DevVault

Getting Started with Domain Setup

Important

Before purchasing a domain, consider:

Your budget (domains typically cost $10-50/year)
Desired domain extension (.com, .io, .dev, etc.)
Brand consistency across platforms
Domain availability

Recommended Domain Registrars

Vercel Domains

Best for:

Next.js projects
Instant setup
Automatic HTTPS

Namecheap

Great for:

Competitive pricing
Free WhoisGuard
Excellent support

Alternative Options

Domain Setup Guide

Setting up with Vercel (Recommended)

Purchase your domain:

Go to your Vercel dashboard
Click on Domains
Search for your desired domain
Complete the purchase

Connect to your project:

vercel domains add your-app.com

# Or use the Vercel Dashboard:
# 1. Go to your project
# 2. Click "Settings" → "Domains"
# 3. Add your domain

That's the beauty of using Vercel Domain it will take care all the rest, just add your domain to your project.

Setting up with Namecheap

Purchase your domain on Namecheap
Configure DNS settings:

Namecheap DNS Configuration

# Add these records in Namecheap's DNS settings:

Type    Host    Value               TTL
A       @       76.76.21.21         Auto
CNAME   www     cname.vercel-dns.com Auto

Additional Configuration

SSL/HTTPS Setup

Hint

When using Vercel, SSL certificates are automatically provisioned and renewed. For other providers, you might need to set up SSL manually.

Subdomain Configuration

DNS Configuration for Subdomains

# Example subdomain setup
Type    Host      Value
CNAME   app       cname.vercel-dns.com
CNAME   api       cname.vercel-dns.com
CNAME   docs      cname.vercel-dns.com

Best Practices

Always enable WHOIS privacy protection
Set up both www and non-www versions
Configure proper redirects
Keep auto-renewal enabled
Use strong registrar account security
Document your DNS settings

Yayyy! You've taken the first step of deploying your, you can brag it to the world now! on how amazing your website is. In the next section, we're going to setup analytics to help you track your users behavior. See you on the next one!

Next Steps

Learn about how to set up Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity.

Analytics Setup

Steps to implement Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity for user tracking.

Common Issues & Solutions

DNS propagation can take up to 48 hours
SSL certificates might take a few minutes to provision
Double-check nameserver settings if domain isn't resolving
Ensure DNS records are correctly formatted