Part 2: Configuring external DNS for a custom domain

In this guide, you will learn how to configure external domains for your FastStore + VTEX website. The process involves the following steps:

• Set up your external DNS provider to point your custom domain to your VTEX website. Custom domains can be purchased from any domain registration platform.
• Configure your custom domains in VTEX Account Settings.
• Associate your custom domains with your FastStore project.

Besides making your FastStore website accessible via a custom domain, the VTEX Checkout will also be operational as soon as you complete this guide. You'll then be ready to continue configuring other VTEX solutions, such as Order Placed, Login, and My Account.

Before you start

• Set up your VTEX account.
• Develop your FastStore project with Next.js by following the Getting Started track.
• Deploy your FastStore project.
• Buy the desired domain.
• Redirect the root domain to the www subdomain. (opens in a new tab)

Step by step

Step 1 - Creating DNS records

1. Access your domain provider's website.
2. Create a CNAME DNS record for your www domain (e.g., www.mystore.com) that points to www.{rootDomain}.com.cdn.vtex.com (e.g., www.mystore.com.cdn.vtex.com). Check the documentation of your domain provider for more information.
3. Now, create a CNAME record for the secure subdomain (e.g., secure.mystore.com) that points to secure.{rootDomain}.cdn.vtex.com (e.g., secure.mystore.com.cdn.vtex.com). This subdomain will be used by the Checkout, Order Placed, Login, and My Account pages.

Step 2 - Configuring domains in VTEX Account Settings

Now, you must set up your VTEX account to use the DNS records created in the previous step. To proceed, make sure your store is active and in production (opens in a new tab).

1. In the VTEX Admin, click on your profile avatar, which can be identified by the first letter of your email address.
2. Access Account Settings > Account.
3. Go to the Stores tab and in the Hosts table, click the kebab menu (three vertical dots) and choose Edit.
4. In the Hosts field, enter your main domain (e.g., mystore.com) to the list.
5. Click Add.
6. Add the secure subdomain (e.g., secure.mystore.com) to the list.
7. Click the Save button.

Step 3 - Associating your custom domain with your FastStore project

Back to your FastStore project, you must also configure your project to point to the right addresses and domains.

1. Open your FastStore project in any code editor of your preference.

2. Open the faststore.config.js file.

3. Update the storeUrl, secureSubdomain, checkoutUrl, loginUrl, and accountUrl properties as in the following:

   • storeUrl: https://{rootDomain}
   • secureSubdomain: https://{subdomain}.{rootDomain}
   • checkoutUrl: https://{subdomain}.{rootDomain}/checkout
   • loginUrl: https://{subdomain}.{rootDomain}/api/io/login
   • accountUrl: https://{subdomain}.{rootDomain}/api/io/account

Take the following example of how this code block would look after configuring a store with the www.mystore.com domain and secure subdomain:

...
 
// Default channel
channel: '1',
 
+  // Production URLs
+  storeUrl: 'https://www.mystore.com',
+  secureSubdomain: 'https://secure.mystore.com',
+  checkoutUrl: 'https://secure.mystore.com/checkout',
+  loginUrl: 'https://secure.mystore.com/api/io/login',
+  accountUrl: 'https://secure.mystore.com/api/io/account',
 
// Lighthouse CI
lighthouse: {
...

4. Save your changes.
5. Open the vtex.env file.
6. Add the SITE_HOST key with the main domain specified in Configuring domains in VTEX Account Settings as the value.

+ SITE_HOST=www.mystore.com

7. Save your changes.
8. Open a Pull Request, commit your changes, and deploy them to main/master.

Step 4 - Configuring the CDN workflow (Only for new go-lives)

If your FastStore website is going live for the first time, open a ticket with VTEX Support (opens in a new tab) and specify that you need to configure the CDN workflow for the secure and main domains of your store. Remember to include the following information in your ticket:

• The account name.
• The secure and main domains of your store.

The VTEX team will evaluate your request and take the necessary actions to configure the CDN workflow for your account.

Related Resources

• Setting up DNS pointing to VTEX (opens in a new tab)
• How to insert a reverse proxy in front of VTEX services (opens in a new tab)