Connect a custom domain with a free SSL certificate

An address like yourbrand.com or yourbrand.sa tells customers your business is serious before they read a word. On Tansik, connecting your own domain needs no developer: you add two records at your domain provider, and the rest happens on its own, including the security certificate.

Start on a free address, move when you're ready

Every Tansik site gets a free address under Tansik's domain, with a name you choose when you create the site. That is enough to build, test and share your site. When you are ready, add your own domain from your site's Domains page.

If you don't have a domain yet, buy one from any domain registrar. Tansik doesn't sell domains, but it works with any domain you own. How many custom domains each site can have depends on your plan.

Step one: add the domain in your dashboard

Open your site, go to the Domains page and type your domain, such as yourbrand.com or www.yourbrand.com. The dashboard shows two records to add in your provider's DNS settings:

1. A TXT record to prove ownership: its name starts with _tansik. followed by your domain, and its value starts with tansik-. This record proves you own the domain.
2. A pointing record: an A record pointing to Tansik's server, or a CNAME record pointing to Tansik's sites address, depending on the address. The dashboard tells you the exact type and value, so copy them as they are.

Careful: don't delete your email (MX) or other records. You are only adding two.

Step two: wait for verification

DNS changes take time to spread, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours. You don't have to watch:

• Tansik checks your domain automatically every few minutes, and you can ask for a check right away.
• Once it finds the TXT record, the domain is verified in your name.
• If the record doesn't appear within 72 hours, the request is marked as not completed; fix the record and check again to start a new window.

A verified domain can't be claimed by another account: the owner who proved it is the owner of the domain.

Step three: a free SSL certificate, automatically

Once the domain is verified and the A or CNAME record points to Tansik, a free security certificate is issued for it automatically. You don't buy a certificate, upload files or renew anything yourself.

Why does the certificate matter?

• Your site shows https and the padlock in the browser, which reassures visitors.
• Browsers warn visitors about insecure sites, especially on payment pages and forms.
• If you run an online store, customers won't type their card details into a site without a padlock.

The primary domain: which address does Google see?

If you add more than one domain, such as yourbrand.com and www.yourbrand.com, one of them is the primary domain. The first domain you add becomes primary, and you can change it at any time.

The primary domain is what your site's links are built on: each page's main address, your sitemap, the links Google sees, and the booking and order links your customers receive. That matters for SEO, because Google prefers each page to have one main version. For more, read our SEO guide for small businesses.

A tip: if you want your site to work with and without www, add both and make one of them primary.

One domain for a bilingual site

You don't need a domain per language. Your Arabic and English site runs on the same domain, each language has its own links under it, and the two versions are linked for Google. Details in our guide to bilingual websites.

Get started

If your site is live on its free address, open the Domains page and add your domain now, then copy the two records to your domain provider. If you haven't started yet, read what is Tansik? and pick a plan in the plans section.

Questions