Understanding domains in beehiiv

What's in a URL

Before we dive into using domains in your beehiiv account, it’s important to be clear on what the different parts of a URL are. 

Let’s breakdown the 5 parts of this URL example: https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing

1. Protocol: Is the very beginning of a URL and can be either https:// (secured) or http:// (unsecured). 
2. Subdomain: Is often www, but not always as it can specify a location on a site like blog.beehiiv.com or newsletter.beehiiv.com. 
3. Domain name: Is the custom domain name you purchased that is often the name of your site (beehiiv in this example). The custom domain name is also called the root of the URL. 
4. Top Level Domain (TLD): The TLD can be .com, .net, or many others and is generally purchased with a custom domain. There can be multiple TLDs associated with one custom domain. The domain name and TLD together are often referred to as the root domain (beehiiv.com in this example). 
5. Path or page: Anything past the slash after the TLD (/pricing in this example) is considered to be the path of a URL and can have other components in it like a page name. 

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Your built-in beehiiv subdomain

By default, once you have added a publication name to your beehiiv account, you will automatically receive a custom subdomain to use as your publication URL where your newsletter will live online. It will look like your-publication.beehiiv.com, with the your-publication part being the name of your newsletter.

Now that we understand the different parts of a domain, it’s helpful to think of a subdomain as a separate section of your website that’s for a specific job, for example a blog or a store. It's like having different rooms in a house for different purposes, but on your website. A subdomain is added before the main domain name and can change as a user moves around on your site depending on how it's configured, which is how your website organizes content for the specific functions that a user selects and logs the customer journey.

For example, a new site visitor would go to www.yoursite.com first and then explore by clicking around, possibly checking out your blog, which if configured accordingly, can change the URL slightly to blog.yoursite.com, and so forth.

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Using a custom domain for your publication

Using the custom domain of your website for your beehiiv publication creates a cohesive branded online presence that is recognizable to both new and existing customers. However, having your own website is not required. Every beehiiv account includes a subdomain that you can use in place of a custom domain. 

For detailed instructions on setting up a custom domain for your publication, refer to this article.

A personalized email address attached to your custom domain (e.g., [email protected]) is another common use case. This type of email is an excellent choice as your reply-to address since it’s where responses to your newsletter will be directed. A custom email address also reinforces your brand identity and builds trust with your audience.

You can use one custom domain per beehiiv publication. After verifying and adding a custom domain to your account, it can serve one or more of the following purposes:

• Web Domain: Where your beehiiv content is hosted online.
• Email Domain: The email domain used to send your beehiiv newsletters.
• Redirect Domain: Ensures yoursite.com redirects to www.yoursite.com.

Web and email domains can sometimes share the same name (e.g., yoursite.com for both) but don’t necessarily have to match.

In summary, a custom domain is your unique, personalized web address — essentially the name of your website or email domain. It allows you to establish a distinct online presence with a URL that reflects your brand or organization. For example, the domain name and TLD (beehiiv.com in our example) represent the core of your digital identity, which you own and manage. By using your custom domain, you also build a trusted sending reputation for emails associated with your brand.

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Frequently asked questions about custom domains

Do I have to use a custom domain?

No, which is why we give you a built-in subdomain that’s already part of your beehiiv account. The major difference in using a custom domain for your publication is that potential subscribers would visit yoursite.com instead of your-publication.beehiiv.com to subscribe to your newsletter and view your content. The experience is the same to the person visiting your site, only the URL is different. 

How many different custom domains can I use in my account?
Depending on your account type, you can verify multiple custom domains. Each beehiiv publication can have one custom domain associated with it that would also need to be configured to be used as a web domain, an email domain, and/or a redirect domain. 
• Launch and Scale plans can add up to 3 publications.
• Max plans can add up to 10 publications.
• Enterprise plans can add a custom number of publications.
How will I know if my domain has been verified?

In your account under Settings > Your Publications > Domains, you will see ‘Verified’ next to a green check icon under the domains that are verified, and those “in use” will be marked as such. You can also use this online tool to check your current DNS record status. 

Can I use different sending email addresses for my different publications?

Yes, since each publication can have their own custom domain, you could use different sending addresses for each of the publications in your account.

So while you cannot send from 2 different domains in 1 publication, you could technically send from the same domain to 2 separate publications. Although, this is not advised as it can put your sending reputation at risk because a lower reputation on one publication could impact the deliverability of the other if they share the same domain. Using a different subdomain for each publication would be the recommended way to set this up for this scenario, that way each publication would share the same domain.

Do I need to set up a redirect to ensure traffic to the root of my custom domain gets to the www subdomain?

In many cases, this type of redirect is already in place via your web host and is not necessary. But if you'd like to ensure that both the root and a subdomain (ex: www, blog, mail) point to your newsletter, you can set each of them up as verified domains in your beehiiv account and then choose which one you'd like to add as your web domain or redirect domain. 

What if I set up my custom domain in beehiiv and it still doesn’t work or says “Verifying Configuration” on the Domains page?

It’s important to allow proper time for your DNS settings to propagate, which can take up to 24 hours. This delay is the most common issue that we run into with new custom domains.

If you have fully set up your domain and are still experiencing issues after 24 hours, we recommend taking a full screenshot of your DNS records. Then, head to the Help page in your account and submit a support ticket or ask our chatbot, Buzz, for further assistance.

Can I use the same custom domain for my external website and beehiiv publication?

Since a domain can’t point to two different websites, we recommend that you create a subdomain with your DNS provider and then set up your beehiiv web domain to be this subdomain. For example, you can create the subdomain blog, then your beehiiv publication URL would be blog.yousite.com. This will ensure that only one IP address is connected to your account.