Connect a custom domain without disrupting the store's email

Connect your domain name to Abicart and choose the right address for the store, while preserving email and other services.

This guide covers the Swedish Abicart service in Go, Plus and Pro. You need to own the domain or have permission to change its DNS. The store’s subscription must be active and the store visible. For an established store changing its domain, also follow the guide for changing domains, so that old links are handled.

1. Prepare the domain and DNS

Buy the domain from a domain provider, for example Webb.se, Loopia or One.com. Abicart does not sell the domain. You do not normally need to buy separate web space for the Abicart store itself, but domain registration and any email service must exist separately.

DNS records, sometimes called name pointers, tell where a specific domain name should lead. Save the existing DNS settings before you change anything. Do not move name servers or delete the entire DNS zone to connect the website.

2. Point the store's web name to Abicart

Open the DNS management with the provider that handles your domain. For the standard setup, use:

Enter only the hostname/IP in the target field, not an address with https:// or a path. How the provider writes @, an empty hostname, or the full domain name varies. A standard CNAME on the domain root can conflict with other records; use an A record for the root according to the table if the provider does not explicitly support another compatible setup.

Check old A, AAAA, and CNAME records for the specific hostnames that will display the store. A conflicting pointer can lead some visitors or the certificate check to the wrong server. Do not let an old AAAA record point to another web server. This is not a general statement that HTTPS or Let's Encrypt lacks IPv6 support.

Preserve email and other services: do not delete MX records, SPF/DKIM/DMARC records, or other services' TXT and host records. A web pointer does not create an email account and does not automatically resolve the store's email authentication. Ask the domain/email provider for help if a change affects such records.

Save the DNS change. The propagation depends on previous cache and TTL; wait if necessary, but check the actual records if the error persists. Waiting 24 hours is not proof that the setting is correct.

3. Add the domain in Abicart

1. Open Settings → Domains and SEO → Domains.
2. Add the hostname that will be the primary domain, for example www.example.com.
3. Also add the other form, for example example.com, as a redirecting name under the primary domain if both should go to the same store.
4. Save and check if the admin shows a specific error for the domain.

If you get “The domain name is not pointed correctly”, check the exact name you are trying to add, both the A/CNAME and any conflicting AAAA record. Also, check that you have made the change with the provider whose name servers are actually being used. If the domain already belongs to another store, the connection should be investigated with support, not added repeatedly.

4. Choose address per language and check HTTPS

1. Open URL settings.
2. Select the new primary domain for each language that will use it.
3. Keep the existing path structure unless you intentionally want to change it. When multiple languages share a domain, their addresses must differ, usually through language prefixes such as en.
4. Click Save and let any address generation complete.
5. Check the domain's HTTPS status under Certificates and that the public address works without a certificate warning.

Suffixes and folders are separate choices for the URL structure, not requirements for the domain to work. Adding the domain under Domains does not automatically make it the selected address in the URL settings.

5. Check the result

Open the store both with and without www, in each relevant language. Check the home page, a product, and a custom page. One domain form should redirect to the primary form you have chosen. Also, check that existing email works through your regular routines.

If a temporary Abicart address is still displayed: check the domain selection under URL settings. In case of 404: check the actual page's path and language prefix, not just the DNS. In case of a certificate error: check the domain, web pointing, and certificate status; do not bypass the browser's security warning.

If the error persists, contact the domain provider for DNS and Abicart for the store connection. Provide the domain, store ID, error message, and what the current DNS records show. Do not send any login credentials.

Video walkthrough

The video shows an older interface. Use the DNS table and preserve the email records as described in the text above.

Quick start

1. Save the current DNS and only point the store's web name to Abicart.
2. Add the domain names in Abicart.
3. Select the primary domain per language under URL settings.
4. Check HTTPS, redirects, important pages, and email.

Subscriptions and external services

A custom domain and the store's web hosting are available in Go, Plus, and Pro. Domain registration, any email, and other external services have their own agreements. Simply purchasing a domain does not provide a functioning email service.