Pointing your GoDaddy domain to Church Plant Media

To connect your domain to your Church Plant Media website, update two DNS records in GoDaddy: the A record for your main domain and the CNAME record for www.

Your finished settings should look like this:

The @ symbol represents your main domain, such as yourchurch.org. The A record connects that domain to our server. The CNAME makes www.yourchurch.org follow the main domain’s DNS settings. GoDaddy accepts @ as the CNAME destination, as described in its CNAME guide.

Before you begin

These instructions apply when GoDaddy hosts your domain’s DNS. If your domain uses another provider’s nameservers, such as Cloudflare, update the records with that provider. You can check this on your domain’s DNS page. See GoDaddy’s guide to managing DNS records.

Make these changes on the morning of your scheduled launch, as directed in your confirmation email. Take a screenshot of your current records for reference, and keep your email records, including MX and TXT records, in place.

1. Open your DNS settings

1. Sign in to your GoDaddy Domain Portfolio.
2. Select the domain you want to connect.
3. Select DNS to view its records.

2. Update the A record

1. Find the record with Type set to A and Name set to @.
2. Select Edit beside that record. If it does not exist, select Add New Record and choose A.
3. Enter these settings:
   • Name: @
   • Value: 4.4.4.4
   • TTL: 1 hour
4. Select Save and complete any verification GoDaddy requests.

Replace the existing IP address with 4.4.4.4. If the record already exists, edit it instead of adding a second A record for @. See GoDaddy’s instructions for editing an A record or adding an A record.

3. Add or update the www CNAME

1. Find the CNAME record with Name set to www and select Edit. If it does not exist, select Add New Record and choose CNAME.
2. Enter these settings:
   • Name: www
   • Value: @
   • TTL: 1 hour
3. Select Save and complete any verification GoDaddy requests.

Enter only @ in the CNAME’s Value field. The CNAME points to your main domain, which then resolves to 4.4.4.4 through its A record.

If GoDaddy reports that www is already in use, check for an existing record with that name. Edit an existing www CNAME; if an old A or AAAA record uses www, it must be removed before you can create the CNAME. Contact us if you are unsure which record to replace. GoDaddy explains these requirements in its CNAME guide.

4. Allow time for the changes to take effect

GoDaddy advises that most DNS changes take effect within an hour, but updates can take up to 48 hours to reach all networks. See its DNS update guidance.

After the changes take effect, visit your domain both with and without www to check your website. Replace yourchurch.org with your own domain.

Reply to your Church Plant Media support ticket to let us know the records are updated. If either address shows the wrong website or a security error, send us your domain name and a screenshot of the message so we can help.