Connecting my Domain to a Shopify Account

Connecting your domain to a Shopify account is a straightforward process which involves a couple of simple changes to your domain DNS records and your Shopify account. 

If you do not already have a web/email hosting or DNS management package associated with the domain you wish to connect to your Shopify account, you will need to order a DNS Management Only package via your CIH Client Area.  This package is available as a free of charge product to all domains registered via CIH by merely adding the discount voucher FREEDNS when placing your order.

Your Shopify account will require you to enter your domain details into your Shopify account so that it is able to work, so you will need to be logged in to both accounts to complete this process.  The process below is reliant on the fact that your Nameservers are pointing to channelislandhosting.net.  If your name servers point somewhere else, you will need to make the DNS Record changes via that service or change your nameservers.  Ask us to assist if you are unsure how to do this or what impact it will have on any other services you may have running on your domain.

Step 1

Within your Shopify account

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Domains.
2. Click Connect existing domain.
3. Enter the domain that you want to connect, such as johns-apparel.info.

Now you need to set up your existing domain to point to Shopify.

Step 2

Within your CIH Client Area

We now need to set up your existing domain to connect to Shopify, and you will need to edit the following DNS settings in your CIH account:

• Your A record should point to Shopify's IP address, which is 23.227.38.32
• Your CNAME record should point to shops.myshopify.com

Editing these domain settings might affect other things, such as email forwarding.  If you are unsure about this, contact us to find out how any changes might affect your DNS settings.

Note
You can only have one A record associated with your primary domain. If your domain is already associated with an A record when you edit your DNS settings to point your A record to Shopify's IP address, then remove the old A record.

1. Log in to your CIH Client Area and go to the Services associated with your domain and open the Active > cPanel > DNS Zone Editor
2. Within the DNS Zone Editor, click on Manage settings to see your current DNS Record
3. Edit your A record to point to Shopify's IP address 23.227.38.32
4. The domain settings panel might feature drop-downs or editable fields, or you might have to check boxes or edit a table. You need to:
           4.a. enter or choose the @ symbol or A record
           4.b. enter Shopify's IP address 23.227.38.32 as the destination for the A record.
5. Save the A Record.
6. Find the CNAME record in your DNS settings.
7. Change your www CNAME record to point to shops.myshopify.com.  Often, you need to provide just the prefix without the dot, but for some domains you need the whole subdomain. Use the existing entries as a guide. CNAME records must always point to a domain name, never to an IP address.
8. Save the CNAME Record.

Step 3

Now you need to verify your connection in Shopify.

1. Click Verify connection in your Shopify admin to confirm that your custom domain has been connected to your store.

Note
It might take up to 48 hours for your custom domain to point to your Shopify store. If you have problems or need help, please do not hesitate to contact us.