Connecting Your Domain
After this, you'll be able to connect a custom domain to Netlify, explain the difference between pointing and transferring a domain, and make your name findable on search engines.
Before you start
Complete Deploying to Netlify first; this lesson assumes your site is live on a .netlify.app URL.
The idea
You point a domain at Netlify (two DNS records), you almost never transfer it, and HTTPS is automatic. A .netlify.app URL gets the job done. A yourname.com address does something the free URL cannot: it signals permanence. Clients who find yourname.com in their emails know you are a real business.
The domain name is often the cheapest professional upgrade you can make, with a small annual registration cost. Buying the domain and connecting it are two separate steps. You buy from a registrar (a company that rents out domain names, like Namecheap, Squarespace Domains, or Cloudflare Registrar), and then you point it at Netlify. You almost certainly do not need to transfer it.
Here is the before and after: Most people read "connect your domain to Netlify" and assume they need to transfer the domain (move the registration itself from Namecheap over to Netlify). That triggers a 60-day lock period and a fiddly process that provides no benefit for a portfolio. Pointing is the right approach. You add two DNS records at your registrar. DNS, the Domain Name System, is the internet's address book that turns yourname.com into the actual server it lives on. The two records are an A record for yourname.com and a CNAME for www.yourname.com; Netlify tells you the exact values to paste. Netlify then handles HTTPS automatically (the padlock in the address bar that encrypts the connection), and the domain is live within minutes to 48 hours. No transfer, no lock period, no cost beyond the annual domain registration.
Now try it: add your domain in Netlify's Domain Management settings, copy the two DNS values Netlify provides, add them at your registrar, and use dnschecker.org to watch propagation (the few hours it takes for your new DNS records to spread across the internet). While you wait, ask Claude to update your HTML with a page title and a meta description (the one-line summary search engines show under your link) so your name appears correctly in search results. Open yourname.com in an incognito window once the padlock appears: that is your portfolio on your own domain.
Try it (8 min)
Watch out for
- Thinking you need to transfer your domain. You do not. Pointing your domain at Netlify from your current registrar is all you need. Transfer is for a different situation entirely.
- Buying hosting from your domain registrar. You do not need it; Netlify provides hosting for free; registrar hosting is a recurring cost for something you already have
- Panicking when the domain does not work immediately. DNS takes up to 48 hours; use dnschecker.org to see propagation progress in real time
- Skipping the page title and meta description. Without them, your site appears in search results as the raw URL, not your name and role.
- Using the www version and the non-www version inconsistently. Decide on one as primary (most people use the non-www version) and set up a redirect for the other in Netlify
Paste this into Claude
[Paste your Portfolio Brief here: the paragraph you wrote in Lesson 0] --- I want to connect my own domain name to my Netlify site. Help me understand the exact steps. My situation: - My Netlify site URL is: [your .netlify.app URL] - I [already own a domain at: name of registrar / need to buy a domain] - The domain I want to use is: [yourname.com or the domain you're considering] Please walk me through: 1. If I need to buy a domain: where to buy it and what to look for 2. Should I transfer my domain to Netlify or just point it? What is the difference? 3. The exact DNS records I need to add in my registrar (A record and CNAME) 4. Where in Netlify I find the values to enter 5. How to know when it is working (what to check and when) 6. Whether I need to do anything for HTTPS / the padlock to appear After I confirm my domain is connected, also give me the HTML update to add a proper page title and meta description so my name appears correctly in search results.
What good looks like
- You can explain the difference between pointing and transferring a domain (without looking at notes)
- You know where in Netlify to find the DNS values to enter
- You know which DNS record types (A record and CNAME) to add at your registrar
- You understand that DNS propagation takes time and is not a sign something is wrong
- Your HTML file has a page title and meta description with your name and role
When this breaks
- Breaks when the registrar interface is unfamiliar. Every registrar has a slightly different DNS editor; give Claude the registrar name and it will give exact field-by-field instructions for that specific registrar
- Breaks when the user buys the wrong domain (already taken). Check availability before committing; yourname.com and yournamecreative.com and yourname.co are all valid options
AI can help with this
Use Claude or your build tool to help you you can connect a custom domain to Netlify, explain the difference between pointing and transferring a domain, and make your name findable on search engines. Start with the exercise prompt and your real input. Ask for one draft, then check it against this proof: You can explain the difference between pointing and transferring a domain (without looking at notes). Accept only the version you can verify yourself.
You can now
You can explain the difference between pointing and transferring a domain (without looking at notes)
- You know where in Netlify to find the DNS values to enter
- You know which DNS record types (A record and CNAME) to add at your registrar
- You understand that DNS propagation takes time and is not a sign something is wrong
- Your HTML file has a page title and meta description with your name and role
Key takeaways
Point your domain, do not transfer it. Three DNS steps (add domain in Netlify, add A record and CNAME at registrar, wait up to 48 hours). Add a page title and meta description so search engines show your name correctly. HTTPS is automatic.
- Point your domain at Netlify from your current registrar. Do not transfer unless you have a specific reason.
- Domain and hosting are separate. Buy the domain anywhere, host for free on Netlify.
- Three steps: add domain in Netlify, add DNS records at registrar, wait up to 48 hours.
- HTTPS / the padlock is automatic on Netlify. You do not configure it.
- Add a page title and meta description to your HTML so your name appears correctly in search results.