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Pointing a custom domain to a GitHub Pages hosted site

How to point a personal domain to your site that you host on GitHub pages. Easy setup.

Posted Updated
By Calabi Yau
2 min read
Pointing a custom domain to a GitHub Pages hosted site

Pointing a Custom Domain to a GitHub Pages Site

Situation:
You own a domain (e.g., example.com) via a registrar like Namecheap, and your site is hosted on GitHub Pages (e.g., yourusername.github.io).

Steps:

  1. Login to your domain registrar (e.g., Namecheap)

  2. Go to Domain List > Manage > Advanced DNS

  3. Delete any default A or CNAME records

  4. Add A Records for GitHub Pages:

    • Host: @

    • Values (add one A record for each IP):

      • 185.199.108.153

      • 185.199.109.153

      • 185.199.110.153

      • 185.199.111.153

    • TTL: Automatic

  5. Add a CNAME Record:

    • Host: www

    • Value: yourusername.github.io

    • TTL: Automatic

  6. In your GitHub repo > Settings > Pages:

    • Set Custom Domain to: example.com

    • GitHub will automatically enable HTTPS

  7. Add a CNAME file to your repo (if not already):

    • Filename: CNAME

    • Contents: example.com

    • Commit and push

  8. Wait 15–60 minutes for DNS to propagate

  9. Visit your domain and check HTTPS and redirects

Pointing a Domain to a Site Hosted on Your Own Web Server

Situation:
You own a domain and run your own web server (e.g., on a home server or cloud VPS).

Steps:

  1. Find your public IP address of the web server

  2. Login to your domain registrar

  3. Go to Domain List > Manage > Advanced DNS

  4. Delete any existing A records

  5. Add A Record:

    • Host: @

    • Value: your server’s IP address (e.g., 123.45.67.89)

    • TTL: Automatic

  6. Optional: Add CNAME for www

    • Host: www

    • Value: example.com

    • TTL: Automatic

  7. Ensure your server is configured to serve content for that domain

    • Update Apache, NGINX, or similar config

  8. Set up HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt (optional but recommended)

    • Use Certbot or similar

  9. Wait a few minutes and test the domain

Pointing a Domain to a Budget Web Host (e.g., Bluehost, HostGator)

Situation:
You own a domain and want it to point to a site hosted on a shared Linux web host.

Steps:

  1. Login to your web host account

    • Find the DNS settings, IP address, or nameservers in your hosting dashboard

  2. Login to your domain registrar

  3. Option A: Use Nameservers (recommended by hosts)

    • Replace your registrar’s default nameservers with those provided by the host

    • Example:

      • ns1.hostgator.com

      • ns2.hostgator.com

    • Wait for propagation (up to 24 hours)

OR

  1. Option B: Use A Record (manual setup)

    • Host: @

    • Value: your host’s IP address

    • TTL: Automatic

    • Optional: Add CNAME

      • Host: www

      • Value: example.com

  2. Configure your site within the hosting control panel

    • Set the domain to point to the right directory

  3. Wait for DNS to propagate

  4. Visit your domain and verify everything works

This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.