How to: Configure CNAME records for HostGator

What is a CNAME record?

A CNAME is a kind of DNS record that simply tells HostGator to map a custom domain or sub-domain to another website.

This way when a visitor goes to the custom domain, HostGator will take them to the website you specified.

Why do you need a CNAME record?

By creating a CNAME record, you will connect your custom domain or sub-domain from HostGator to another service (for example, your site that is hosted on Cloakist).

You only need to make this connection once, then it will be set up for the lifetime of your website.

Step 1: Log In to HostGator

You will see many options here, but you only need to focus on creating new DNS records.

Step 2: Add CNAME Records for HostGator

HostGator provides an extensive guideline for creating new CNAME records.

HostGator CNAME Guide

Step 3: Wait

Once you added the new CNAME records, HostGator will take a few minutes to make these settings available to all regions globally. This is called DNS propagation.

HostGator can take up to 24 hours to propagate the CNAME records, but it usually only takes a few minutes.

(if you wait for more than an hour for your CNAME records to be connected, please contact Cloakist support and we will help you get set up)

How we use CNAME records at Cloakist

When you create a new site with Cloakist you need to connect your custom HostGator domain or sub-domain.

This tells HostGator that any visitor that goes to your specified domain will be directed to the Cloakist service.

The service you choose to use can be any of our supported platforms.

When creating your site on Cloakist, we will monitor your HostGator setup and make sure the connection is working.

As soon as we can see the HostGator CNAME records are connected, you will receive an email to notify you that your new site is live!

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