Connect a Domain or Subdomain

Connect your domain to Mailchimp to use it with your Mailchimp-hosted websites and landing pages. This helps you create a more professional, seamless experience across your marketing efforts.

In this article, you'll learn how to connect a domain or subdomain to Mailchimp.

Before you start

Here are a few things to know before you begin this process.

• In order to use this feature, you must agree to our additional terms.
• If you don’t own a domain, you can purchase one in Mailchimp.
• If you are hosting your website with another service and are not ready to switch to Mailchimp, do not change or update your domain's A records. Use a subdomain instead.
• www.example.com is not a valid subdomain, but sale.example.com is.

How it works

If you own a domain, you can connect both domains and subdomains in Mailchimp to use with landing pages or a website. A domain is the online address for your business or your project. It can be typed into a browser's address bar to be visited. A subdomain is an extension of your domain name. For example, west.example.com and east.example.com are subdomains of the example.com domain.

After you’ve connected your domain or subdomain, choose it in the landing page or website builder to brand and customize your URLs. For example, if you verify the subdomain plants.pottedplanter.com, you can add a url to your landing page that looks something like this:

plants.pottedplanter.com/end-of-summer-sale

For this process, you'll add your domain or subdomain in Mailchimp to generate CNAME and A records. Then, you'll add those records to your domain manager.

Example CNAME and A records

Depending on the Domain Name Service (DNS) provider you use, the terms used to describe parts of your DNS records can vary. For example, some providers may refer to the field where you’ll enter your subdomain as either Name or Host. Similarly, the field where you’ll enter your record addresses provided by Mailchimp could be referred to as Value, Points to, or Address.

In your domain provider account, your DNS records will look something like this.

Create DNS records with common providers

Here are some resources for creating DNS records with popular domain providers. If your service isn't listed here, log in to your provider's site and search their help documents, or contact their customer support team.

123-reg: How do I set up a CNAME record on my domain name?

BigRock: Adding a CNAME record on DNS management

Bluehost: DNS Records Explained, DNS Management Add Edit or Delete DNS Entries

Dreamhost: How do I add custom DNS records?

DNSimple: Add a CNAME record

eNom: How to: Change DNS Host Records

GoDaddy: Add a CNAME record

Namecheap: How can I set up a CNAME record for my domain?

Network Solutions: How Do I Modify CNAME Records?

Yahoo Small Business: How do I add, edit, and delete a CNAME record?

Connect a domain or subdomain

To connect your domain, you'll need to complete tasks in Mailchimp and your domain provider's domains manager. This process requires you to copy and paste information from Mailchimp to your domain provider's site. We recommend that you work with two browser windows or tabs to easily move between your sites.

To connect a domain in your Mailchimp account, follow these steps.

1. Click the Brand drop-down and choose Manage Domains.
   

2. Scroll to the Connect Your Domain section and click Connect Domain.
   

3. In the Add a domain or subdomain field, type the domain or subdomain you want to use and click Submit.

4. Copy the CNAME record provided.
   

5. In another browser tab or window, use this information to create or update the CNAME record in your domain provider account.

   If this is for a domain, you'll create or update the CNAME record for www. If this is for a subdomain, you'll create or update the CNAME record that matches your subdomain.

6. If you’re connecting a domain, you’ll also need to copy the A record provided to your domain provider account. If you're connecting a subdomain only, skip to the next step.

7. Return to the Domains page in your Mailchimp account and click Connect.
   

The domain connection process can take up to 48 hours, depending on your domain provider. When your domain has been verified, we’ll update your Domains page and send you an email notification.

We’ll also send you an email to let you know if the domain connection fails. Read on to learn how to troubleshoot a failed connection.

Troubleshoot failed connections

If domain connection fails, here are a few things to check.

• Was the domain or subdomain entered correctly?

  In your domain provider account, make sure your subdomain is entered correctly. Depending on your domain provider, you may not be required to enter the entire subdomain. For example, instead of springsale.pottedplanter.com, you may only need to enter springsale in the subdomain field.

• Do the CNAME or A records match?

  Make sure the CNAME record and/or the A Name record provided by Mailchimp for your domain or subdomain matches the record in your domain provider account.

• Is the domain expired?

  Check with your domain provider to make sure your domain name has not expired.

Remove and reconnect

To finish troubleshooting, you'll need to remove the initial connection request before you can try again.

To remove an domain or subdomain, follow these steps.

1. Navigate to the Domains page in your account.
2. In the Connect Your Domain section, find the domain or subdomain you want to remove.

3. Click Remove.
   

4. In the pop-up modal, type REMOVE and click Remove Domain.
   

After you remove the domain, repeat the connection process from the beginning.

Create a 301 redirect

A 301 redirect is a set of permanent instructions you can use to redirect from one domain to another domain. For example, these URLs may appear to be the same, but they are different addresses:

• example.com
• www.example.com

The www in the second example is technically a subdomain. If you want to send visitors from your top-level domain to a Mailchimp landing page, you’ll verify the subdomain www.example.com in your Mailchimp account. Then, in your domain provider account, create a 301 redirect that sends visitors from example.com to www.example.com.

You can also set up 301 redirects to make sure that any page visitors who search for www.subdomain.example.com are sent to subdomain.example.com. This type of 301 redirect can help you gather better analytics and increase search rankings.

Here are some resources for creating 301 redirects with popular domain providers. If your service isn't listed here, log in to your provider's site and search their help documents, or contact their customer support team.

123-reg: 301 redirect

BigRock: Managing the Domain Forwarding Service

Bluehost: Redirecting Web Page

Dreamhost: How do I redirect my domain?

DNSimple: Manage URL records

eNom: How to Create a 301 Redirect on a Domain

GoDaddy: Create URL redirects

Namecheap: How do I set up a URL redirect for a domain?

Network Solutions: What Is a 301 Redirect?

Yahoo Small Business: What’s a 301 redirect or permanent redirect?

Next steps

After you connect your domain or subdomain to Mailchimp, use it with your website or landing pages. Here are some guides to help you get started.

• Create a website
  Build your presence on the internet and grow your audience with our website features.

• Create a landing page
  Share a limited time marketing campaign with your potential customers and tell them more about what you have to offer.

• Create an ad
  Advertise your website or landing page to drive traffic, build your audience, and sell more stuff.