Framer isn’t just a designer’s tool. You can publish and host websites through it as well. There’s no need to say that Framer is revolutionizing the no-code development in many ways. But for serious website owners, a custom domain on Framer will lift your site to new levels.
From designs in Figma to Framer to a published website. You can even skip Figma and only work in Framer’s interface and achieve exactly the same.
In this article, I will show how to set up a custom domain for your Framer website.
Want to learn more about Framer? Read our full guide on what Framer is and its features.
Prerequisites
Before you set up a custom domain, there’s something you must have in place:
- You must own a custom domain.
- Have a Framer project that can be deployed to the web.
- Have some knowledge about the domain provider and their dashboard.
- Have a paying plan on Framer.
If you can check these points, we can jump into it.
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Set up a custom domain on Framer
Below is a four-step guide on how to set up a custom domain for your production-ready Framer project.
1. Publish the project
If you haven’t already done it, publish the project by clicking the blue Publish button in the top-right corner.
2. Click “Connect a domain you own”
When clicking the “Connect a domain you own” toggle, you can insert your own domain in the domain field.
3. Connect to the domain provider
In this step, there are two options: Auto Connect and copying DNS values to the domain provider.
Auto Connect
This is the easiest way to do it, but only a few domain providers support it. These domain providers support Auto Connect:
- GoDaddy
- IONOS
- NameSilo
- Plesk
- WordPress.com
- Cloudflare
If you have a domain from one of the providers above, you can click Auto Connect, which will automatically connect to your custom domain.
Here is a complete list of DNS providers that support Auto Connect.
Copying DNS values to domain provider
This is the manual way to do it, but don’t worry – it is pretty straightforward:
- Copy the two A and CNAME records and head to your domain provider.
- Paste the name and value into the domain provider and save it.
- Click on the refresh symbol inside Framer when you are finished.
4. Test website
Test that all is set up correctly by visiting your domain in the browser.
You are done when it is all working, and your site is now live on the web and accessible for everyone. Well done!
Ready to publish your Framer project? Check our Framer publish checklist here.
Why set up a custom domain for a Framer project
Several good reasons exist to set up a custom domain for your Framer project.
Build brand
The first thing is that a domain name helps build a brand. It looks professional and will lift the touch to a new level for visitors or clients.
It also acts as a trustworthiness signal for the brand. When using a custom domain representing your brand, you show it is more than just a generic website.
Easy to remember
The alternative to a domain name is the IP address of the server. For security and practical reasons, this is not a preferred way.
Adding a domain name that represents your website makes it easier for people to remember your name and look it up without actually googling it.
SEO
Although SEO (search engine optimization) is the third reason, this might be the most important part in the long run.
The SEO you build up is attached to your domain, so I strongly recommend buying a custom domain.
When you start to rank your website on Google or other search engines, your domain gains momentum.
Framer offers to host your website free on one of their domains, which is yourwebsitename.framer. If you want to change the domain name to a bought domain, you must redirect all pages carefully to avoid losing any built-up strength to that domain.
Budget-friendly
Although the framer domain is free, a custom domain doesn’t cost much. A typical domain costs around $2 – $20 per year, so it isn’t that big of an investment for most people.
One thing to notice: I said it costs between $2 – $20 per year because you don’t actually own the domain. You rent it. But when you rent it, it is yours forever if you pay for it. You can even sell it for way more than you rent it for if you want to. But most people refer to it as buying a domain.
Interested in AI: Read about Framer AI tool for generating new templates.