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Custom domains

Serve your published blogs on a domain you own — e.g. blog.yourcompany.com — over HTTPS. You point the domain at Essel with a couple of DNS records; Essel handles the servers, SSL, and certificate renewal automatically. Once live, posts are served at https://<your-domain>/<slug>.

Requirements

  • A domain (or subdomain) you control, with access to edit its DNS records at your registrar or DNS provider.
  • A subdomain such as blog.yourcompany.com is recommended. Apex/root domains (yourcompany.com) are supported too, via an A record.

1. Add the domain

  1. Open Settings → Integrations → Custom domains.
  2. Enter the hostname (no http://, no path) and click Add domain.
  3. Essel shows the exact DNS records to create. These are specific to your deployment, so always copy them from the dashboard rather than from this page.

2. Set the DNS records

The dashboard gives you up to three records. Add the recommended one for your domain type, plus the ownership TXT record:

  • CNAME (recommended for subdomains) — points blog.yourcompany.com at Essel’s edge. Apex domains can’t hold a CNAME, so use the A record there.
  • A record (recommended for apex domains) — points the domain at Essel’s edge IP.
  • TXT at _essel-verify.<your-domain> — proves you own the domain. This lets verification succeed even before the host record has fully propagated.

Add the records at your DNS provider exactly as shown (name/host and value).

3. Verify

Click Verify DNS. Essel resolves your domain and confirms it points at the edge (via the CNAME or A record) or that the ownership TXT token matches. On success the domain flips to Live and a certificate is issued on first request.

DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to propagate — if the first check fails, wait and try again.

After a domain verifies, Essel offers to point your content URL at it, so search-engine pings and indexing follow the domain you just connected.

Troubleshooting

  • “We could not confirm your DNS yet” — the record isn’t visible to public resolvers yet (propagation), or the value doesn’t match. Double-check the name/host and value against the dashboard, then retry.
  • Apex domain won’t verify with a CNAME — apex/root domains cannot use a CNAME. Use the A record the dashboard provides instead.
  • Behind Cloudflare or another proxy — set the record to DNS only (grey cloud in Cloudflare). A proxied record hides your real target and can block certificate issuance.
  • Certificate/HTTPS warning right after going live — the certificate is issued on the first request; give it a moment and reload.