# Web address and domain

> Your academy's address, and using your own domain.

Source: https://paatya.net/docs/academy/web-address

Every academy has its own web address, where your students sign in and visitors see your public page. You can also use a domain you own, such as `brightminds.com` or `learn.brightminds.com`, and set it up yourself under **Settings → Domain**.

## Your academy's address

You chose your address when you created the academy, for example `bright-minds.paatya.net`. To see it:

1. In the left menu, click **Settings**.
2. In the settings menu, under **Website**, click **Domain**.

The **Addresses** panel lists your academy's addresses. The one marked **Primary** is used in the links in your emails and on certificates.

![Settings → Domain, showing the academy's address](https://paatya.net/docs/img/academy-web-address-1.png)

> **Note:** You cannot change your `paatya.net` address yourself. If you really need a different one, email [support@paatya.net](mailto:support@paatya.net).

## Use your own domain

You can use a domain you already own, either on its own (`brightminds.com`) or a sub-domain of it (`learn.brightminds.com`). Your students then sign in there, and your `paatya.net` address keeps working too.

### Before you start

- You own a domain and can sign in to where it is managed (your "DNS provider"), such as GoDaddy, Hostinger or Cloudflare.
- Choose whether to use the domain itself (`brightminds.com`) or a sub-domain such as `learn.` or `academy.`. If the domain already runs another website, use a sub-domain so that website keeps working.

### Steps

1. In the left menu, click **Settings**, then **Domain** under **Website**.
2. Under **Your own domain**, type the domain you want to use, such as `learn.brightminds.com`, and click **Add domain**.
3. Paatya shows two records:
   - a **TXT** record, which proves the domain is yours;
   - a **CNAME** record, which sends visitors to your academy. For a domain on its own, such as `brightminds.com`, this is an **A** record instead, because a domain on its own can't have a CNAME record.

   ![The two records for your domain, each with a copy button](https://paatya.net/docs/img/academy-web-address-3.png)

4. Sign in to your DNS provider and create both records exactly as shown. Use the copy buttons to avoid typing mistakes. If you use Cloudflare, set the CNAME or A record to **DNS only** (grey cloud).
5. Wait. Paatya checks the records every 10 minutes, or click **Check now**. DNS changes usually show within minutes, but can take up to a day to reach everyone.

Once both records are found, Paatya sets up the secure certificate (https) by itself, usually within a few minutes. Your domain then becomes the **Primary** address, so links in your emails and on certificates use it.

![A domain that is Live and Primary. Your paatya.net address keeps working under it](https://paatya.net/docs/img/academy-web-address-2.png)

> **Tip:** Nothing needs to be done on Paatya's side once the records are in. When we tried it with a GoDaddy domain, the domain was **Live**, with https, about six minutes after the records were added.

### Example: adding the records at GoDaddy

Most DNS providers work the same way. At GoDaddy, for the domain `learn.brightminds.com`:

1. Sign in to GoDaddy, open **My Products**, and click **DNS** next to `brightminds.com`.
2. Click **Add New Record**, choose **TXT**, and enter:
   - **Name:** `_lms-verify.learn`. GoDaddy adds `.brightminds.com` itself, so type only the part before it.
   - **Value:** the value Paatya shows, starting `lms-verify=`.
3. Click **Add New Record** again, choose **CNAME**, and enter:
   - **Name:** `learn`
   - **Value:** the value Paatya shows under CNAME (`tenants.paatya.net`).
4. Save. Back in Paatya, click **Check now** after a few minutes.

### Example: using the domain on its own at GoDaddy

For `brightminds.com` itself:

1. Open **DNS** next to `brightminds.com`, as above.
2. Add a **TXT** record with **Name** `_lms-verify` and the value Paatya shows.
3. Find the existing **A** record named `@` (GoDaddy adds one for its parking page). Edit it so its **Value** is the address Paatya shows under A. Delete any other **A** or **AAAA** records named `@`.
4. Save, then click **Check now** in Paatya after a few minutes.

> **Note:** GoDaddy's **Forwarding** for the domain also changes the `@` record. Turn forwarding off first.

### www. for a domain on its own

When you use a domain on its own, such as `brightminds.com`, Paatya also shows an optional **CNAME** record for `www.brightminds.com`. Add it, and visitors who type `www.brightminds.com` are sent on to `brightminds.com`. The `www.` address gets its own secure certificate, so the move happens over https too. Your academy itself always opens at `brightminds.com`, never at `www.`.

1. At your DNS provider, add a **CNAME** record with **Name** `www` and the value Paatya shows (`tenants.paatya.net`).
2. Save. Nothing else needs proving: the `www.` address sits under the domain you have already verified.

At GoDaddy the `www` CNAME usually exists already, pointing to `@`; that works as it is. If it points anywhere else, change it to the value Paatya shows.

The line for `www.` reads **Optional: sends www.brightminds.com to brightminds.com**, followed by:

- **found, securing**: the record is in, and the certificate is being set up;
- **live**: `www.brightminds.com` now sends visitors to `brightminds.com`;
- **currently** and another address: `www` still points somewhere else, such as an old website. Change or delete that record;
- **the certificate could not be issued yet**: Paatya tries again every hour. The reason is shown after it.

> **Note:** This only applies to a domain on its own. A sub-domain such as `learn.brightminds.com` has no `www.` line.

> **Note:** If your sub-domain already has a record, such as an **A** record for `learn` pointing to an old website, delete it first. A name can have a CNAME record or other records, not both.

> **Note:** You can use one domain of your own. To switch to a different one, remove the current domain first.

### What you'll see

The status next to your domain changes:

| Status | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **Waiting for DNS** | The TXT record hasn't been found yet. Check it and wait a little longer. |
| **Securing** | The domain is yours. The secure certificate is being set up; this needs the CNAME record too. |
| **Live** | Your academy opens at your domain. |
| **Not verified** | The TXT record was not found within 72 hours. Check it, then click **Check now**. |
| **Disabled** | The TXT record was missing for 7 days, so the domain was switched off. Put the record back and click **Check now**. |

### Choose which address is primary

- To put links back on your `paatya.net` address, click **Make this the primary address** next to it under **Addresses**.
- To use your own domain again, click **Make primary** next to it.

### Remove your domain

Click the bin icon next to your domain, then **Remove**. Your academy stops opening there within a few minutes. Your `paatya.net` address keeps working. You can then delete the two records at your DNS provider.

## If something goes wrong

- **The status stays Waiting for DNS for a day or more.** Compare each record with your DNS provider, character by character. Some providers add your domain to the end of the name automatically, so `learn.brightminds.com` becomes `learn.brightminds.com.brightminds.com`. If so, enter only `learn` as the name.
- **The status stays Securing.** Look at the CNAME line. If it says "currently" followed by another address, your sub-domain still points somewhere else: remove the old record at your DNS provider. For a domain on its own, the A line lists every address found; it must show only Paatya's, so delete the others, including any AAAA record. If a reason is shown under the status, the certificate is tried again every hour.
- **Your old address still appears in emails.** Links use the **Primary** address. Make your domain primary under **Settings → Domain**.

## Related

- [Sign in and sign out](https://paatya.net/docs/account/sign-in)
- [What visitors see](https://paatya.net/docs/public-website/what-visitors-see)