The ability to use a custom domain for your MV Site is a great way to create brand consistency and although we've tried very hard to make the set-up process easy for account owners, it's possible that you may encounter some challenges during the step process.

Here are a few troubleshooting suggestions for you to consider should you be experiencing a challenge with your set-up:

If you happen to own multiple domains, it can be very easy to create a new record under the wrong domain.

Double-check that the CNAME record has been created under the domain that you've noted in Step 1 of the set-up process within your MV account.

A simple typo in your root domain is all it takes to stop the domain validation process from being successful.

Review the custom domain that you've noted in Step 1 to ensure it is 100% accurate.

If you've made a typo in your custom domain, return to Step 1 and restart your custom domain process by clicking the 'Cancel and Start Over' button.

Although the Name value that MV provides for your CNAME record is accurate and correct, some domain hosts may want you to exclude the reference to your custom domain that falls after the string of numbers.

For example, we provide the following Name value for your first CNAME record: _40d2b3b83c7816c6b3170098a71ff8c4.members.yourdomain.com.

But your domain host may only want you to reference "_40d2b3b83c7816c6b3170098a71ff8c4.members" for the Name value.

Notice that in the second value, the characters ".yourdomain.com" are not included.

This is a common issue for GoDaddy, Namecheap, SquareSpace, Cloudflare and Google hosting users as these hosts only want the subdomain referenced as the Name value for this CNAME record.

Alternatively, if your domain host does want you to use the full Name value that MV provides - it's possible that it may not want you to include the final period ' . ' that's noted at the very end.

Simply removing that ' . ' may allow your domain validation process to be successful.

If you believe this may be the culprit of your issue, please update the Name value of the CNAME record and allow a few hours to see if your custom domain is able to be validated.

Each domain host has a different way/preference for how records are created, if you are not familiar with the exact requirements of your domain host please contact them directly for guidance on how to correctly create the required CNAME record in your DNS settings.

To fix this, copy your domain url from Step 1, click "Cancel and Start Over," and paste your domain back into Step 1. You should receive a "SUCCESS" message on Step 2 right away.

Your custom domain must be a subdomain of your root domain - for example, members.yourdomain.com.

The 'members' reference is the subdomain and 'yourdomain.com' is the root domain.

You cannot use your root domain for your MV custom domain. You cannot use 'yourdomain.com' - a subdomain must be included.

You must also only use a single subdomain.

For example, you cannot use 'www.members.yourdomain.com' as this URL includes two subdomains (www & members).

You would need to use one or the other but not both.

If you've noted an invalid URL in Step 1 of the custom domain process, please contact our support team via the chat support within your account or by email at hello@membervault.co so we can reset your custom domain process for you.

Step 3 of the custom domain process will create the record you require for the subdomain referenced in your custom domain (ie. the part that comes before your root domain such as 'www' or 'courses', etc.)

If you already have a record created for the subdomain you wish to use for your custom domain, this will conflict with the CNAME record you are asked to create in Step 3.

You can only have ONE record in relation to the subdomain you wish to use for your custom domain.

If you've previously created a record (CNAME, Type A, etc.) for the subdomain you wish to use with your custom domain, please delete that record and wait a few hours to see if this corrects your issue.

In order for your custom domain to be set-up and continue to work, both of the CNAME records that MV requests you create in your DNS settings must exist.

If you deleted the first CNAME record that you created in Step 2 or overwrote it with the details for the CNAME record required for Step 3, your custom domain validation process will not be successful.

If you've removed the first CNAME record created during Step 2, please re-add it to your DNS settings and then wait a few hours to see if this corrects your concern.

Although the Name value that MV provides for your CNAME record in Step 3 references the full custom domain you wish to use, some domain hosts may only want you to reference the subdomain rather than the full custom domain.

For example, if your custom domain is members.yourdomain.com that's what will be noted as the Name value.

It's possible your domain host may only want you to reference 'members.' instead of your full custom domain.

This is a common issue for GoDaddy, Namecheap, SquareSpace, Cloudflare and Google hosting users as these hosts only want the subdomain referenced as the Name value for this CNAME record.

If you believe this may be the culprit of your issue, please update the Name value of the CNAME record and allow a few hours to see if your custom domain is able to be validated.
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Each domain host has a different way/preference for how records are created, if you are not familiar with the exact requirements of your domain host please contact them directly for guidance on how to correctly create the required CNAME record in your DNS settings.

​Questions? Reach out to us at hello@membervault.co, via chat support within your Admin account (available to paid users) or within our FB Group, The MV Collaborative.

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