Using a custom domain
lleu.site makes it easy to share your site with friends or customers. You can customize your subdomain as many times as you like (though it's best to keep it the same one you're happy with it so that it can easily be found).
Your lleu.site subdomain
So if you start your account with your shop's name, for example "Beth's Biscuits", your website will automatically use: beths-biscuits.llue.site . You can change this to be anything you like. If you want short and snappy you can set it to: beths.lleu.site (as long as nobody else has claimed it yet). But it helps to be descriptive here.
So you want use your own domain name
If you want to use your own domain name, a "www" – these are called TLD's, or "top level domains". It's how you reach your favourite stuff on the web. And yes, you can use them with lleu.site no problem!
It requires a little more setup than your lleu.site domain name. For one, you need to own one! We aren't a domain name reseller.
If you have a domain name already you can skip the next section and go down to step 2.
1. Find a domain name you like and buy it (or well, rent it)
If you don't know much about this, it's okay. We'll cover it quickly here and lead you to where you can read more if you want to understand more.
The short version is: you have to rent domain names. There is no way to own them forever, but the good news is it does't have to be expensive, and it's easy to set it up.
They range in price, and can vary from year-to-year. You can find domain names going for anything between $2 and $2000 (and up, if you can believe that). Highly-sought after domain names, like short words and memorable names are more expensive but most people and businesses don't face that problem. It's probably cheap to find something like johngordansrarecheeses.com. It's a long and unique name. You can include dashes in the names, so it can vary even more.
You just need to find a reseller. There a few that are popular, like Namecheap (we use this), and GoDaddy. If you're in Canada, we recommend also checking out CIRA. They will point you to a number of resellers so you can compare prices.
Once you have bought a domain name, you can move onto step 2!
2. Set up your domain name to point to your lleu.site pages
If this is your first time, this part can seem a little intimidating but it's easier than it looks. In order to send user to your new lleu.site page you have to configure your new domain name to point at your subdomain. To do this, you need something called a CNAME record. It's tech jargon; it's just a redirect, meaning you type one domain name in and it sends you to another one. So a CNAME will point your new domain name to your website address.
Let's take a look at this example.
Account/Website Title: Jordan Gordan's Rare Cheese
Website Address: https://jordan-gordans-rare-cheese.lleu.site
Custom Domain: https://jgscheese.com
This is a common situation. You want something descriptive, but you also want a shorter domain name that is easy to remember and to drop in conversation. Or something that just suits you more. Whatever your reason, the next step is crucial but straightforward.
Set your CNAME record
Add a CNAME record, and give it the following details:
Record Type: CNAME
Host: @
Value: your website address. In the example above, this is https://jordan-gordans-rare-cheese.lleu.site
If you use one of the domain name registrars we listed above, you can easily follow these steps from their websites. If you bought from someone else, the steps are probably almost the same.
And that's it!
It's just that simple. It can take a few minutes to a day in some cases for the new record you have created to make its way through the internet and start working properly (it has to "proliferate" to a large number of servers), but you've done all you need to do. Soon, if not immediately, your new domain name will work for your website!
