Setting up your network to serve on your own domain requires (1) configuring the domain in your network admin settings, and (2) configuring DNS settings with your domain service provider.
Configure domain in your Minds Network
By default, your network has a temporary address like:
ca46c1b9512a7a8315fa3c5a946e8265.networks.minds.com/
Your Minds Network is intended to serve from your own domain as a subdomain, which can be configured in the admin Domain section.
Admin > Domain
Click to setup custom domain and input a subdomain of your domain. For example, if your website domain is example.com, input something like community.example.com, which will become the URL for your network.
Configure DNS with your domain service provider
Next, you will have to configure your DNS for your domain outside of Minds, using the service provider that manages your domain. Some common domain service providers include:
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GoDaddy
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Hover
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Bluehost
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Squarespace
If you're not sure which service provider manages your domain, talk with your website admin. Otherwise, here's an overview of how to complete configuration with your domain provider.
Your domain provider > DNS setup
CNAME record
To complete domain configuration, you'll need to set up a CNAME record in the DNS settings of your domain service provider. This enables your Minds Network to serve at a subdomain (e.g. community.example.com) on your domain.
Navigate to the DNS section of your domain service provider and you should have a way to add a new record. Add a new CNAME record, and configure. Here's an example CNAME record for someone who wants their network to appear on community.example.com.
The interface of different domain provider may look different, but the fields are typically the same. The one element that's variable is what value your domain provider expects for the hostname. In some cases (like the screenshot above), you need to provide only the text of the subdomain (e.g. community). In other cases, a domain provider wants the full subdomain address, including your domain (e.g. community.example.com).
TXT record
Similarly, you'll want to create a new TXT record in your domain's DNS setup. In your network admin domain section, you'll find these details for a new TXT record.
In your domain provider's DNS section, you can create a new TXT record with the details provided in your network admin
Once you've added the record, save your changes. It may take some time – anywhere from a few minutes to 72 hours – for changes to your DNS to take effect, though typically this is validated within 10 minutes and the Domain tab of your network admin panel will read: Domain configured successfully.
Frequently asked questions
I configured my subdomain, but it's not working. How do I fix it?
You can verify if your configuration with your domain provider is correct by using a site like whatsmydns.net. Input the domain address you're setting up (e.g. community.example.com) and check the CNAME record, which should return networks.minds.
Typically, issues come down to one of these three things:
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Your domain provider requires the full address of your subdomain (e.g.
community.example.com), and not just the subdomain name (e.g.community). -
Your domain provider is pointed to another service for handling nameservers -- in this case, you'll need to configure your subdomain with the service that's handling the nameservers.
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Your domain provider has not yet propogated the changes -- just wait more time for this to resolve.
Can I use a root domain instead of a subdomain?
At this time, Minds Networks supports only subdomains. If you want to point your audience to a root domain, you can configure your Minds Network on a subdomain (e.g. community.example.com), and then configure a redirect with your domain provider so that your root directory (e.g. example.com) automatically redirects visitors to the subdomain.
Can I customize my minds.com subdomain?
At this time, no. The temporary minds.com subdomain that your network gets is intended to be a temporary addresses and you will need to provide your own subdomain purchased elsewhere.