Open Settings, then Domain. The page manages this website's Mortar address, custom domain and business email.
Steps
- Under Site address, the free address ends in .mortar.site. The field saves as you type. Available — saving… means it is saving. This is your site address. means it is set. There is no separate Save button.
- If you see Custom domains are included with Core and the note "Custom domains are available on paid plans once your site is live", the connect form is not on this screen yet. Go live on a paid plan first. Prices are on the pricing page. The line under the card says your free address above always works.
- When the form is there, press Add Domain. The dialog is Add a custom domain.
- Choose I already own a domain. If you still need to buy one, choose I need to buy a domain, search, and the screen sends you to Namecheap. Come back and choose I already own a domain once it is yours.
- Enter the domain. Mortar shows a CNAME record pointing at sites.mortar.site. Add that record where you manage the domain. Also forward the root domain to the www address. On Cloudflare, turn the proxy (the orange cloud) off.
- Press Connect domain. The toast is Domain connection started: "We'll check your DNS automatically and connect it as soon as the record is in place."
- The badge stays Checking DNS… until it connects. Press Check now to check immediately. The page also checks about once a minute while it is open. The screen says this is usually within an hour. When it connects, the badge is Active and the toast is Domain connected.
The same page has a business-email card that recommends Google Workspace. You do not need that card to connect the domain.
If it doesn't work
Not connected yet means the last check failed. The row shows the CNAME it expects, and what it found if it found something else.
Could not check right now means the check itself failed. The toast says Mortar will keep checking automatically.
On the free address, That address is already taken. and That address is reserved. mean you need a different name. Use 1–63 lowercase letters, numbers or hyphens, not starting or ending with a hyphen. is the rule for a name Mortar will not accept.
The Domain page says: stuck on the DNS step, email team@mortar.site.
Common questions
Can I connect a domain during the free trial?
The Domain page hides the connect form until the site is on a paid plan and live. It says custom domains are available on paid plans once your site is live, and that your free address still works. Plan prices are on the pricing page.