How to Connect a Custom Domain in Webflow (Beginner Guide)

*The steps and screens in this article are based on the Webflow dashboard as of December 2024. (2026 update: names and placement may have changed in the current UI.)

This article answers that question.

Webflow updates constantly, so by the time you read this the details may have shifted slightly. If something here does not work, check the official site and try that, or get in touch through Twitter.

Let’s get straight into it.

◇Reference site: the official Webflow site → Connect a custom domain (in English)

Key takeaways

Setting a custom domain in Webflow — what it means

Setting a custom domain in Webflow means subscribing to a Site plan (from $14 at the time of writing; Basic from $15/month billed annually after the May 2026 revision) and connecting to Webflow by registering three DNS records — A, CNAME and TXT — at your registrar. It takes roughly 15 minutes across four steps.

Contents

Which pricing plan do you need for a custom domain, and how long does it take?

Pricing: from $14 a month at the cheapest

To set a custom domain in Webflow you need to be on a Site plan. A Workspace alone cannot set a custom domain.

• Site plan from $14: required for a custom domain

(October 2026 update: after the May 2026 pricing revision, the cheapest Site plan that allows a custom domain is Basic — $15 a month billed annually, or $25 a month billed monthly. Confirmed on Webflow’s official pricing page on October 5, 2026.)

If you are only building your own company site, a Site plan alone is enough to work in Webflow. Use a Workspace plan when you want to run several projects in Webflow.

How long the domain setup takes

Setting a custom domain takes about 15 minutes — just four steps. They are explained below, so let’s work through them.

How to set a custom domain in Webflow (for Japanese registrars)

Here is the setup procedure when you bought your domain at a Japanese registrar. Japanese registrars cannot be linked through Webflow’s one-click convenience feature, so you have to use the manual option and set the records by hand.

The steps are as follows.

• [Step 1] Buy the custom domain
• [Step 2] Add the custom domain to Webflow
• [Step 3] Set the DNS records Webflow needs
• [Step 4] Set the custom domain’s SSL as the default

[Step 1] Buy the custom domain

When buying a custom domain, choose a registrar you can trust. Compare prices and support, and pick the one that matches your needs. Once you have bought it, open the domain’s management screen and make the settings you need.

Among Japanese registrars, I personally recommend Onamae.com — everything about it felt relatively simple and straightforward.

If you are fine with a registrar outside Japan, I recommend Cloudflare.

Cloudflare is a company that provides services to improve a website’s performance and security. It has a wide range of features, notably a content delivery network (CDN), protection from DDoS attacks and SSL certificates. That means faster page loads and stronger security. Using Cloudflare also makes managing a domain more efficient, with a better user experience to expect.

That is a lot of jargon, but in short, it can make your site display somewhat faster. Plenty of Japanese companies now use it too, and you have probably seen the logo below when visiting a site. (It sometimes appears during a security check.)

What makes a good domain name?

Domain names are said to have no effect on SEO. As a rule, set whatever name you like. Here are a few tips for choosing a domain.

• Keep it as short as possible
• Make it obvious at a glance
• Never put another company’s name in it (webflow-japan, wix-design and the like)

Keep those three points in mind.

Putting a hyphen between words, as in domain-dondon, is apparently common among Japanese owners. Outside Japan the aim is to be as short as possible, and I hear even the hyphen often gets cut…

Putting another company’s name in it is absolutely off limits. It looks like nothing but a scam site, and above all, each company prohibits it. (Everyone can see that selling Apple products from a domain like apple-japan would be out of the question.)

[Step 2] Add the custom domain to Webflow

(2026 update: the button names and screens below are as of the time of writing. They may have changed in the current UI.)

Buying a Site plan is what unlocks custom domains. Add yours from “Publishing” in Webflow.

Click the blue “Add a custom domain” button to the right of “Production” to begin. A few options appear; click “Manually add domain”‍ and enter your custom domain.

Webflow then shows the information you have to enter by hand. Take that to your registrar.

[Step 3] Set the DNS records Webflow needs

Set the custom DNS at your registrar. First create three custom records and choose the types “A”, “CNAME” and “TXT”. Using the image as a guide, copy and paste the values below.

• “A” 75.2.70.75 99.83.190.102 ‍
• “CNAME” www proxy-ssl.webflow.com ‍
• “TXT” one-time-verification=01ab2345-cd67e-89f0-11gh-12i13456j789k ‍

Set all of them. The values above appear once you have entered your domain in Webflow in step 2, so use what it gives you.

Some Japanese registrars cannot set all of the records above. In that case you inevitably need Cloudflare to add the DNS. (You can use Cloudflare for just the DNS settings, without managing the domain there.)

What to do at each Japanese registrar is collected in the article below.
→ Japanese registrars: how to fix it when a domain will not link to Webflow

Once the settings are in place, go back to Webflow. When your custom domain reads “Connected”, you are done.

If the domain still will not link after all of the above, we can support you with the connection. Get in touch if you are stuck.

The official Webflow site → Connect a custom domain (in English)

[Step 4] Set the custom domain as the default

Finally, set a redirect so every URL resolves to one address. Set the “www” domain as the default and you are done.

*While you are there, use the “SEO” section to stop the Webflow.io subdomain from being indexed.

Last, type your domain into Google search and check that the site loads. If it does, the custom domain setup is finished.

Depending on the registrar, DNS can take around 24 hours to propagate.

What to do after setting a custom domain

Once the custom domain is set, publish the site and start tracking your SEO rankings and click counts. The main job is setting up the following tools.

• Set up analytics
• Set up Search Console
• RankTracker (or another SEO rank checker)

Use these tools to track traffic and improve your content.

Traffic will not grow right away once you publish a site. Focus on SEO rankings alone and keep at it patiently. Explaining how to use each tool here would make this article too long, so their setup and usage get their own articles.

If you cannot set a custom domain in Webflow

“Customizing the DNS” sounds difficult, but in practice it is only copying and pasting, so it turns out to be easy. If you cannot get a custom domain set in Webflow, we can solve it — talk to us first.

The official Webflow video below (it is old)

Selected work

JTB Americas

A full renewal of the North America site, with the operations team able to update it themselves

Hosted by Nippon TV

High-fidelity Figma-to-Webflow conversion, with load speed and responsiveness optimized

PonTech Lab Inc.

Built with AI (Claude Code) on Next.js and Cloudflare, with the build process published

FAQ

Which pricing plan do I need to set a custom domain in Webflow?

You need a Site plan. As of October 2026 the cheapest plan that allows a custom domain is Basic — $15 a month billed annually, or $25 a month billed monthly. A Workspace alone cannot set a custom domain. If you are only building your own company site, a Site plan on its own is enough to work in Webflow.

How long does it take to set a custom domain in Webflow?

Roughly 15 minutes, across just four steps. Depending on the registrar, though, DNS can take around 24 hours to propagate.

Can Japanese registrars be linked to Webflow?

They can, but not through Webflow’s one-click convenience feature, so you have to use the manual option and set the DNS by hand. Some registrars cannot set every record required, in which case you need Cloudflare to add the DNS.

Does the domain name affect SEO?

Domain names are said to have no effect on SEO. As a rule, set whatever name you like — keep it as short as possible, make it obvious at a glance, and never put another company’s name in it.

What should I do after setting a custom domain?

Set up three things — analytics, Search Console and a rank checker such as RankTracker — then improve your content while watching traffic and SEO rankings. Also check that the webflow.io subdomain is set not to be indexed.