# Use your own web address — LLM Prompt

> **How to use this file:** Paste the entire contents into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or any LLM as your opening message. It gives the model the whole guide, so it can walk you through it, ask where you have got to, and help when something does not behave.
>
> *Source: [https://documentation.elmspark.com/guides/use-your-own-web-address/](https://documentation.elmspark.com/guides/use-your-own-web-address/)*

---

You are helping me with the following. Use this guide as your reference. Work through it with me, ask what I have already done, and help me troubleshoot. Where a step changes something on a live site, a domain, or a server, tell me what it will do and wait for me to confirm before we go on. If something here contradicts what I am actually seeing, say so rather than guessing.

**What this covers:** Put your site on the web address you already own. Nothing transfers, your domain stays in your name, and your email is never touched. Two records, then we do the rest.

# Use your own web address

Your site is live right now at the temporary address we gave you. When you are ready, you can put it on the address you already own, like yourbusiness.com.

▶ The whole job in 2 minutes 24 seconds, narrated, with captions. Or just read on.

**Read the narration instead**

**The reassuring part.** You are not transferring anything. Your domain stays exactly where you bought it, in your name, with nothing unlocked or moved. Your email is not affected, because the setting that carries email is separate from the one that carries your website. Your old address keeps working while you switch, and it can all be undone.

**Step one.** Type your address into the box on your dashboard and press Save. Just the address itself, with no `https://` in front.

**Step two, the only fiddly bit.** Sign in to whoever you bought the domain from and find the DNS settings. Add two records. Both are type A, and both point at the same IP address, which is shown further down this page. Name the first one `@`, which simply means the address itself. Name the second one `www`. If records already exist for either, change those rather than adding duplicates.

**Not sure where DNS settings live?** This page lists the exact screens for GoDaddy, Namecheap, IONOS, Squarespace, Wix and Cloudflare. If yours is not there, reply and tell us who you bought it from.

**Step three.** Your part is done. We watch for the change and handle the rest: the secure padlock, telling search engines the right address, and email on your own domain. Your dashboard tells you the moment it is finished.

**If a website is already there.** Make the change at a quiet time of day. While it spreads, some visitors reach the old site and some the new one, and both work. There is a brief window while the certificate is issued, which is why evening beats mid-morning.

**If anything looks stuck.** It is usually that only one of the two records was added, or your provider has not published the change yet. Neither breaks anything. Still unfinished after a few hours? Reply to us and we will look.

## Before you start, the reassuring part

- **Your email will not be affected.** We only change the setting that controls your website. The settings that carry your email are separate, and we do not touch them.
- **Your old address keeps working**, so nothing disappears while you are switching.
- **It can be undone** by changing the same setting back.

## 1 Tell us the address

Type it into the box on your dashboard and press **Save**.

Just the address itself, `yourbusiness.com`. No `https://` needed.

## 2 Add two records where you bought the domain

Sign in to whoever you bought the domain from and find the **DNS settings**. Add two records. Both are type **A**, and both point to the same place:

```
88.208.226.236
```

| Type | Name / Host | Points to |
|---|---|---|
| A | `@` (means the address itself) | `88.208.226.236` |
| A | `www` | `88.208.226.236` |

### Where to find it, by provider

Each of these opens a short page showing the exact screens at that provider.

- [**GoDaddy**](https://documentation.elmspark.com/guides/use-your-own-web-address/godaddy/): Domain Portfolio, then DNS
- [**Namecheap**](https://documentation.elmspark.com/guides/use-your-own-web-address/namecheap/): Domain List, Manage, then Advanced DNS
- [**IONOS**](https://documentation.elmspark.com/guides/use-your-own-web-address/ionos/): Domains & SSL, then the three-dots Actions menu
- [**Squarespace**](https://documentation.elmspark.com/guides/use-your-own-web-address/squarespace/): the domain, then DNS Settings and Custom Records
- [**Wix**](https://documentation.elmspark.com/guides/use-your-own-web-address/wix/): Domains, then Manage DNS Records
- **Cloudflare**: your domain, then DNS, then Add record, leaving the cloud icon on
- **Someone else, or not sure:** reply to us with who you bought it from and we will send you the exact screens

## 3 That is your part done

We watch for the change and do everything else automatically: the secure padlock, making sure search engines see the right address, and setting up email from your own domain.

It usually takes a few minutes once your provider has published the change, though some providers take longer to publish it than others.

Your dashboard shows the progress and tells you the moment it is finished. You do not need to keep the page open.

## I already have a website at this address

While the change spreads across the internet, some visitors reach your old site and some reach the new one. Both work, so nothing is lost in that period.

There is also a short window while your security certificate is being issued, when the address may not load properly for some visitors. It is brief, but it is the reason to start in the evening rather than at ten in the morning. Your dashboard tells you the moment the certificate is in place.

If your site takes bookings or orders, pick your quietest hour of the week. If anything still looks wrong an hour after you added the records, tell us and we will look at it.

## Something looks stuck

The most common reason is that only one of the two records was added, or your provider has not published the change yet. Both are normal, and neither breaks anything.

If the dashboard still looks unfinished after a few hours, reply to us and we will look at it.

## What we never touch

The settings that carry your email are separate from the setting that carries your website. We change the website one and leave the email ones exactly as they are, which is why an existing mailbox cannot break during the switch.

If you do not have email on your domain yet and you would like it, that is a separate job we can do afterwards.

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*Generated from the guide above. If something here looks wrong, the guide is the source of truth: https://documentation.elmspark.com/guides/use-your-own-web-address/*