Custom Domain & Settings Updated May 31, 2026 4 min read

How to Connect Your Own Custom Domain

This is the complete, no-jargon guide to pointing your own web address (like www.mycoolradio.com) at your RadioSiteMaker station. Don't worry if you've never touched a "DNS" setting in your life — this guide is written for absolute beginners. Follow it in order, copy the values exactly, and your domain will be live. It takes about 10 minutes of work plus a little waiting.

What we're doing — in plain English

Your station already has a free web address: yourstation.radiositemaker.com. This guide makes your own address (the one you bought, like www.mycoolradio.com) show your station instead.

Think of it like a mail-forwarding order. You bought a domain name from a company like GoDaddy or Namecheap — that's your address-book entry. Right now it points nowhere. We're going to add one line that says: "When someone visits www.mycoolradio.com, send them to RadioSiteMaker." That single line is called a CNAME record. That's the whole trick.

Time: ~10 min + waiting · You'll need: your domain login · Difficulty: beginner · Cost: free.

Keep two things open while you work:

Your domain provider's website (where you bought the domain).
Your RadioSiteMaker Settings page.

One golden rule: always use the "www" version

RadioSiteMaker supports domains that start with www. — for example www.mycoolradio.com, not the bare mycoolradio.com. Don't worry: in the very last step we'll make the bare version automatically redirect to the www version, so visitors typing either one always arrive in the right place.

Step 1 — Add the CNAME record at your domain provider

Log in to wherever you bought your domain (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Squarespace, Cloudflare, etc.). Find the section called DNS, "DNS Records", "Manage DNS" or "Advanced DNS". Add a new record with exactly these three values:

Type	Name (or "Host")	Value (or "Points to" / "Target")
CNAME	`www`	`sites.radiositemaker.com`

Type www in the Name/Host box — not your full domain (some providers fill in the rest automatically). Then click Save / Add Record. That's it at your provider for now.

Step 2 — Wait a bit, then check that it worked

The internet needs a little time to learn about your change — usually 10 to 60 minutes (occasionally a few hours). You can watch its progress for free:

Go to whatsmydns.net → choose CNAME from the dropdown → type www.yourdomain.com → press Search.

When you see green check marks around the world all pointing to sites.radiositemaker.com, you're ready for Step 3.

Step 3 — Enter your domain in RadioSiteMaker and save

Go to your Settings page. In the Custom Domain box, type your address (e.g. www.mycoolradio.com), then click Save Settings.

If the CNAME from Step 1 is ready, your domain is saved and your secure padlock (SSL certificate) is set up automatically — nothing more to do.

If you see a message saying DNS isn't pointing to us yet, the change from Step 1 simply hasn't spread far enough. Wait a little longer and click Save again.

Step 4 — If needed, click "Test DNS" to activate

After saving, you may see a yellow "DNS not yet verified" note and a Test DNS button. Once Step 2 shows green check marks, click Test DNS. When it turns green and says your domain is active, you're done — the page refreshes on its own.

Step 5 — Send the bare domain to the www version

Finally, make yourdomain.com (without www) automatically forward to www.yourdomain.com, so visitors who leave off the "www" still land on your site.

In your domain provider, look for Domain Forwarding, Redirect or URL Forwarding, and forward yourdomain.com → https://www.yourdomain.com. (Exact wording varies by provider — see the cheat sheet below.)

Once the green check mark shows in your dashboard, your station is live on your own domain. The secure https:// padlock is handled for you automatically — you never need to buy or install an SSL certificate.

Where to click at popular providers

Every provider hides the DNS page somewhere slightly different. In all cases you're adding the same record from Step 1: CNAME · www · sites.radiositemaker.com.

GoDaddy

My Products → Domain → DNS / "Manage DNS" → Add → choose CNAME. Name: www, Value: sites.radiositemaker.com. For Step 5, use Forwarding in the same area.

Namecheap

Domain List → Manage → Advanced DNS → Add New Record → CNAME Record. Host: www, Target: sites.radiositemaker.com. For Step 5: "Redirect Domain".

Squarespace / Google Domains

Settings → Domains → your domain → DNS Settings → Add record → CNAME. Host: www, Data: sites.radiositemaker.com.

Cloudflare

Pick your site → DNS → Add record → CNAME. Name: www, Target: sites.radiositemaker.com. The default Proxied (orange cloud) setting works fine — leave it as is. For Step 5, add a second CNAME for the bare domain (Name @ or your root, Target www.yourdomain.com); Cloudflare handles the rest automatically.

Quick reminder: whatever provider you use, the record type must be CNAME, the name must be just www, and the value must be exactly sites.radiositemaker.com. Get those three right and you're done.

Frequently Asked Questions

The dashboard won't save my domain — it says DNS isn't pointing to you.

The CNAME from Step 1 either isn't added yet or hasn't spread across the internet. Check whatsmydns.net (CNAME → www.yourdomain.com). Wait until you see green checks for sites.radiositemaker.com, then try saving again.

I added the record but whatsmydns.net shows nothing or the wrong value.

Three classic mistakes: (1) you typed your full domain in the Name box instead of just www; (2) the record is the wrong type — it must be CNAME; (3) you forgot to click Save/Add at your provider. Double-check all three.

I get an SSL or "not secure" / "connection is not private" error.

The secure certificate usually just hasn't finished installing yet — it's automatic and typically takes 1–2 minutes after your DNS verifies. Wait a couple of minutes, then refresh in a private/incognito window (your browser may have cached the old "not secure" state).

www.mydomain.com works, but mydomain.com (no www) doesn't.

That's Step 5 — set up domain forwarding/redirect from the bare domain to the www version at your provider. The www address is your real site; the bare one just forwards to it.

How long does the whole thing take?

The work is about 10 minutes. The waiting (for DNS to spread) is usually 10–60 minutes, occasionally a few hours. Once it's done, it stays done — you only do this once.