Account domains vs. custom domains

The difference between account domains and custom domains, plus when and how to use one or the other.

Updated over a week ago

You have several options when configuring your form and landing page URLs. Some require more technical steps than others, and some require none at all.

That's right — our default URLs will work straight out of the box. 

We'll generate URLs for all of your forms and landing pages that will work by default even if you don't adjust any of your account's default settings.

In other words, if having a custom domain set up isn't a priority for you, you can skip this article and still have working URLs for all of your opt-ins!

But if you'd like more creative control over how your URLs look, keep on reading.

First, the definitions:

An account domain is a subdomain on our ck.page URL, on which we host your opt-ins for you (e.g. your-business-name.ck.page).

A custom domain is a domain, or subdomain, that you own and want to use for your opt-ins (e.g. yourdomain.com or pages.yourdomain.com).

Now, let's cover what your options are with these!

1. Use our default ck.page URLs (no action required!)

As mentioned, our default URLs will work out of the box! This is because when you create a new account, it is assigned a unique ck.page subdomain by default also known as your account domain — on which we'll host your opt-ins.

Don't worry, you don't need to understand all the technical ins-and-outs here — just know:

  • Your account domain is unique to your ConvertKit account 

  • Your opt-in URLs will look along the lines of your-subdomain.ck.page/some-identifier-here

  • The subdomain is randomly generated for new accounts — by default, they are a randomized set of words and numbers (e.g. creative-writer-13.ck.page)

Even though you don't have to change this subdomain, you will probably want to so that it's more relevant to your biz! Luckily, that's easy to do, and brings us to option #2.

2. Use our ck.page URLs with a custom account domain

Your account domain can be changed! Specifically, you are able to choose your own subdomain (i.e. what shows before the ck.page) within some guidelines (no spaces or special characters, it can't have been claimed by another account already, etc.)

You can see what your account domain currently is on your account's Domains page. This page is accessible by going clicking your account name at the top right of the navigation, followed by Settings > Domains.

Only enter the subdomain (prefix) in this field — the .ck.page part is already there for you.

The best part is that changing this won't break any links! Links using your previous subdomain will continue to work.

3. Configure a custom domain (requires DNS changes)

This is the most technically advanced option and will allow you to put your landing page right on yourdomain.com or more commonly, on one if its subdomains (e.g. pages.yourdomain.com).

With this option, you don't have to use your account domain (i.e. the .ck.page domain) at all if you don't want to.

This option requires DNS changes on your hosting provider and is a little more complicated than the others, so we have a separate tutorial on it below:

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