Custom domains explained

A custom domain is the website address you own through a domain registrar such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, Bluehost, or IONOS. Examples include:

• yourdomain.com
• www.yourdomain.com
• pages.yourdomain.com
• shop.yourdomain.com

How to connect a custom domain with Kartra

Kartra offers two ways to connect your domain:

• Automatic setup (recommended)

If your domain provider is supported, Kartra can complete the setup for you automatically. No advanced tech skills or manual DNS edits are needed.

Learn how to automatically connect your domain. 

• Manual setup (advanced)

If your provider is not supported for automatic setup, you can still connect your custom domain. To do this, you will add DNS records inside your domain provider’s account.

Kartra will tell you if your provider is supported when you add a domain under Settings > Domains. If the automatic option is disabled, follow our guide to manually connect your domain.

Learn more about manually connecting your domain.

How to use your domain with Kartra

When your custom domain is successfully connected with Kartra, it will appear as an option when you edit the URL of a page or other content in your account. This allows you to create fully branded links for your Kartra pages and assets.

After connecting a domain:

• You can publish Kartra Pages and other content using your branded URL
• Kartra automatically secures your domain with an SSL certificate (HTTPS)

Connecting a custom domain to Kartra is optional. You can continue using the default username.kartra.com URLs at any time. Learn more about your username.

Note: Once connected, your custom domain can be used to brand content hosted in Kartra. However, billing for the domain name is still managed by your domain provider.

Root domain vs. subdomain

When adding a custom domain, one of your first decisions is choosing whether to connect a root (main) domain or a subdomain.

What is a root domain?

The root domain is the primary version of your website address:

yourdomain.com

In Kartra, the root domain is listed as your ‘main’ domain. For proper setup, the non-www version (yourdomain.com) must forward to www.yourdomain.com.

If you connect your root domain to Kartra, your published URLs will look like this:

https://www.yourdomain.com/your-page

Choose a root domain if:

• Kartra is your primary website
• You want visitors to land on a Kartra page when they type in your domain
• You don’t plan to host an external website

What is a subdomain?

A subdomain adds a prefix before your main domain, such as:

• pages.yourdomain.com
• courses.yourdomain.com
• shop.yourdomain.com

In this case, your URLs will appear as:

https://pages.yourdomain.com/your-page

Choose a subdomain if:

• You already have a website on your main domain
• You want Kartra to power only certain pages, funnels, or programs
• You wish to keep your current site structure untouched

Using “Kartra” in your domain

Examples of domains not allowed:

• kartra-help.com
• trykartra.net
• kartraaffiliatehub.org

Such domains cannot be connected to your account, nor used for affiliate promotion or business purposes.

What is allowed?

Any domain you own that does not include “kartra,” such as:

• yourbrand.com
• getyourbrand.com
• yourbrandcourses.com
• shop.yourbrand.com

These are fully compatible with Kartra for pages, memberships, checkout links, and more.

What about Kartra-hosted URLs?

It’s perfectly fine for published pages to use: 

https://username.kartra.com/page/…

This is the standard format for customers who do not connect a custom domain. The naming restriction applies only to domains you register yourself.