How domains work (in plain English)
What DNS, A records, CNAMEs and SSL mean, with a picture of how a visitor reaches your site.
DNS is an address book
When someone types your domain, their browser asks DNS “where does this live?”. The records you add answer: “at Champion”.
A record
Points your bare domain (@) at a server address. Champion uses two: 162.159.140.98 and 172.66.0.96. Two is for reliability.
CNAME record
Points a name (www) at another name (champion-studio-knb4s.ondigitalocean.app). It follows Champion automatically if our servers change.
TXT records (DKIM, DMARC)
Notes in the address book that email providers read. DKIM is a long key that proves mail really comes from you; DMARC tells inboxes what to do with mail that fails checks.
MX records
Where email sent to you is delivered. Champion never changes these.
SSL / HTTPS
The padlock. Champion gets a free certificate for both addresses as soon as DNS points here, and renews it for you.
Nameservers
Decide which company’s DNS settings count. Usually it’s where you bought the domain. You don’t need to change them.
Questions
How long does it take?
Most providers update within 5–30 minutes. Occasionally it takes a few hours (rarely up to 48). Studio re-checks every 30 seconds while the Domains page is open, and your HTTPS certificate is issued automatically 5–30 minutes after the records are found.
Why do I have to turn off forwarding?
Forwarding (sometimes called "redirect" or "parked page") tells your provider to answer visitors itself and send them to another website. It overrides the records that point at Champion, so your site can’t load until it’s off.
Will this affect my email inbox?
No. Receiving email uses MX records, and Champion never touches them — leave them exactly as they are. The email records Studio lists (pm-bounces, DKIM, _dmarc) only help email Champion sends for you reach the inbox. If your domain has no MX records, you don’t have an inbox at that domain yet; setting one up (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365…) is separate.
What are pay. and sign. for?
Your payment pages open at pay.yourdomain and your contracts, booking and signing links at sign.yourdomain — so clients only ever see your brand. You can rename them (for example “checkout” or “contracts”) in Studio. Links switch over automatically once each address is secure.
Do I need an SPF record?
Not for Champion. The pm-bounces CNAME covers SPF for mail we send for you. If you already have an SPF record (v=spf1 …), keep it as it is — and never add a second SPF record, because two break each other.
I already have a DMARC record
Keep it. Studio shows “Your existing policy kept ✓” and doesn’t ask for another. If you don’t have one, add the suggested _dmarc TXT (p=none only monitors — nothing gets blocked).
www or no www?
Either works, and Studio connects both. Pick one as your main address (we recommend the shorter one without www). The other automatically sends visitors to it, so nobody lands on an error.
It says “Issuing certificate…” — is something wrong?
No. Once your records are found, Champion asks a certificate authority for a free SSL certificate (the padlock). That usually takes 5–30 minutes. If it’s still pending after an hour, double-check the records and click Check again.
Do I need a TXT verification record?
Not for your website. The two TXT records in the list (DKIM and _dmarc) are for email sending. Add them in the same sitting so everything is done at once.
What if I want to undo it?
Disconnect the domain in Studio and put your old records (or forwarding) back at your provider. Your Champion site stays available at its studio.champion.io address the whole time.