How to connect a custom domain (e.g., yourname.com)

Your coaching brand deserves its own address

Running your coaching business on a generic subdomain works fine when you're starting out, but the moment a potential client sees yourname.coachful.co in a proposal or email signature, they immediately wonder whether you're serious. Connecting a custom domain — so your site loads at yourname.com (or any domain you own) — is one of the highest-leverage things you can do for credibility, SEO, and client trust. Coachful supports custom domains on every paid plan, with automatic SSL provisioned in minutes.

This guide walks you through every step: buying a domain (if you don't have one), pointing your DNS records at Coachful, and verifying the connection. It also covers the most common mistakes coaches make — so you can skip the frustrating trial-and-error and go live the same day.

TL;DR — Quick answer

• Go to Coach Dashboard → Settings → Domains and enter your domain.
• Add a CNAME record (or A record for apex domains) at your DNS registrar pointing to Coachful.
• Wait up to 48 hours for DNS to propagate — usually under 30 minutes.
• Coachful auto-provisions an SSL certificate (HTTPS) once the domain resolves correctly.

Before you start: what you'll need

Connecting a custom domain in Coachful takes about five minutes of actual work. The rest is just waiting for DNS to propagate across the internet. Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

• A domain you own — purchased through any registrar (Namecheap, GoDaddy, Google Domains / Squarespace Domains, Cloudflare, etc.). If you don't own one yet, see the next section.
• Access to your registrar's DNS settings — you'll need to log in to wherever you bought the domain and edit DNS records. This is usually under a menu called "DNS", "DNS Management", or "Advanced DNS".
• A Coachful paid plan — custom domains are available on the Growth and Scale plans. If you're on a free trial, you can configure the domain now and it will activate when you upgrade.

Step 1 — Choose and purchase a domain (skip if you already have one)

If you don't own a domain yet, the simplest approach is to register one through Namecheap or Squarespace Domains — both have clean DNS interfaces that are easy to navigate. Aim for a .com if it's available; it still carries the most trust with coaching clients. A few naming patterns that work well:

• firstnamelastname.com — builds personal brand authority.
• yourbrandname.com — better if you plan to scale beyond yourself (team of coaches, white-label programs).
• coachyourfocus.com — works when your niche is front-and-center (e.g., coachexecutives.com).

Domains typically cost $10–$20/year. Once purchased, leave the registrar tab open — you'll need it in Step 3.

Step 2 — Add your domain inside Coachful

Adding the domain on the Coachful side first generates the DNS target you'll need to point to. Here's exactly how to do it:

1. Log in to your Coachful dashboard at app.coachful.co/sign-in.
2. In the left sidebar, click Settings, then select the Domains tab.
3. Click Add Custom Domain.
4. Enter your domain exactly as you want it to appear — for example, yourname.com or coaching.yourname.com. Do not include https:// or a trailing slash.
5. Click Save. Coachful will display the DNS record(s) you need to add — copy these values, or keep this browser tab open.

You'll see one of two record types depending on whether you're connecting an apex domain (yourname.com) or a subdomain (www.yourname.com or coaching.yourname.com). The dashboard will tell you exactly which type you need.

Step 3 — Add DNS records at your registrar

This step happens entirely outside of Coachful — at the company where you registered your domain. The exact menu names differ by registrar, but the logic is the same everywhere.

For subdomains (www or any prefix) — use a CNAME record

1. In your registrar's DNS panel, create a new record and set the Type to CNAME.
2. Set the Host / Name field to the prefix of your subdomain. If you're using www.yourname.com, enter www. If you're using coaching.yourname.com, enter coaching.
3. Set the Value / Points to field to the CNAME target shown in your Coachful Domains settings (it will look like custom.coachful.co or similar).
4. Set the TTL to the lowest available value (300 seconds / 5 minutes is ideal for faster propagation during setup). You can raise it to 3600 later.
5. Save the record.

For apex domains (root domain, e.g., yourname.com) — use an A record

Most registrars don't support CNAME records on the apex (root) domain because it conflicts with other records like MX (email). Instead, use an A record:

1. Create a new record with Type set to A.
2. Set the Host / Name to @ (this represents the root domain at most registrars).
3. Set the Value / Points to to the IP address shown in your Coachful Domains settings.
4. Save the record.

Pro tip: Many coaches set up both a www CNAME and an apex A record, then configure a redirect from the apex to www (or vice versa) in their registrar. This ensures visitors arrive at the same URL regardless of how they type it, which is better for SEO.

If you're using Cloudflare as your DNS provider

Cloudflare users should set the CNAME or A record's Proxy status to DNS only (grey cloud icon, not orange). Leaving Cloudflare's proxy enabled can interfere with Coachful's SSL certificate provisioning. Once your SSL is confirmed active in Coachful, you can re-enable the orange cloud if you want Cloudflare's CDN benefits — though Coachful already serves content via a global CDN, so it's optional.

Step 4 — Verify and wait for SSL

Once you've saved your DNS record, return to Coachful → Settings → Domains and click Verify next to your domain. Coachful will check whether the DNS record resolves correctly.

If it resolves, you'll see a green Active status and Coachful will immediately begin provisioning your SSL certificate via Let's Encrypt. This usually takes 2–5 minutes. Once complete, your domain will load over HTTPS with a valid padlock — no manual certificate management required, ever. Coachful auto-renews SSL certificates before they expire.

If verification fails, the dashboard will tell you what it found versus what it expected. The most common reason is DNS propagation — changes to DNS records don't take effect globally in an instant. You can check propagation status at whatsmydns.net by entering your domain and choosing the record type (CNAME or A). Once it shows your Coachful values in most regions, try verifying again.

Coachful makes custom domains easy: Unlike platforms that charge extra for SSL or require you to manually upload certificates, Coachful handles the entire SSL lifecycle automatically. Your clients always get a secure, professional experience — and you never have to think about certificate renewals. Sign in to set up your domain now.

Setting your custom domain as the primary domain

After verification, go back to Settings → Domains and click Set as Primary next to your new domain. This tells Coachful to:

• Serve your coaching website, landing pages, and program sign-up pages at this domain.
• Use this domain in all system emails sent to clients (booking confirmations, program invites, etc.).
• Display this URL in your link-in-bio page and marketplace profile.

Your original subdomain (yourslug.coachful.co) remains active and redirects to your custom domain automatically — any links you've already shared won't break.

Connecting a custom domain to a specific page or funnel

Beyond your main coaching website, you can point additional domains or subdomains to specific Coachful assets:

• Program landing pages — e.g., join.yourname.com pointing directly to a program's sign-up page. Useful for paid ad campaigns where a tight, focused URL converts better.
• Lead magnet pages — e.g., free.yourname.com for a lead-magnet funnel that builds your email list before selling a paid program.
• Blog — Coachful's built-in blog can live at yourname.com/blog automatically, or on a subdomain if you prefer.

To point a subdomain to a specific page, follow the same CNAME steps above and then, inside Coachful's page/funnel settings, assign that subdomain to the page. The website builder and funnels help articles walk through the page-level assignment in detail.

Best practices for coaches using custom domains

Getting the domain connected is step one. Here's how to get maximum value out of it:

• Consistency across channels. Update your LinkedIn "Website" field, email signature, Instagram bio, and any guest podcast show notes to use your new domain. SEO authority builds faster when more inbound links point to a single canonical domain.
• Use www or not — just pick one. Google treats www.yourname.com and yourname.com as different URLs. Redirect one to the other and set your canonical preference in Settings → SEO.
• Don't let your domain expire. Set your registrar to auto-renew. A lapsed domain can be snatched by a domain squatter within hours of expiry.
• Protect your email reputation. If you're sending coaching emails from @yourname.com, make sure your registrar has SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records configured for your email provider. Coachful's platform emails are sent from Coachful's infrastructure, not your domain, so this applies to your personal outbound email only.

Troubleshooting common custom domain issues

The domain shows "Pending" or "Unverified" for hours

DNS propagation typically takes 15–60 minutes but can take up to 48 hours in rare cases. Check whatsmydns.net to see how propagation is progressing globally. If it's been more than 24 hours and it still shows your old values everywhere, double-check that you saved the DNS record correctly and didn't accidentally add a duplicate conflicting record.

SSL certificate not issuing (stuck on "Securing")

This almost always means the domain isn't resolving to Coachful yet. The SSL provisioning process can't complete until DNS is fully propagated. Wait for the domain to show Active first, then SSL will follow within minutes. If you're using Cloudflare, make sure the proxy is set to DNS only (grey cloud), not Proxied (orange cloud).

"Too many redirects" error in the browser

This typically happens when Cloudflare's proxy is enabled and its SSL mode is set to "Flexible" instead of "Full" or "Full (strict)". Either disable the Cloudflare proxy (grey cloud) or change Cloudflare's SSL/TLS mode to Full under SSL/TLS → Overview in your Cloudflare dashboard.

I added a CNAME to the root domain and now email is broken

You can't put a CNAME on the apex domain — it breaks MX records (email). Remove the apex CNAME and use an A record instead, as described in Step 3. If your registrar supports ALIAS or ANAME records, those also work for apex domains and behave like CNAMEs without the MX conflict.

My subdomain is connected but the main site still shows the coachful.co URL

Make sure you clicked Set as Primary in Settings → Domains after verifying the domain. Verifying alone doesn't make it primary — it just confirms the DNS is correct.

I want to remove a domain I no longer use

Go to Settings → Domains, find the domain in the list, and click the three-dot menu → Remove. Remember to also delete the DNS record at your registrar to keep your DNS tidy. If the domain was set as primary, Coachful will revert to your {slug}.coachful.co subdomain until you set another primary domain.

Ready to go live on your own domain?

A custom domain is one of those upgrades that pays for itself immediately — in perceived professionalism, in SEO equity that compounds over time, and in the confidence boost you feel sharing your link. The whole process takes under ten minutes of active work, and Coachful handles SSL, CDN, and redirects automatically so you never have to touch server config.

If you haven't connected your domain yet, sign in to your Coachful dashboard and head to Settings → Domains to get started. Not on Coachful yet? Start your free trial and have your branded coaching site live before the day is out.