Every Koursely academy starts on a subdomain (yourname.koursely.com). Connecting your own custom domain (academy.yourbrand.com or a bare domain) makes your academy look and feel fully independent — this article covers both.

Using Your Default Subdomain

Your subdomain works immediately with no setup — it's active from the moment your account is verified. This is a completely reasonable place to launch from if you don't have a domain yet or don't want to deal with DNS before your first sale.

Connecting a Custom Domain

1. Go to Settings → Domains in your admin dashboard.
2. Enter the domain or subdomain you want to use (for example, academy.yourbrand.com).
3. Koursely gives you a DNS record to add — typically a CNAME record pointing your domain at Koursely's infrastructure. Copy this exactly.
4. Log in to your domain registrar or DNS provider (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.) and add the record under your domain's DNS settings.
5. Return to Koursely and trigger verification. DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to propagate globally, so if verification fails immediately, wait and retry rather than assuming something is broken.
6. Once verified, SSL is provisioned automatically — you don't need to upload or manage a certificate yourself.

Domain Status Reference

Status	Meaning
Pending	DNS record added but not yet verified — normal during propagation
Active	Domain verified and SSL issued — your academy is live on this domain
Failed	Verification could not find the expected DNS record — double-check the record was added to the correct domain/subdomain

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does SSL provisioning take after verification?

SSL is typically issued automatically within minutes of successful domain verification — no manual certificate upload or renewal is required.

Can I switch from a custom domain back to my subdomain?

Yes, your original subdomain remains available even after connecting a custom domain, and you can disconnect the custom domain from Settings → Domains at any time.

Why is my domain stuck on "Pending" after 24 hours?

See Why Isn't My Custom Domain Verifying? for a full troubleshooting checklist.