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Connect Your Own Domain
Instead of the free hope.chat address, you can serve your hosted chat page from a domain you own - either a subdomain like chat.yourchurch.org or your root domain like yourchurch.org. You add one DNS record at your domain provider, Hope Chat verifies it and issues a security certificate automatically, and the page goes live on your domain. Your free hope.chat address keeps working the whole time as a backup.
Before you start
This is for a Web page chat - create one first (see Create a Hosted Chat Page). You also need access to your domain's DNS settings (at your registrar or DNS provider, such as Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Route 53).
1. Enter your domain
In the Domain section of the web page editor, choose Use your own domain and type the address you want in Your domain - either a subdomain (chat.yourchurch.org) or your root domain (yourchurch.org). A DNS records panel appears with the record you need to add.
2. Add the DNS record
Which record you add depends on whether you are using a subdomain or your root domain. Add exactly what your panel shows.
Using a subdomain (recommended) - for example chat.yourchurch.org:
| Type | Host | Value |
|---|---|---|
| CNAME | chat | primary.hccloud.gcloud.hope.cloud |
Using your root domain - for example yourchurch.org:
A root domain cannot use a CNAME (a DNS rule), so use one of these instead:
- an ALIAS / ANAME / CNAME-flattening record pointing to
primary.hccloud.gcloud.hope.cloud, if your provider supports it (Cloudflare, Route 53, and DNSimple do), or - an A record pointing to
34.149.95.48.
That single record does two jobs: it routes your domain to Hope Chat, and because your domain now resolves to us, it also proves you control the domain - so no extra verification record is needed.
Use the values from your own panel
The Host and Value above are the current values, but always copy exactly what your editor shows. If your provider uses Cloudflare, keep the record DNS only (grey cloud, not proxied), or verification and the security certificate will fail.
3. Verify and go live
Click Verify DNS. Everything after that is automatic - there is no Deploy button.
- Hope Chat checks your DNS, and keeps re-checking on its own periodically. You will see a last checked time so you know it is working.
- When your record is found, the domain moves from Pending to Verified.
- A security certificate (HTTPS) is then issued for your domain, and the page goes live there automatically.
DNS changes can take a while to spread across the internet - up to 24 to 48 hours, though it is often much faster.
Your free address never goes down
Your hope.chat subdomain keeps working the entire time, even while the custom domain is still verifying or if it is misconfigured. Your chat is never fully offline.
Changing or replacing your domain
To move the page to a different domain later, open the Domain section, replace the value in Your domain, and save. The chat goes back to Pending and shows the new record to add. Add it at your DNS provider and let it verify again - a new certificate is issued automatically.
The old domain stops serving the page once you switch, and your hope.chat subdomain keeps working throughout. After switching, delete the old DNS record at your provider to keep things tidy.
Troubleshooting
If the status stays Pending or shows an error:
- Check the record matches exactly - the Host and Value must be copied from your panel, with no extra spaces or a trailing dot where your provider does not expect one.
- Not proxied - on Cloudflare, set the record to DNS only (grey cloud).
- Right record for the address - a CNAME for a subdomain, or an ALIAS / A record for a root domain.
- Give it time - DNS can take hours to propagate. If the last checked time keeps updating but the status does not change after a day, re-check the record value.