# Map a custom domain to Hashnode

Hashnode is a free developer blogging platform that **allows you to publish articles on your own domain and helps you stay connected with a global developer community**. It was born from the fundamental idea that developers should own the content they publish.

### Step 1: Create a free user account

Sign up for a free user account by clicking [here](https://hashnode.com/onboard?next=/) and choose your preferred way to create an account as shown below.

![Create a Hashode account](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1686999648637/62d9e326-fefe-4bbb-828b-0ba90c13eb8c.png align="center")

### Step 2: Choose the blog location

Hashnode offers you two options on where you wish your blog to be hosted. For this article, we will use a custom domain name.

![Choose blog location](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1687000483694/5f2706b6-d942-4861-836f-4a36606e0501.png align="center")

### Step 3: Specify the domain name

If you have a domain name/subdomain already proceed and type it and click next to proceed Do **NOT** include https:// or http:// while typing e.g. if my domain name is https://blog.douglas.africa, I will only type blog.douglas.africa . In case you do not have a domain name, you can get it at an affordable price by clicking [here](https://www.hostpinnacle.co.ke/clients/aff.php?aff=354) and choose a suitable package.

![Enter your domain name](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1687000945907/7bd17edb-e514-4383-9bf2-5aee83887c0d.png align="center")

### Step 4: Map your custom domain name

Depending on your preference, you could opt to use a subdomain or a root domain name. In my case, I settled on using a subdomain. The name of the subdomain will serve as the **host** while the **hashnode.network** will serve as the value when adding the CNAME record in the Step 5. In some cases, you maybe requested by Hashnode to prove that you are owner of that domain name by adding a certain text to your server file as they will provide.

![Map your domain](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1687001404258/3586c904-5a25-4746-8e0c-e3587d9d13f4.png align="center")

### Step 5: Adding a CNAME record

Before you add a CNAME record, you should have access/control of your domain name configuration settings. I use [Cloudflare](https://www.cloudflare.com) (a CDN service) to manage my domain and it makes the process of adding a CNAME record for me very simple as shown below. You can click [here](https://dash.cloudflare.com/sign-up) to sign up for a free plan to Cloudflare

**PS:** *It is not recommended use CNAME record at root level.*

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1687015175056/c9e81a60-f97a-4b74-9cb3-468f55d54a2c.png align="center")

After creating an account and adding your domain name to Cloudflare, a dashboard as shown above. On the left side, select "**DNS"** and choose "**Records"**. On the right side of the dashboard, click on the "**Add record"** button.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1687015342522/820b45a2-cb45-4a49-ae10-f80f1c3ee033.png align="center")

On the "***Type***" textbox, select "***CNAME***" option. Type in your Name which is equivalent to the "**Host**" and Target which is equivalent to "**Value**" as given by Hashnode shown in Step 4 above . Lastly, turn OFF the "**Proxy status"** to have the domain support DNS only. Click on "**Save**".

### Conclusion

If all your details are input correctly, [Hashnode](https://hashnode.com/) will validate them within 24 hours. Remember to check your Hashnode dashboard to see any update on validation. Once all is done, you can go ahead and type your new blog article and your visitors will find it using the custom domain name.

For any queries or assistance, feel free to reach out to me using ***dglsdeveloper@gmail.com*** or **+254 791323200**