How to Set up your Custom Domain (CNAME Record)

If you want to direct all traffic from an existing (outside of LearnWorlds) website to your LearnWorlds school or you don't want to use the default LearnWorlds subdomain/URL (e.g., yourschool.learnworlds.com) anymore then you can purchase your very own custom domain and connect it with your LearnWorlds school.

In this article, you will find how to connect your own purchased custom domain at the subdomain level  e.g., www.yourschool.com.  In most online domain providers you need to add A CNAME record for the subdomain e.g., www.yourschool.com.

If you are facing difficulties in creating the CNAME record in your domain provider account DNS settings, you can always contact the support team of your domain provider or check the instructions in their documentation.

You can find more information on creating a CNAME record in:

• GoDaddy 
• Cloudflare
• Google Domains
• Other domain providers (e.g Dreamhost, 1AND1, Bluehost, and Namecheap)

You can connect your own purchased domain to your LearnWorlds school in 3 steps (see below): 

1. Create a CNAME record for your subdomain in your domain provider account.
2. Check if the CNAME record is successfully added.
3. Request the change in your school's settings for our team to finalize the process.

A subdomain e.g., www.yourschool.com is an additional part (e.g www) that comes before the naked domain e.g., yourschool.com. You can create multiple subdomains or child domains on your main domain to better organize your site. For example, if your naked domain is yourschool.com, you can create two subdomains for www.yourschool.com, academy.yourschool.com, etc.

If you want to configure a naked domain e.g., yourschool.com then you need to follow different steps and add an A record in your domain provider account. You will find more information here: How to Connect your Naked Domain (without www).

Create a CNAME record for your Subdomain

1. Login to your domain provider and navigate to the DNS Zone Editor settings.

2. Create a CNAME record. 

2a. The Host/Name will be part of your domain that appears before the naked domain. For example, if your naked domain is yourschool.com and you want to create the subdomain www.yourschool.com, the Host/Name should be set to www.

2b. The CNAME record should point to your LearnWorlds school URL (e.g., yourschool.learnworlds.com or yourschool.mylearnworlds.com, or yourschool.getlearnworlds.com).

Notes: 

• Make sure to replace yourschool.learnworlds.com (or yourschool.mylearnworlds.com) with your LearnWolrds school URL. 
• Do not include the https:// before your LearnWorlds URL or the / after.

Check if the CNAME Record is Successfully Added

1. Go to Google Admin Toolbox.

2. Insert your subdomain free of https:// or / at the end (e.g., www.yourschool.com).

3. If the CNAME record is correct, the Learnworlds school URL will appear in Target.

If the CNAME record has not been successfully added and you view a message such as "Record not found", you can contact support@learnworlds.com for further assistance.

Request the Domain's change in your School Settings

If the CNAME record has been successfully created:

1. Navigate to Site builder → Site Settings → Domain.

2. Type the subdomain you created.

3. Click on Verify Domain (a) → Click on Change Domain (b).

4. The verification message will appear. Your domain will be ready within the next 48 hours.

Notes: 

• If you already have a CNAME DNS record for the subdomain you want to use, you can edit the existing entry and point it to your school URL. However, if the entry currently points to another live website, this change will affect the site, and it will not be reachable anymore.
• Once the new domain is ready, you and your users should use only this custom domain and not the LearnWorlds one you have used until that moment. The CNAME should not be removed to ensure the accessibility of your school. 
• The PTIN field (a special field that can be used for showing user input in a Certificate template) is bound to each LearnWorlds school domain. If you choose to alter your custom domain, the PTIN field will be removed.

If you also want to connect your naked domain (without the www), click here to check the steps.

You can find more useful information about custom domains here.

If you have a Mobile app, when your domain has changed, please make sure that you change your privacy URL as well in your school's "Prepare Submissions" section. Also, feel free to contact us so we can make the respective changes in your developer accounts on your behalf.