Set up a custom domain

Set up a custom domain

Upgraded plan required — This feature may not be available on all plans.

A custom domain lets participants access your programs at a URL you control — like coaching.yourcompany.com instead of yourorg.upcoach.com. This reinforces your brand and gives your platform a professional feel.

Before you begin

  • Make sure you have access to your domain’s DNS settings (usually through the service where you bought your domain)
  • Decide on the subdomain you want to use (e.g., coaching, learn, app)

Why use a subdomain

We recommend using a subdomain (like coaching.yourcompany.com) rather than your root domain (yourcompany.com). Here’s why:

  • It works reliably. Root domains cannot use CNAME records, which is what upcoach requires. Subdomains support CNAME records across all DNS providers
  • It keeps things separate. Your main website stays at yourcompany.com, and your coaching platform lives on its own subdomain — no conflicts
  • It protects your email. DNS records on root domains can interfere with email delivery. A subdomain avoids this entirely

Good subdomain choices include coaching.yourcompany.com, learn.yourcompany.com, app.yourcompany.com, or programs.yourcompany.com.

Connect your domain in upcoach

  1. Open Admin Area > Brand & Settings > Custom Domain
  2. Enter your full subdomain (e.g., coaching.yourcompany.com)
  3. Click Save

upcoach will show you a CNAME record to add at your DNS provider. You’ll need two pieces of information:

  • Host / Name: your subdomain prefix (e.g., coaching)
  • Target / Points to: custom-domains.upcoach.com

Add the CNAME record at your DNS provider

The steps differ slightly depending on where you manage your DNS. Find your provider below.

Cloudflare

  1. Log in to Cloudflare and select your domain
  2. Go to DNS > Records and click Add Record
  3. Set Type to CNAME
  4. In the Name field, enter your subdomain prefix (e.g., coaching)
  5. In the Target field, enter custom-domains.upcoach.com
  6. Important: Click the orange cloud icon to switch it to a gray cloud (DNS only). The record must show DNS only, not Proxied
  7. Click Save

Why disable the proxy? Cloudflare’s proxy routes traffic through its own servers, which interferes with the SSL certificate that upcoach provisions for your domain. Setting the record to DNS only ensures traffic goes directly to upcoach so the certificate works correctly.

GoDaddy

  1. Sign in to your GoDaddy Domain Portfolio
  2. Select your domain and click DNS
  3. Click Add New Record
  4. Set Type to CNAME
  5. In the Name field, enter your subdomain prefix (e.g., coaching) — do not enter the full domain
  6. In the Value field, enter custom-domains.upcoach.com
  7. Leave TTL at the default and click Save

Note: If you see an error about a conflicting record, you may already have an A record for that subdomain. Delete the existing A record first, then add the CNAME.

Namecheap

  1. Log in to Namecheap and go to Domain List
  2. Click Manage next to your domain
  3. Go to the Advanced DNS tab
  4. Under Host Records, click Add New Record
  5. Select CNAME Record from the Type dropdown
  6. In the Host field, enter your subdomain prefix (e.g., coaching) — Namecheap automatically appends your domain
  7. In the Value field, enter custom-domains.upcoach.com
  8. Click the checkmark to save

Note: Make sure your domain is using Namecheap BasicDNS or Namecheap PremiumDNS. If you’re using custom nameservers, you’ll need to add the record at your nameserver provider instead.

Squarespace Domains

  1. Log in to Squarespace Domains and select your domain
  2. Click DNS in the left sidebar, then DNS Settings
  3. Click Add Record
  4. Select CNAME as the record type
  5. In the Host field, enter your subdomain prefix (e.g., coaching)
  6. In the Data field, enter custom-domains.upcoach.com
  7. Click Save

AWS Route 53

  1. Open the Route 53 console and select your hosted zone
  2. Click Create record
  3. In the Record name field, enter your subdomain prefix (e.g., coaching)
  4. Set Record type to CNAME
  5. In the Value field, enter custom-domains.upcoach.com
  6. Leave the routing policy as Simple routing
  7. Click Create records

Other providers

The general steps are the same with any DNS provider:

  1. Find the DNS management section for your domain
  2. Add a new CNAME record
  3. Set the host or name to your subdomain prefix (e.g., coaching)
  4. Set the target, value, or points to field to custom-domains.upcoach.com
  5. Save the record

If your provider offers a proxy or CDN option (similar to Cloudflare), make sure it is turned off so traffic routes directly to upcoach.

Wait for DNS propagation

After saving your CNAME record, it can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours for the change to propagate worldwide. In most cases, it’s ready within 30 minutes.

You can check whether your record is live by running this command in your terminal:

dig coaching.yourcompany.com CNAME

Replace coaching.yourcompany.com with your actual subdomain. When the record is active, you’ll see custom-domains.upcoach.com in the response.

Verify in upcoach

Once DNS propagation is complete, go back to Admin Area > Brand & Settings > Custom Domain in upcoach. The status will update to show that your domain is connected. upcoach automatically provisions an SSL certificate for your domain, so your participants will see a secure https:// connection.

Troubleshooting

Domain not connecting after 48 hours?

  • Double-check that your CNAME record points to custom-domains.upcoach.com (not your old subdomain or a different target)
  • If you use Cloudflare, make sure the proxy is disabled (gray cloud, DNS only)
  • Confirm there isn’t a conflicting A record for the same subdomain
  • Some providers require a trailing dot (e.g., custom-domains.upcoach.com.) — try adding one if the record isn’t resolving

SSL certificate errors?

  • Allow up to an hour for the SSL certificate to be provisioned after the domain connects
  • If you use Cloudflare with the proxy enabled, the SSL certificate from upcoach cannot be issued — switch to DNS only

What to do next