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Connecting Your Custom Domain and SSL

Attach your own domain to a managed site: prove ownership with a TXT record, point your DNS, and get automatic SSL.

Overview

Every starter site begins on a working address under sites.stretchmedia.ca. When you're ready to go public, you attach your own domain — for example brightstudio.ca — from the site's Domains tab. StretchWP uses a two-step, ownership-verified process so a domain is never pointed at your site until you've proven you control it:

  1. Prove ownership by publishing a DNS TXT record.
  2. Point traffic by updating your A and CNAME records to StretchWP.

SSL is then issued and renewed automatically once the cutover completes.

Steps

1. Open the Domains tab. From Sites, open your site and select Domains.
2. Add your domain. Enter the hostname only — no https://, no path, no port (for example brightstudio.ca). StretchWP validates it and creates the domain in a verifying state.
3. Publish the ownership TXT record. StretchWP generates an ownership record for you. At your DNS provider, add a TXT record:
- Name / host: _stretchwp (so the full record is _stretchwp.brightstudio.ca)
- Value: the generated string, which looks like stretchwp-verify=SWP-xxxxxxxxxxxx
Add this record first. StretchWP will not attach or publish the domain until it resolves.
4. Verify ownership. Back on the Domains tab, click Verify on the domain row. StretchWP checks DNS for your TXT record. When it resolves, the domain moves from verifying to pending DNS.
5. Point your website records. Once ownership is verified, update the records that carry live traffic:
- A record on the apex (@ / brightstudio.ca) → the StretchWP IPv4 target shown on the tab.
- CNAME record on www → your apex domain (brightstudio.ca), unless you need a different www target.
6. Let the cutover and SSL complete. When your A/CNAME records resolve to StretchWP, the platform queues the cutover and issues an SSL certificate automatically. The Domain and SSL status pills turn green when it's done.

Example

Maya attaches brightstudio.ca. StretchWP shows a TXT record _stretchwp.brightstudio.ca with value stretchwp-verify=SWP-9f2a1c.... She logs into her registrar, adds the TXT record, waits a few minutes for DNS to propagate, and clicks Verify — it succeeds. She then sets the apex A record to the IPv4 address StretchWP shows and points www via CNAME to brightstudio.ca. Within the hour the Domain pill reads active, SSL reads issued, and https://brightstudio.ca loads her site with a valid certificate.

Tips

  • Always publish the TXT record before verifying. Verification checks live DNS; if the record isn't there yet, it will simply stay in verifying.
  • DNS takes time to propagate. After adding a record, wait a few minutes (sometimes up to your provider's TTL) before clicking Verify or expecting the cutover to complete.
  • Enter a hostname only. https://brightstudio.ca/, brightstudio.ca:443, and brightstudio.ca/path are rejected — just brightstudio.ca.
  • Don't remove the TXT record. Leaving it in place keeps ownership verified if the domain is ever re-checked.
  • Re-verifying is safe. If a check fails, fix the DNS and click Verify again — you can retry as many times as needed.

Troubleshooting

  • "That domain is already attached to another StretchWP site." The domain is in use by a different managed site. Detach it there first, or contact the Stretch team if it's an old record that should be released.
  • Verification keeps failing. Confirm the TXT record host is exactly _stretchwp (some registrars append the domain automatically — don't type it twice) and that the value matches exactly, including the SWP- token. Give DNS time to propagate, then retry.
  • Domain verified but the site doesn't load on it. Ownership is verified but the A/CNAME cutover records aren't pointing at StretchWP yet. Set the apex A record to the shown IPv4 target and the www CNAME to your apex.
  • SSL still shows not issued. SSL is issued after the cutover records resolve to StretchWP. Once your A/CNAME are correct and propagated, the certificate is issued automatically; if it hasn't appeared after DNS has fully propagated, contact the Stretch team.
  • Archived sites can't attach domains. If the site status is archived, domain attachment is blocked until the Stretch team restores it.

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