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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.shoppex.io/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

By default your shop lives at yourshop.shoppex.io. To run it on your own domain (e.g. shop.yourbrand.com or yourbrand.com), add a custom domain from Store → Domains (/store/domains). This page walks through the DNS setup in detail because it’s where most people get stuck.

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What you’ll need

  • A domain you own (registered with any registrar — Namecheap, Cloudflare, GoDaddy, anywhere).
  • Access to that domain’s DNS settings.
  • A few minutes for DNS to propagate.

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Subdomain vs. apex (root domain)

You can connect either:
  • Subdomain — shop.yourbrand.com, store.yourbrand.com, www.yourbrand.com. Easier. Works on every DNS provider.
  • Apex / root domain — yourbrand.com with no prefix. Harder. Only works if your DNS provider supports ALIAS / ANAME records, or if you migrate DNS to Cloudflare.
If you’re not sure, start with a subdomain. You can switch to apex later.

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Setup — subdomain

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Step 1: Add the domain in Shoppex

  1. Open Store → Domains in your Shoppex dashboard.
  2. Click Add Custom Domain.
  3. Type your subdomain (e.g. shop.yourbrand.com).
  4. Click Add Domain.
Shoppex shows a DNS Configuration dialog with the initial CNAME:
TypeNameTarget
CNAMEshop.yourbrand.comcustom.myshoppex.io
For the CNAME, the name should be just the subdomain part (e.g. shop) — most DNS UIs auto-append your domain.

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Step 2: Add the CNAME to your DNS provider

Open your registrar’s DNS dashboard and add the CNAME record exactly as shown. Save.

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Step 3: Trigger verification

Back in Shoppex → Domains → click the row for your new domain → Check Verification. This is the step that pulls the TXT records from Cloudflare. Shoppex shows you the two TXT records you now need to add — one for ownership verification, one for SSL/TLS validation. Both names and values are unique to your domain, copy them exactly.

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Step 4: Add the TXT records and verify again

Add the two TXTs in your registrar’s DNS dashboard. Click Check Verification again in Shoppex. If DNS has propagated, status moves to Verified. DNS propagation typically takes a few minutes to a few hours, depending on your registrar — there’s no fixed time. Click Check Verification again if it isn’t ready the first time.

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Step 5: Wait for SSL

After verification, Cloudflare issues an SSL certificate for the domain. The status in the dashboard moves from Pending to Active once the cert is live. This typically takes a few minutes to an hour. If SSL is stuck on Pending for more than an hour, use the Refresh SSL option in the domain row’s menu to retrigger provisioning. Once active, your shop is live on the custom domain.

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Setup — apex / root domain

Apex domains don’t allow CNAME records (per the DNS spec). You need one of these: Cloudflare supports CNAME flattening at the root — you can put a CNAME at @ and Cloudflare resolves it transparently. This is the cleanest solution.
  1. Add your domain to Cloudflare (free plan works).
  2. Update your registrar’s nameservers to Cloudflare’s (Cloudflare gives you two when you add the domain).
  3. Once Cloudflare has the domain, follow the regular DNS setup steps above. Add a CNAME at @ pointing to custom.myshoppex.io.
  4. Important: keep the CNAME on DNS only (grey cloud icon, not orange). Cloudflare proxying breaks the custom-hostname verification.

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Option B: ALIAS / ANAME record at your existing DNS

Some DNS providers (DNSimple, NS1, easyDNS, Hover) support ALIAS or ANAME records — a CNAME-equivalent that’s legal at the apex. If yours supports it, use it the same way as a CNAME pointing to custom.myshoppex.io.

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Option C: Use a subdomain instead

If you don’t want to move DNS or your provider doesn’t support ALIAS, the simplest path is to connect www.yourbrand.com (or any other subdomain) instead of the bare root. You can then configure your DNS to redirect yourbrand.com to www.yourbrand.com — most registrars offer this as a simple toggle.

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Multiple domains pointing at one shop

You can attach additional domains to a single shop — useful for typo-catching aliases or regional variants. Add them the same way under Store → Domains, choosing the Additional type instead of Custom. The Custom domain is your shop’s primary URL. Additional domains route to the same content but redirect to the Custom domain for SEO consolidation.

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Removing a custom domain

Disabling a custom domain from the dashboard reverts the shop to its default *.shoppex.io URL. The DNS records and Cloudflare-side configuration are remembered — re-enabling is instant and doesn’t require re-verifying DNS.

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Common pitfalls

  • “Domain already registered to Paylix.” Old internal error message — the domain is already in use by another Shoppex shop (Paylix is a legacy name). Open a ticket through Discord or Telegram if you believe the domain is yours.
  • Cloudflare proxy turned on during verification. If the orange-cloud proxy is enabled on the CNAME, Cloudflare custom-hostname verification fails silently. Keep it grey-cloud (DNS only) at least until the domain is fully verified and SSL is active. You can turn the proxy on afterwards — but for storefronts there’s rarely a reason to.
  • No automatic retry. Shoppex doesn’t poll DNS in the background. After adding records, click Check Verification in the dashboard yourself. If it doesn’t verify, double-check the records and try again — DNS may still be propagating.
  • Subdomain works, apex doesn’t. If shop.yourbrand.com verifies but yourbrand.com doesn’t, your DNS provider doesn’t support ALIAS at root. Use Option A or C above.
  • Apex with A records pointing somewhere else. If you already had an A record at @ pointing to a different server (a website builder, old host), that conflicts. Delete those A records before adding the ALIAS/CNAME flattening.
  • TLS taking forever. If SSL stays pending_issuance for more than an hour, click Refresh SSL in the domain row’s dropdown menu. That re-triggers Cloudflare’s certificate provisioning.