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PawLoop website setup

Connect your domain in a few simple steps.

You do not need to be technical. This guide shows you exactly what to change so your domain opens your PawLoop website.

Start the setup See the DNS record
Most of the setup takes around 5 minutes. DNS changes can take longer to update.

Before you start

You only need two things.

1

Your domain login

This is the company where you bought your domain, such as 123-reg, GoDaddy, Namecheap, IONOS, Cloudflare or another domain provider.

2

Your PawLoop hosting IP

You will find this in your PawLoop website domain settings. Keep that page open because you will copy the IP address into your domain provider.

Important: You do not need to move your domain to PawLoop and you do not need to change your nameservers. You are only changing one DNS record.

Step-by-step

Connect your domain

  1. 1

    Open your website settings in PawLoop

    Go to your website area in PawLoop, enter the domain you want to use and save it. Enter the main domain only, for example:

    Correct mydogwalking.co.uk
    Do not use www.mydogwalking.co.uk

    PawLoop uses the main version of your domain without www.

  2. 2

    Sign in to the company that manages your domain

    Look for an area called DNS, DNS settings, Manage DNS or DNS records.

    You are looking for a list containing records such as A, AAAA, CNAME, MX and TXT.

    Illustration of a typical DNS records screen
  3. 3

    Add or update the main A record

    Create an A record using these values:

    Type A
    Name / Host @
    Value / Points to
    The IP address shown in PawLoop
    TTL Automatic or default

    What does the @ mean?

    It simply means your main domain. If your provider does not accept @, it may ask you to leave the Name or Host field blank instead.

  4. 4

    Remove records that conflict with the new website

    For your main domain, remove old records that point the website somewhere else. In particular, check for:

    A
    Old A records

    Remove an old A record for @ if it points to a different IP.

    6
    AAAA records

    Remove AAAA records for the main domain before connecting to PawLoop.

    Leave your email records alone. Do not remove MX or TXT records just because they are in the same list. They may be used for your business email.
  5. 5

    If you use Cloudflare, turn the proxy off for this record

    If your DNS is managed by Cloudflare, make sure the A record is set to DNS only while your PawLoop domain is being connected.

    DNS only Grey cloud, not proxied

    If you do not use Cloudflare, you can ignore this step.

  6. 6

    Save the DNS changes

    Save your changes in your domain provider. That is the technical part finished.

    DNS changes are often visible within a few minutes, but they can sometimes take several hours to update everywhere.

  7. 7

    Return to PawLoop

    Go back to your website domain settings. PawLoop will check that the domain points to the correct server and will prepare the secure HTTPS certificate for you.

    ✓ Domain saved
    ✓ DNS connected
    ✓ Secure HTTPS enabled
    ✓ Ready to publish
  8. 8

    Publish your website

    Once the domain is connected, publish your website from PawLoop. Your site will then be available on your own domain.

    Illustration showing a PawLoop website successfully live

A quick example

What your DNS should look like

The exact layout will look different depending on your domain provider, but the important information is the same.

Type Name Value TTL
A @ PawLoop hosting IP Auto
MX @ Your email provider Auto
TXT @ Your existing email/security record Auto

Only the highlighted A record is for your PawLoop website. Existing email records should normally remain unchanged.

Troubleshooting

If your domain is not connecting

PawLoop still says my DNS is not connected

Check that the A record uses @ and points to the exact IP address shown in PawLoop. If you changed it recently, allow some more time for DNS to update.

I have more than one A record for @

Your main domain should point to the PawLoop hosting IP. Remove old A records for @ that point to previous website hosts.

I can see an AAAA record

Remove the AAAA record for your main domain. An old IPv6 record can send some visitors to the wrong server and can stop the secure certificate being created.

My domain provider does not allow @ in the Name field

Some providers use a blank field instead. Look for wording such as root domain, apex or main domain.

Should I change my nameservers?

No. You normally only need to change the A record described in this guide. Changing nameservers can affect your website, email and other services.

Should I add www?

No. PawLoop uses your main domain without www. Enter and connect mybusiness.co.uk, not www.mybusiness.co.uk.

Will changing this affect my email?

Changing the website A record should not affect email. Do not remove MX or TXT records used by your email provider.

My website says it is not live yet

That is good news: your domain has reached PawLoop. Return to PawLoop and publish your website. The temporary page will automatically be replaced by your website.

Need a hand?

DNS can look more complicated than it is.

If you are unsure which record to change, do not guess. Keep your DNS page open and contact PawLoop support with a screenshot of the records you can see.

Email hello@pawloophq.com