Common issues, setup tips, and fixes for your Fourthwall domain and DNS configuration
This article covers common FAQs and troubleshooting tips for domains and DNS setup. If you’re looking to connect a custom domain to your Fourthwall shop, check out Set Up Your Custom Domain.
What is DNS?
You can think of DNS as the internet’s version of your phone’s contact page. Even though you may not know your friend’s numbers, you know their name in your address book. DNS does the same so that you can remember a site like “youtube.com” and not its underlying IP address.
Can I use a subdomain?
Yes. Just enter your subdomain like "subdomain.example.com" and it'll work in the same way as your top-level domain (TLD).
I’m not sure who my DNS provider is. How can I find this?
Visit nslookup.io and type in your domain name. Scroll to the bottom where it says the nameservers, and that’ll indicate your DNS provider.
How can I tell if my DNS record was entered correctly?
To verify your records:
- Visit nslookup.io and type in your record name.
- Compare the displayed value with the one shown in your Fourthwall dashboard.
If the values match, it’ll sync soon. If not, it’s usually due to one of these:
- Propagation delay: DNS updates take time. Check the TTL (Time to Live) value on nslookup.io — that’s how long you’ll need to wait for the record to refresh.
- Incorrect entry: The record might be mistyped. Cross-check the details on nslookup.io with what’s in your Fourthwall records.
Which DNS records are required?
Only the “A record” and the first “CNAME” record (www. one) are required. All others are optional and only needed if you wish to fully private-label your customer support experience.
What does it mean that I cannot set my MX records?
MX records are used in DNS when sending emails.
For Fourthwall to provide customer support for your shop, Fourthwall needs a custom email address. This means that we need access to your MX records.
If you’re trying to set up a custom domain like “example.com”, we want to make sure that any existing email addresses that you have are not impacted (like “me@example.com”). For our customer support, we provision a specific domain:
- support.example.com
So that we can private-label all of your customer support emails to “contact@support.example.com”.
Unfortunately, not all DNS providers (e.g., Wix, Squarespace) support using MX subdomains. If that is the case, we will still power your customer support, but the email will not be private-labeled and will be on a Fourthwall domain. You can change your DNS provider to a service like Google to enable this.
My domain stopped loading. What happened?
Domains expire after 1 year without ongoing payment. Please confirm with your DNS provider that you have paid for it for the past year. If not, your Fourthwall page will not be able to load.
Can I purchase a domain through Fourthwall?
You cannot purchase a domain through Fourthwall at this time. We recommend using any DNS service like Porkbun if you wish to buy a domain.
How long does it take for my domain to sync?
Once all records are verified, it can take up to 15 minutes for your domain to sync.
How do I migrate a Shopify Domain?
If your domain is on Shopify, follow this article to move to Porkbun domains or your preferred domain provider. Once the domain has been transferred to the new provider, you can follow the steps at the beginning of this article.
How do I migrate a Teespring Domain?
For Teespring domains, you need to manually contact their support team to move the domain to your preferred domain provider. Once it has been transferred, you can follow the steps at the beginning of this article.
Do I use "Proxied" records or "DNS only" records on Cloudflare?
When you add records on Cloudflare, please be sure to use the "DNS Only" option for all records. Internally, Fourthwall has its own caching and DDoS protection network.