Custom Domains

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What are Custom Domains?

https://app.topformbuilder.com/f/your-form-slug

https://forms.yourdomain.com/your-form-slug

https://yourdomain.com/forms/your-form-slug

• Professional branding - Use your company domain
• Increased trust - Respondents recognize your brand
• Better deliverability - Emails from your domain
• SEO benefits - Forms indexed under your domain
• White label experience - Remove TopFormBuilder branding

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Requirements

1. Pro Plan Subscription - Active Pro or Enterprise plan
2. Domain Ownership - You must own the domain
3. DNS Access - Ability to add DNS records
4. SSL Certificate - Automatic with Let’s Encrypt (included)

• Subdomain: forms.yourdomain.com ✅ (Recommended)
• Subdomain: surveys.yourdomain.com ✅
• Root domain: yourdomain.com ⚠️ (Requires additional setup)
• Any subdomain: anything.yourdomain.com ✅

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Adding a Custom Domain

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Step 1: Navigate to Custom Domains

1. Go to your Workspace Settings
2. Click “Custom Domains” in sidebar
3. Click “Add Custom Domain” button

Workspace → Settings → Custom Domains → Add Domain

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Step 2: Enter Your Domain

1. Enter your domain name (e.g., forms.yourdomain.com)
2. Click “Verify Domain”
3. DNS verification instructions appear

• Include subdomain if using one
• Don’t include https:// or www
• Example: forms.example.com ✅
• Example: https://forms.example.com ❌

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Step 3: Add DNS Records

Type: A
Name: forms (or your subdomain)
Value: [IP address provided]
TTL: 3600 (or Auto)

Type: CNAME
Name: forms (or your subdomain)
Value: [CNAME target provided]
TTL: 3600 (or Auto)

1. Log in to Cloudflare dashboard
2. Select your domain
3. Go to DNS settings
4. Click “Add record”
5. Select type (A or CNAME)
6. Enter Name: forms
7. Enter Value: [provided value]
8. Click “Save”
9. Important: Set Proxy status to “DNS only” (gray cloud)

1. Log in to GoDaddy account
2. Go to Domain Manager
3. Click DNS next to your domain
4. Click “Add” under Records
5. Select type (A or CNAME)
6. Enter Host: forms
7. Enter Points to: [provided value]
8. Click “Save”

1. Log in to Namecheap account
2. Go to Domain List
3. Click “Manage” next to domain
4. Go to “Advanced DNS” tab
5. Click “Add New Record”
6. Select type (A or CNAME)
7. Enter Host: forms
8. Enter Value: [provided value]
9. Click checkmark to save

1. Log in to Google Domains
2. Click your domain
3. Go to DNS settings
4. Scroll to “Custom resource records”
5. Enter Name: forms
6. Select type (A or CNAME)
7. Enter Data: [provided value]
8. Click “Add”

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Step 4: Verify Domain

1. Wait 5-10 minutes for DNS propagation
2. Return to TopFormBuilder
3. Click “Verify Domain” button
4. System checks DNS records

• ⏳ Pending - DNS not propagated yet (wait longer)
• ✅ Verified - Domain ready to use
• ❌ Failed - DNS records incorrect (check configuration)

• Usually: 5-10 minutes
• Sometimes: 1-2 hours
• Maximum: 24-48 hours (rare)

• https://dnschecker.org
• https://www.whatsmydns.net

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Step 5: SSL Certificate (Automatic)

1. Domain verified ✅
2. Let’s Encrypt certificate requested
3. Certificate issued (1-2 minutes)
4. HTTPS enabled automatically
5. Domain ready to use 🎉

• ⏳ Pending - Certificate being generated
• ✅ Active - HTTPS enabled
• ❌ Failed - Generation failed (contact support)

• Issuer: Let’s Encrypt
• Validity: 90 days
• Renewal: Automatic (every 60 days)
• Cost: Free (included)

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Using Custom Domain

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Assign Domain to Form

1. Go to Form Builder
2. Click form to edit
3. Go to Settings tab
4. Scroll to “Custom Domain” section
5. Select your domain from dropdown
6. Click “Save”

Before: app.topformbuilder.com/f/my-form
After:  forms.yourdomain.com/my-form

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Share Form with Custom Domain

https://forms.yourdomain.com/my-form

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Multiple Forms on Same Domain

forms.yourdomain.com/contact
forms.yourdomain.com/feedback
forms.yourdomain.com/registration

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Managing Custom Domains

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View Domain Status

• Domain name
• Verification status (✅ Verified / ❌ Unverified)
• SSL status (🔒 Active / ⏳ Pending)
• Verified date
• SSL expiry date
• Number of forms using domain

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Edit Domain Settings

1. Add new custom domain
2. Assign forms to new domain
3. Delete old domain

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Remove Custom Domain

1. Go to Workspace Settings → Custom Domains
2. Click domain to remove
3. Click “Delete Domain” button
4. Confirm deletion

• Forms using this domain revert to default URLs
• DNS records can be removed from registrar
• SSL certificate revoked
• Forms still work (on default domain)
• Submissions preserved

1. Reassign forms to another domain (or default)
2. Update any links/embeds
3. Notify users if needed

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SSL Certificate Renewal

• Runs every 60 days (30 days before expiry)
• No action needed from you
• Email notification if renewal fails

1. Go to Custom Domains
2. Click domain
3. Click “Renew SSL” button
4. Wait 1-2 minutes

• Let’s Encrypt certificates valid for 90 days
• Auto-renewed at 60 days
• Email warning at 80 days if renewal failed

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Troubleshooting

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Domain Verification Failing

1. Wait Longer
   • DNS can take up to 48 hours
   • Use dnschecker.org to verify propagation
2. Check DNS Records
   • Verify Type (A or CNAME) is correct
   • Verify Name (subdomain) is correct
   • Verify Value matches exactly
   • No extra spaces or characters
   • TTL doesn’t matter (any value works)
3. Cloudflare Users
   • Set Proxy status to “DNS only” (gray cloud icon)
   • Orange cloud causes verification to fail
   • Can enable proxy after verification
4. Root Domain Issues
   • Use subdomain instead (forms.yourdomain.com)
   • Root domains require additional setup
   • Contact support for root domain setup

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SSL Certificate Not Generating

1. Ensure Domain is Verified First
   • SSL only generates after verification
   • Check verification status is “Verified”
2. Check Domain Accessibility
   • Visit http://your-domain.com (not https)
   • Should show TopFormBuilder page
   • If not, DNS not properly configured
3. Firewall/Security
   • Ensure port 80 (HTTP) is accessible
   • Let’s Encrypt needs HTTP access for validation
   • Check with hosting provider
4. Contact Support
   • If SSL fails after 10 minutes
   • Provide domain name and error details

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Forms Not Loading on Custom Domain

1. Verify Domain is Assigned
   • Go to Form Settings
   • Check Custom Domain dropdown
   • Save again if needed
2. Check SSL Status
   • Ensure SSL status is “Active”
   • Try http:// (not https://) temporarily
   • If http works, SSL issue
3. Clear Browser Cache
   • Hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)
   • Try incognito/private window
   • Try different browser
4. DNS Caching
   • DNS changes can take time
   • Wait 1-2 hours and retry
   • Check DNS propagation tools

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Mixed Content Warnings

1. Ensure SSL is Active
   • Check SSL status in dashboard
   • Wait for SSL to finish generating
2. Force HTTPS
   • Most browsers auto-upgrade to HTTPS
   • Update any bookmarks to use https://
3. Check Form Embeds
   • If embedding form, use HTTPS parent page
   • Mixed content (HTTPS page + HTTP form) blocked

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Email Links Wrong Domain

1. Resave Form Settings
   • Go to Form Settings
   • Reselect custom domain
   • Click Save
2. Wait for Cache Clear
   • Email templates cached for 5 minutes
   • New submissions will use correct domain
3. Test Email Notification
   • Submit test form
   • Check email link

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Custom Domain Best Practices

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Choosing a Domain

• forms.yourdomain.com ✅ (Professional, clear)
• surveys.yourdomain.com ✅ (Specific purpose)
• apply.yourdomain.com ✅ (Job applications)
• feedback.yourdomain.com ✅ (Customer feedback)

• form.yourdomain.com ⚠️ (Singular, less clear)
• data.yourdomain.com ⚠️ (Vague)
• Root domain without subdomain ⚠️ (Complex setup)

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DNS Configuration

• Use A record for faster resolution
• Set TTL to 3600 or Auto
• Document DNS records for team
• Use DNS provider with good uptime
• Consider Cloudflare for DDoS protection

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SSL Management

• Check SSL status monthly
• Set calendar reminder before 90-day expiry
• Monitor renewal notification emails
• Keep email address updated in settings
• Test HTTPS after any DNS changes

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Security

• Don’t use shared hosting accounts
• Keep DNS provider account secure (2FA)
• Review DNS records regularly
• Monitor for unauthorized changes
• Use strong passwords on DNS account

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Advanced Configuration

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Root Domain Setup

1. DNS provider supports ANAME or ALIAS records
2. or ability to set A records for @ (root)

1. Contact support at [email protected]
2. Provide your root domain
3. Receive specific instructions
4. Follow DNS configuration
5. Verify domain

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Multiple Workspaces

• Workspace 1 (Marketing): forms.marketing.com
• Workspace 2 (Sales): forms.sales.com
• Workspace 3 (Support): help.company.com

• Pro Plan: 3 custom domains per workspace
• Enterprise Plan: Unlimited custom domains

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Wildcard Subdomains

*.yourdomain.com ❌ Not supported
forms.yourdomain.com ✅ Supported
surveys.yourdomain.com ✅ Supported

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Pricing

• 3 custom domains per workspace
• Unlimited forms per domain
• Free SSL certificates
• Automatic SSL renewal

• Unlimited custom domains
• Priority SSL support
• Custom SSL certificates (bring your own)
• Dedicated IP (optional)