How to put your ChurchDesk website online
This article shows you how to successfully bring your ChurchDesk website online. Learn step-by-step what settings you need to make with your domain host and in ChurchDesk to get your site live and running smoothly.
You need to know your domain(s)
Username/email and password for the account at your domain host
This guide
Please note that ChurchDesk is not your domain host. You can check who your domain host (the company where you bought your churches domain name/URL) is by going to this site. Enter your churches domain name/URL and search. The information you need ("Hostname") is in the section "Name servers".
When you are ready to go online with your ChurchDesk website, there are a few DNS settings that need to be made on your domain name.
These DNS settings need to be changed in the account you have at your domain host's:
You either have to log into your domain host account and make the changes to the settings yourself, or you can send this guide to your domain host's support and they will do it for you. If you have more than one domain showing your ChurchDesk website, you need to change the A-Records at the respective domain host(s) for all of the domains.
These two DNS records need to be set up like this (IPv4 only):
An A-Record where [yourdomain.com] points to 185.58.213.233
An A-Record where [www.yourdomain.com] points to 185.58.213.233
Remember to remove the A-Records that are pointing to the old IP address!
Go to the Website module within ChurchDesk. Make sure you're on the correct tab - "Website". Click the middle icon on the website you want to go live with. A window for domain settings will open on the right side of the screen. To add a new domain, click "**Add new domain**".
A new window will open in the middle of the screen.
Here, you'll enter your domain name (your church's URL). Remember to enter it without the leading "www." – the system will add this automatically. Once you've entered the domain name, click "**OK**". Adding the domain can take up to 2 minutes.
The domain will then appear in the domain overview on the right side. If your overview looks like this, you're done and your website is live.
If you receive an error message, it doesn't necessarily mean you did something wrong.
First, hover your mouse over the red "Problem detected!" button – if the message indicates that the IP doesn't match the domain, you'll need to contact your domain host again to have the number adjusted. After the adjustment, wait 1 hour, then click "**Check status**" to establish the connection to your domain host.
For some domain hosts, this process can take up to 24 hours. This depends on how quickly your domain host performs updates and cannot be influenced by ChurchDesk in any way. You can check this regularly by clicking the "**Check status**" button again until the connection is established. If there's no change after 24 hours, please contact ChurchDesk support.
If you have more than one domain that should display your ChurchDesk website, you must change the A-records with the respective domain hosts for all domains. Afterwards, you must add all domains in ChurchDesk as described above.
You can redirect your registered domains to one domain by setting one of your domains as the primary domain. Click "**Use as Primary**" next to the domain to which all other domains should be redirected. Confirm your selection by clicking "**OK**" in the pop-up window that appears.
Common Errors: Please ensure that only A-records and no AAAA-records are specified for the domains. We do not support IPv6.
Keywords: Domain, Website, Go Live, DNS, A-Record, Domain Host, Settings, Online, Publishing, Homepage, Internet Page
Things you need to get started
You need to know your domain(s)
Username/email and password for the account at your domain host
This guide
Please note that ChurchDesk is not your domain host. You can check who your domain host (the company where you bought your churches domain name/URL) is by going to this site. Enter your churches domain name/URL and search. The information you need ("Hostname") is in the section "Name servers".
Step 1 - Update your domain settings at your domain host
When you are ready to go online with your ChurchDesk website, there are a few DNS settings that need to be made on your domain name.
These DNS settings need to be changed in the account you have at your domain host's:
You either have to log into your domain host account and make the changes to the settings yourself, or you can send this guide to your domain host's support and they will do it for you. If you have more than one domain showing your ChurchDesk website, you need to change the A-Records at the respective domain host(s) for all of the domains.
These two DNS records need to be set up like this (IPv4 only):
An A-Record where [yourdomain.com] points to 185.58.213.233
An A-Record where [www.yourdomain.com] points to 185.58.213.233
Remember to remove the A-Records that are pointing to the old IP address!
Step 2 - Going live: Updating your domains in ChurchDesk
Add Domain
Go to the Website module within ChurchDesk. Make sure you're on the correct tab - "Website". Click the middle icon on the website you want to go live with. A window for domain settings will open on the right side of the screen. To add a new domain, click "**Add new domain**".
A new window will open in the middle of the screen.
Here, you'll enter your domain name (your church's URL). Remember to enter it without the leading "www." – the system will add this automatically. Once you've entered the domain name, click "**OK**". Adding the domain can take up to 2 minutes.
The domain will then appear in the domain overview on the right side. If your overview looks like this, you're done and your website is live.
Troubleshooting
If you receive an error message, it doesn't necessarily mean you did something wrong.
First, hover your mouse over the red "Problem detected!" button – if the message indicates that the IP doesn't match the domain, you'll need to contact your domain host again to have the number adjusted. After the adjustment, wait 1 hour, then click "**Check status**" to establish the connection to your domain host.
For some domain hosts, this process can take up to 24 hours. This depends on how quickly your domain host performs updates and cannot be influenced by ChurchDesk in any way. You can check this regularly by clicking the "**Check status**" button again until the connection is established. If there's no change after 24 hours, please contact ChurchDesk support.
Add More Than One Domain
If you have more than one domain that should display your ChurchDesk website, you must change the A-records with the respective domain hosts for all domains. Afterwards, you must add all domains in ChurchDesk as described above.
Select Primary Domain
You can redirect your registered domains to one domain by setting one of your domains as the primary domain. Click "**Use as Primary**" next to the domain to which all other domains should be redirected. Confirm your selection by clicking "**OK**" in the pop-up window that appears.
Common Errors: Please ensure that only A-records and no AAAA-records are specified for the domains. We do not support IPv6.
Keywords: Domain, Website, Go Live, DNS, A-Record, Domain Host, Settings, Online, Publishing, Homepage, Internet Page
Updated on: 19/06/2025
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