Do you have questions about how to add or manage your custom domain? We have the answers!
What is a custom domain?
A custom domain is a unique branded name that identifies a website and appears in the address bar at the top of every browser. For example, learnworlds.com is a custom domain.
Do I have to buy a custom domain?
When you create your LearnWorlds school, you can use the default LearnWorlds subdomain you have inserted (e.g. yourschool.learnworlds.com). It is up to you to purchase and connect a custom domain to your school or continue to use your LearnWorlds subdomain.
Naked domain Vs. subdomain
A naked domain is a root domain that does not contain a subdomain part and is also known as apex/base/bare/zone domain. In the DNS provider settings, naked domains are sometimes symbolized by an @ symbol. For example, yourschool.com is a naked domain because it doesn't have a subdomain whereas www.yourschool.com is not a naked domain because it contains the subdomain www. In other words, the naked domain is the domain you have originally purchased without the "www" or any other subdomains.
A subdomain is an additional part that comes before the naked domain. You can create multiple subdomains or child domains on your main domain to better organize your site. E.g if your naked domain is yourschool.com, you can create two subdomains for www.yourschool.com, academy.yourschool.com, etc.
Can I use my naked domain or should I use only a subdomain?
You can use both. Subdomains are the most common way to connect your own domain to your school, however, naked domains can also be connected.
How can I connect my own domain?
If you want to direct all traffic from an existing site outside of LearnWorlds to your school or you do not want to use the default LearnWorlds subdomain (e.g. yourschool.learnworlds.com or yourschool.mylearnworlds.com), then you can connect your purchased custom domain at the subdomain level (e.g. www.yourschool.com). Once you’ve connected your custom domain to your school, users will automatically be directed to your LearnWorlds school.
In order to connect your purchased domain with your school, you need to follow 3 steps:
1. Create a CNAME record in your domain provider's settings in order to link your custom domain with your LearnWorlds school.
2. Check if the CNAME record is correct.
3. Request the change in your school's settings.
Click here to see all the steps in detail.
How can I use my naked domain?
You can also connect your purchased custom domain at the naked level (e.g. yourschool.com). Your naked domain can be connected in two ways:
1. Add an A record (in order to have an SSL certificate issued by us).
2. Add a forwarding feature from your naked domain to your subdomain (the naked domain will not have an SSL certificate).
How to use both my subdomain and naked domain?
1. Add a CNAME record and request the domain's change as described here.
2. Add an A record as described here but do not request the domain's change in your school settings.
3. Submit a support ticket to our team and let us know you want to also use your naked domain and which one you want to be your primary.
The primary domain will be the one visible in the browser URL, and the secondary domain will redirect users to the primary domain (for example, if you have www.yourschool.com as the primary domain, and someone tries to access your secondary domain yourschool.com, they will be redirected to your primary domain).
How to change my custom domain to a new custom one?
1. Do not remove your current CNAME record. It's crucial to remain intact until the process is completed, otherwise, your school will not be reachable.
2. Add a CNAME record for your new domain according to the steps here.
3. Submit a support ticket to our team and let us know of the new domain. If you want to keep the current domain as secondary, don't forget to mention it in your request.
4. As soon as the process is completed, if you want to keep only your new domain, you can remove the old CNAME DNS record.
The PTIN field (a special field that can be used for showing user input in a Certificate template) is bound to each LearnWorlds school domain. If you choose to alter your custom domain the PTIN field will be removed.