What is Webflow hosting?

Webflow hosting gives you everything you need to launch a fast, secure, and reliable website — without needing to manage servers or install plugins.

With Webflow hosting, you get:

• Global fast-loading performance (via CDN)
• Built-in SSL security
• Automatic versioning and easy publishing
• Custom domain support

And when you're ready to publish, Webflow provides two environments to support a smooth launch process: staging (for testing) and production (for going live.

Staging (your webflow.io domain)

Every Webflow site comes with a free staging domain — something like your-site.webflow.io. This is where you can:

• Preview and test your site outside of Webflow
• Share with others for review
• Publish work-in-progress updates

Publishing to staging does not affect your production (live) site. It’s a safe place to experiment.

🖼️ [visual demonstrating staging site]

Production (your custom domain)

Your production domain is the live site visitors will see — like www.clientsite.org or www.yourbusiness.com. This is where your fully published site lives once you’re ready to launch publicly.

🖼️ [visual published custom domain]

How to set up your custom domain

Before you can publish to production, you’ll need to connect a custom domain and activate Webflow hosting.

1. Purchase a domain
   You can use a domain you already own or buy a new one through a provider like GoDaddy, Google Domains, or directly in Webflow.
2. Connect your domain in Webflow
   In your Site Settings → Publishing → Production section, you’ll add your domain and follow instructions to update your DNS records.
3. Choose a default domain
   This tells Webflow which version of your domain (e.g. www. vs non-www.) to prioritize.

Once your domain is connected and verified, you’ll be able to select it when publishing your site.

Ready for more?

Up next, we’ll walk through how publishing works in Webflow.