# Custom Subdomain Blog Hosting (/docs/subdomain) Use a custom subdomain when you want EarlySEO to host your blog while your main website stays exactly where it is. Your platform never changes — you add one DNS record and link to the blog from your navigation. ```text Main website: example.com (unchanged, on your current platform) EarlySEO blog: blog.example.com ``` This is the recommended setup for any platform that has no publishing API, and it also works alongside platforms that do. When to use this setup [#when-to-use-this-setup] * Your website builder or CMS has no blog publishing API — Squarespace, Carrd, Webflow without CMS seats, custom static sites * You want EarlySEO to host and serve the generated articles, including SSL * You want the blog on your own domain for SEO, rather than a third-party domain * You do not want to touch your root domain or `www` records If your platform has a direct integration — [WordPress](/docs/wordpress), [Webflow](/docs/webflow), [Shopify](/docs/shopify), [Ghost](/docs/ghost), [Wix](/docs/wix), [Notion](/docs/notion) — publishing into that CMS is usually the better fit. Use a custom subdomain when it is not. Prerequisites [#prerequisites] * A domain you control, such as `example.com` * Access to the DNS settings for that domain * An EarlySEO account with a site created The subdomain is always blog. [#the-subdomain-is-always-blog] EarlySEO serves hosted blogs at `blog.` plus your root domain. You enter `example.com` and the blog is created at `blog.example.com`. Other prefixes such as `articles.` or `insights.` are not supported. Entering `articles.example.com` produces `blog.articles.example.com`, which is almost certainly not what you want. This integration is subdomain-only. Serving the blog from a path such as `example.com/blog` requires a reverse proxy you run yourself — see [Cloudflare Worker Setup](/docs/cloudflare-worker-setup) if that is what you need. If you use Cloudflare, read this first [#if-you-use-cloudflare-read-this-first] This is the single most common reason a blog subdomain fails to come up. Cloudflare's **proxy** (the orange cloud) must be **off** for the blog record, at least until the certificate is issued. With it on: * `blog.example.com` resolves to Cloudflare's own addresses instead of EarlySEO * EarlySEO never gets to issue an SSL certificate for your subdomain * Cloudflare then cannot reach us over HTTPS and shows **`SSL handshake failed` (error 525)** Set the record to **DNS only** (grey cloud). Once the blog loads you may turn the proxy back on, but only with SSL/TLS mode set to **Full (strict)** — anything lower brings the error straight back. EarlySEO detects this automatically. If it happens, your integration in **Integrations** will say *Cloudflare proxy is turned on* and list the steps to fix it. Setup [#setup] 1. Create the integration [#1-create-the-integration] 1. Go to **Integrations** in your EarlySEO dashboard 2. Click **Add Integration** and select **Custom Subdomain** 3. Fill in the form: * **Your Domain**: your root domain, for example `example.com` — not `blog.example.com` * **Publishing Behavior**: choose **Publish Immediately** or **Save as Draft** 4. Click **Create Integration** EarlySEO registers `blog.example.com` with our hosting provider at this point and shows you the DNS record to add. > On Squarespace? Use the [Squarespace integration](/docs/squarespace) instead. It runs this same hosted blog and adds Squarespace-specific navigation steps. 2. Add the DNS record [#2-add-the-dns-record] In your DNS provider, add a CNAME record: ```text Type: CNAME Name: blog Value: blog.earlyseo.com TTL: Automatic (or 300) ``` Only add the subdomain record. Do not edit the records for `example.com` or `www.example.com` — your main website keeps resolving exactly as it does today. The **Name** field takes only the subdomain part. Most providers append the root domain for you: | Provider | Enter in the name field | | --------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | Cloudflare | `blog` | | Namecheap | `blog` (Host field, record type CNAME) | | GoDaddy | `blog` | | Squarespace Domains | `blog` | | Google Domains / Google Cloud DNS | `blog` | | Route 53 | `blog.example.com` (full name) | If your provider rejects a bare `blog`, enter the fully qualified `blog.example.com` instead. **Cloudflare users:** set the record to **DNS only** (grey cloud) until the certificate is issued. Leaving the orange proxy cloud on during provisioning causes SSL error 525. You can enable proxying afterwards with SSL mode set to **Full (strict)**. 3. Wait for DNS and SSL [#3-wait-for-dns-and-ssl] DNS usually propagates within a few minutes but can take up to an hour. SSL is issued automatically once the record resolves to EarlySEO — you do not need to upload or configure a certificate. Verifying the setup [#verifying-the-setup] 1. Confirm DNS resolves [#1-confirm-dns-resolves] From a terminal: ```bash dig +short CNAME blog.example.com ``` On Windows: ```text nslookup -type=CNAME blog.example.com ``` Expected result: ```text blog.earlyseo.com ``` If you see a different target, or nothing at all, the record has not propagated yet or was saved under the wrong name. 2. Check the verification endpoint [#2-check-the-verification-endpoint] Open this URL in a browser: ```text https://blog.example.com/.well-known/earlyseo-verify ``` Expected result: a plain text verification token. A `404` means the subdomain is not reaching the EarlySEO hosted-blog app yet. A certificate warning means SSL is still being issued. 3. Revalidate in EarlySEO [#3-revalidate-in-earlyseo] Return to **Integrations** and click **Validate** on the integration. Once the verification endpoint returns the expected token, the status changes to **Connected**. Validating also retries domain registration if it did not complete the first time. 4. Open a published article [#4-open-a-published-article] Publish an article from EarlySEO and open its URL: ```text https://blog.example.com/my-article-slug ``` The article should render on your subdomain, styled to match your brand color. See [Article Theming](/docs/article-theming) to customize the appearance. Troubleshooting [#troubleshooting] **Subdomain does not resolve** * Confirm a CNAME record exists for `blog` * Confirm the name field holds only `blog`, not `blog.example.com`, unless your provider requires the full name * Confirm the target is exactly `blog.earlyseo.com`, with no trailing slash or `https://` * Wait for propagation and check again with `dig` **Verification endpoint returns 404** * Confirm DNS resolves to `blog.earlyseo.com` * Click **Validate** on the integration to retry domain registration * Wait for provisioning to finish, then retry **`SSL handshake failed` / Cloudflare error 525** — the most common failure * The Cloudflare proxy is on. Set the blog record to **DNS only** (grey cloud). * Leave the value as `blog.earlyseo.com` — the target is already correct. Do **not** replace it with the address your host's dashboard suggests. * Wait a minute, then click **Revalidate** on the integration. * Re-enable the proxy only after the blog loads, with SSL/TLS mode **Full (strict)**. **Cloudflare error 521, 522, or 523** * Cloudflare cannot reach our servers. Same fix: set the record to **DNS only** and revalidate. **SSL or certificate warning (no error code)** * Confirm the CNAME target is `blog.earlyseo.com` * The certificate is probably still being issued. Wait a few minutes and reload. **Main website changed unexpectedly** * Only the `blog` record should have been touched. Restore your root and `www` records to their previous values — the hosted blog never requires changing them **Articles are not appearing** * Confirm the integration shows **Connected** * Confirm the article is published rather than saved as a draft * Open the article URL directly from EarlySEO rather than through your navigation link Linking the blog from your site [#linking-the-blog-from-your-site] EarlySEO does not modify your main website. Add a navigation link yourself, pointing to: ```text https://blog.example.com ``` Use a label such as `Blog`, `Articles`, or `Insights`. Every platform supports external navigation links — for Squarespace specifically, see the [Squarespace guide](/docs/squarespace). Related [#related] * [Squarespace integration](/docs/squarespace) — the same hosted blog, with Squarespace-specific navigation steps * [Article Theming](/docs/article-theming) — brand colors and dark mode on hosted articles * [All integrations](/docs) — direct CMS publishing options