed over HTTPS (the secure version of HTTP), which shows the padlock icon in the browser. Without SSL, browsers like Chrome and Safari display a warning before allowing visitors to proceed. Bolt automatically provides SSL certificates for all connected domains, so your site is served over HTTPS by default. How HTTPS is handled in Bolt:
  • Domains purchased through Bolt: HTTPS is set up automatically.
  • Domains purchased elsewhere: Set up your DNS first, then Bolt will provision HTTPS.
In the Domains & Hosting window, an orange shield next to a domain name indicates an issue with its SSL certificate. A green shield means the certificate is in place and working normally.

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Repointing a domain after switching from Netlify to Bolt hosting

If you’re switching from Netlify to Bolt hosting and your project uses a custom domain, you’ll need to update your domain settings to point from Netlify to Bolt. See the Connect your domain section above for instructions.

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Add a domain alias

A domain alias is an additional domain name that points to the same site. For example, example.com and example.net can both take visitors to your Bolt project. Your primary domain is the one that will appear in the browser’s address bar, while any aliases simply forward visitors to it. This ensures that your site is always accessed under a single, consistent domain, helping with SEO and avoiding duplicate content issues. To add a domain alias, follow these steps:
1

Add your domain name in Bolt

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper-right of your screen to open Project settings.
  2. Click Domains & hosting.
  3. Click Add domain alias.
  4. Enter the domain alias.
  5. Click Save.
2

Update your DNS settings

After completing Step 5 in the section above, you will be returned to the Domains & Hosting window. Follow the steps below to point your domain from your registrar to Bolt.
  1. Click Resolve DNS issues.
  2. Keep this DNS Configuration window open. (You’ll need this information.)
  3. In a new tab, log in to your domain registrar account. (This is the company you registered your domain with.)
  4. Find the area that allows you to manage your DNS settings.
  5. Create an ALIAS record as instructed in the DNS configuration window.
If you can’t find your DNS settings or create records, reach out to your domain registrar’s support team for help connecting your domain to Bolt.
3

Wait for the changes to take effect

It can take time for your DNS changes to update across the internet. Most domains connect within a few hours, but in some cases, it may take up to 24 hours before your site is fully accessible on the new domain.
4

Verify status

After giving the domain some time to make the change, you can return to Bolt and verify its status by following the steps below:
  1. Click the gear icon in the upper-right of your screen.
  2. Click Domains & hosting.
  3. Verify that your domains show a green shield over the domain icon next to them, meaning that the domain is registered and connected with a working SSL certificate in place.

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Downgrading from a Pro to a Free hosting plan

If you downgrade from any Pro to a Free hosting plan, your projects using a custom domain will be republished to a free bolt.host address. Any custom domains you’ve purchased will be paused and can be reactivated when you upgrade back to a paid plan.

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Domain FAQs and troubleshooting