Verify domain ownership using TXT records

Verify your custom domain using a TXT record.

This video features an old UI. Updated version coming soon!

If you need to verify ownership of a domain (like astrolawfirm.com or pinkthesaurus.com or whatever the name of your domain is), we're going to cover how to do this using a TXT record.

And it's pretty straightforward — we'll cover this in four parts: we'll show how we log in to our domain provider, we'll access our DNS settings, we'll add some text, we'll add some more text, and then we'll be done.

Okay. Part 1. For this example, we're using Domain.com. Sometimes domain providers are called "domain registrars", and logging in, of course, could be slightly different depending on who your provider or registrar is. The domain provider is usually who you bought your custom domain from.

But once we're logged in, we're ready to move to part 2. Accessing our DNS settings.

What is DNS? It doesn't really matter. But if you're curious, it stands for Domain Name System. And it's where we're going to add our TXT record.

In Domain.com, we can access DNS by choosing to Manage (the manage button here) — we want to mange the domain we’re looking to verify. And of course we’re looking for DNS records, so let’s click over to DNS & Nameservers.

That's 2 steps down, let's move on to 3. To do this, let’s go down and press Add DNS Record. And of course we want to add a TXT record, so let's choose TXT from the dropdown here. And for this first value (the Name)? (Sometimes this is called the Host field...) We want to put in _webflow. (We're just typing that into the name or the host field.)

That's part 3, finally, let's do one more thing. In the Content field field (sometimes this is called data or value or answer field), all you have to put? Is your name. Generally, this can be first name and last name, but a Webflow team member might ask for something more specific here if you're working with them. Let’s make TTL (this is the time until live) 1/2 hour and let’s leave Priority right where it is (we’re leaving ours blank).

Let's move on and press the Add DNS button.

Now. Keep in mind, the process with Domain.com’s service...or with any domain provider can take up to 48 hours. But after you're done, you can reach out to Webflow to verify that the TXT record has been successfully added.

Also, if you're having trouble adding the TXT record, you can reach out to your domain provider at any time for help. And if that doesn't work, you can reach out to our team, and we'll do our very best to get everything sorted.

But that's it — we covered logging in to our domain provider, accessing our DNS settings, adding text to our name or host field, and adding more text to our data or value field. That's verifying domain ownership using a TXT record.

You can verify ownership of your custom domain by adding a TXT record. One thing to note: Although the steps are similar, they can vary depending on your domain provider. Reach out to your domain provider for more specific help with adding a TXT record.

In this lesson:

Log in to your domain provider
Access our DNS settings
Add text to the name field
Add text to the value field

Log in to your domain provider

The domain provider is usually who you bought your custom domain from, and logging in could be somewhat different depending on your provider or registrar. In this example, we’ll click Sign In and sign in using our Google Account login information.

Step one on the left, click on the Sign In button on the top right of the Google Domains homepage. Step two on the right, enter email and follow the sign in process with your password.

Access your DNS settings

Now that you’re logged in, you’re ready to access your DNS settings.

You can do this within your domain provider’s dashboard by selecting the domain you’d like to manage. For this example click on the Manage link next to the domain you want to verify.

The manage button for a domain named mysupercooldomain.com is highlighted in the My Domains section of the DNS settings. It includes "none" services and expires/renews on Aug 14, 2021.

When you click on the DNS menu option, you’ll see all of the Domain Name System (DNS) values for your domain.

The sidebar includes a link to go back to all my domains, the domain name and links to domain overview, registration settings, DNS (highlighted), website, reports, email and lastly security.

Add text to the name field

Scroll to the custom resource records on the DNS page. To add your record, choose TXT from the record dropdown.

The TXT option in the type drop down menu is selected and highlighted within the Custom records section.

After selecting TXT, enter _Webflow in the “Name” field (some domain providers call this the “host” field)

_Webflow is entered in the Host name input field of the Custom records section. This input is highlighted next to the TXT type option.

Add text to the value field

And for the last step, enter your name in the data field (sometimes this is called value or text). This can be your first and last name, but a Webflow team member might ask for something more specific if you're working together.

Now, click Add.

Grimur Grimsson is entered in the value "data" field and highlighted within the Custom records section. There is also a highlighted blue save button at the bottom right corner.

DNS changes can take a few minutes to propagate — or even longer (up to 48 hours) if it’s a new domain. Once you’re done, reach out to Webflow to make sure the TXT record has been successfully added.‍

And, if you're having trouble adding the TXT record, your domain provider should be able to help. If that doesn't work, let us know, and we'll do our best to get everything sorted.

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