Connecting your own domain takes two kinds of record at your domain provider: a TXT record that proves the domain is yours, and the records that send visitors to Mercayo (a CNAME, or A and AAAA records for the bare domain). Mercayo checks them by itself, gets a free secure certificate once they are right, and then keeps checking that they stay right. When a domain does not connect, the state on Settings › Domains tells you which part is missing.
Symptoms
The address's state on Settings › Domains:
| State | What the Screen Says | Go To |
|---|---|---|
| Waiting for DNS | "Add its records at your domain provider. We check every few minutes." | Records not found, or old records left |
| Getting Certificate | "The records are right. Its secure certificate is on its way, usually within minutes." | Stuck on the certificate |
| DNS Changed | "This address no longer points to Mercayo. Fix its records, or it stops opening your store after 3 days." | Records changed after connecting |
| Not Working | "This address does not reach your store. Check its records, then check again." | Not working |
Messages when you try to connect:
- "That is not a domain name. Enter one like yourbrand.in."
- "yourbrand.in is connected to another store. If it is yours, contact Mercayo support."
- "Your plan does not include your own domain. Choose a plan to connect one."
- "Your plan allows … domains. Remove one, or choose a bigger plan."
- "Mercayo has turned off own domains for this store."
How Mercayo Checks a Domain
Each check looks at three things:
- Is it yours? A TXT record named
_mercayoon your domain, with the value shown on the Set Up card (it starts withmercayo-verify=). Needed once: after the domain is verified, you may delete it. - Does it reach Mercayo? The
wwwname (or your subdomain) must have a CNAME to the target shown on the card. The bare domain must have A (and AAAA) records with exactly the addresses shown, and no others. - Does HTTPS work? Once both are right, Mercayo gets the certificate and checks that the address answers securely.
Under Records to Add, each record's Status reads Found or Not Found Yet. Checks run every minute at first, then less often the longer a domain waits; press CHECK NOW to check at once.
Causes and Fixes
The Records Are Not Added Yet, or Not Seen Yet
DNS changes usually show within minutes, and can take up to a day at some providers.
How to fix:
- Open Settings › Domains and the Set Up card for your domain.
- At your provider (GoDaddy, Hostinger, BigRock, Cloudflare or another), open the DNS settings and add each record with the Type, Name and Value exactly as shown. Use the copy buttons rather than typing.
- Some providers want only the part before your domain in Name (
www,_mercayo), others the full name, which the card shows as "Full name: …". If your provider adds your domain by itself, typing the full name makes it_mercayo.yourbrand.in.yourbrand.in, which is never found. - Leave TTL at the default and save.
- Wait a few minutes, then press CHECK NOW.
An Old Record Is Still There
Mercayo needs every address the name points to be its own: one old A record left beside Mercayo's would send some visitors to your old site, so the domain is not connected. The same goes for an old CNAME on www, and for AAAA records some providers add by themselves (a parking page or a default website) that are not Mercayo's.
"Remove any other A, AAAA or CNAME records for these names, or some visitors would still reach the old site."
How to fix: at your provider, delete every A, AAAA and CNAME record for the bare domain and for www that is not on Mercayo's Records to Add list. Leave MX records (your email) and other TXT records alone. Then press CHECK NOW.
Cloudflare's Orange Cloud During Setup
With Cloudflare's orange cloud on, the world sees Cloudflare's addresses instead of yours, and the certificate step cannot finish.
How to fix: "Using Cloudflare? Set these records to DNS only (grey cloud) until the domain shows Connected. You can turn the proxy back on after that, with SSL set to Full (strict)."
A Typo in a Value
A missing letter in the TXT value, an extra space, or a dot at the end where your provider does not want one keeps the record from matching.
How to check: compare each record at your provider with the card, character by character, or delete it and paste it again with the copy button.
Stuck on Getting Certificate
The records are right and Mercayo is getting the certificate. It usually takes minutes. If it stays longer than an hour:
- Check for the AAAA and old A records described above: a visitor's browser may be reaching another server.
- Turn off Cloudflare's proxy if it is on.
- Check that your store is open: a suspended or closed store gets no certificate, and while Mercayo has turned off own domains for your store, none is issued either.
Then press CHECK NOW. You never buy or upload a certificate; Mercayo gets and renews it.
DNS Changed After It Was Connected
The domain worked, but a later check found it no longer points to Mercayo, for example after renewing the domain, moving it to another provider, or someone editing the DNS. The domain keeps opening your store for 3 days so you have time to fix it; after that it shows Not Working.
How to fix: put the CNAME and A/AAAA records back exactly as on the card and press CHECK NOW. The TXT record is not needed again once a domain was verified.
Not Working
A domain shows Not Working when its records were still not right 7 days after you added it, or 3 days after its DNS changed. Mercayo keeps checking it daily for a month.
How to fix: correct the records as above, then press CHECK NOW in the domain's menu. If you would rather start again, Remove Domain and connect it again, then add the records its Set Up card shows.
The Domain Is Connected to Another Store
"… is connected to another store. If it is yours, contact Mercayo support." A domain can belong to one Mercayo store only. If you made a second store for testing, remove the domain there first. If you do not know the other store, write to support with proof the domain is yours.
Your Plan Does Not Allow It
Starter and Growth include 1 own domain, Scale 5. A domain and its www count as one. "Your plan allows … domains and all are in use. Remove one, or choose a bigger plan." See Plans and Billing.
The Name Cannot Be Used
- "That name works only inside private networks. Enter a domain you bought, like yourbrand.in." Names such as
.localor.testcannot be connected. - "That name belongs to Mercayo. Enter your own domain." Your free address already works; you cannot add Mercayo's own names.
- Type only the name you bought, without
https://or a page:yourbrand.in, nothttps://www.yourbrand.in/shop.
Still Stuck?
Open Help from your account menu and write to Mercayo's team. Include your store's handle, the domain, its state on the Domains screen, the name of your domain provider, and a screenshot of your DNS records at the provider (all of them for the bare domain and www). See Contact Mercayo Support.
Questions
How long should I wait before asking for help?
Usually minutes after adding the records. Some providers take up to a day to publish a change. If Records to Add still shows Not Found Yet after a day, check the names and old records first.
Will my email stop working?
No, as long as you leave the MX records alone. Only change the A, AAAA and CNAME records for the bare domain and www.
Can I keep my old website on the same domain?
Not on the same names. Connecting moves visitors of yourbrand.in and www.yourbrand.in to your store. Connect a subdomain such as shop.yourbrand.in instead to keep the old site.
Do I have to keep the TXT record?
No. It is needed once, to prove the domain is yours. After the domain is verified you may delete it.