Setting Up a Custom Domain

Every HelpDocs customer gets a subdomain that looks like this: <your-subdomain>.helpdocs.io. Subdomains work great for most customers. But if you want to take your customer experience from good to amazing, you'll want to set up a custom domain. Something like support.yourapp.com.

Setting up a custom domain is super simple. But if DNS and CNAMEs aren't your thing, forward this article to your developers.

Setting up your custom domain

Step 1: Set up a CNAME record

First, log into your DNS provider. This could be Route 53, GoDaddy, or whoever manages your domain. Create a new CNAME record for your chosen subdomain.

Point it to domains.helpdocs.io. Set the TTL as low as possible.

Step 2: Tell us your domain

Now you need to tell HelpDocs about your custom domain. Head to Settings in your account. Type your custom domain into the field and hit Save Changes.

Step 3: Wait for DNS to propagate

DNS providers aren't always as fast as we'd like 🙁

You might need to wait up to 48 hours for changes to take effect. Don't worry though. You can still access your Knowledge Base at your original subdomain during this time.

Add SSL to your custom domain 🔒

All HelpDocs plans come with free SSL certificates. There's nothing extra to pay and it only takes one click.

Here's how to add SSL to your custom domain:

1. Make sure your custom domain works without SSL first
2. Head to Settings > General
3. Next to Custom Domain, click Request SSL

   

4. Your certificate should be ready in a few seconds
   If your certificate doesn't appear after several hours, contact support and we'll help you debug 🐛
5. Once SSL is working, the Request SSL button will disappear. You'll see https:// in the domain field prefix

Moving a domain to HelpDocs with zero downtime

You can move your existing docs to HelpDocs without any downtime. Here's how:

1. Enter your custom domain in HelpDocs Settings > General and hit Save
2. Update your domain's CNAME to point to domains.helpdocs.io (exactly as written, don't use your HelpDocs subdomain)
3. Wait for your custom domain to show HelpDocs content
4. Optional: Generate an SSL certificate in Settings > General by clicking Request SSL

If you had SSL before, some visitors might have trouble accessing your docs until the new certificate is ready. Otherwise, everything should work seamlessly.