🚀 Launch Your Podia Site with Your GoDaddy (or other) Domain (aka: your custom URL)

Time to give your Podia site a home on your very own domain! If I’ve built your site, we’ll hit launch together on a live call—think of it as a celebratory website birthday (Podia packages here).

Flying solo? Grab a 30-minute Zoom session with me and I’ll guide you through it step by step (shop here). Or, if you’re feeling extra fearless (aka gloriously DIY), follow this guide in true DIY spirit. I’m here if you get stuck!

🔍 Step 1: Know Your Domain Lingo

Before we dive into the internet magic, let’s clear up two things that get mixed up all the time:

1. Domain Registrar: This is where you bought your domain (like GoDaddy, Namecheap, or wherever your credit card trembled in fear that someone else was going to snap it up before you did). You pay them annually to keep your URL yours.

2. Web Host: This is where your website actually lives and gets shown to the world. In our case, that’s Podia.

Your domain registrar keeps your name safe (aka ownership), but Podia becomes the stage where your website struts its stuff. To make that happen, we use something called DNS records—basically little internet instructions (think of them like a GPS) telling browsers, “Hey, show people THIS website when they type this URL.”

Think of it this way: your domain registrar gives your website an address, Podia fills it with all the cool stuff, and the DNS is the invisible map guiding visitors straight to your door.

🛠️ Step 2: Add Your Custom Domain in Podia

Alright, now that you’re fluent in domain-speak, it’s time to tell Podia which fancy URL you want to use. Here’s how:

1. Log in to your Podia dashboard.

2. Go to Settings > Domain.

3. Click Edit next to “Custom domain.”

4. Type in your domain (like www.yourcoolsite.com) and click Add domain.

5. Podia will give you a set of DNS records (don’t worry, we’ll tackle those in the next step).

✨ Pro tip: If you’re one of my design clients, we do this part together during your live launch call. If not, don’t sweat it—just keep following this guide or grab a 30-minute support session with me and we’ll knock it out on Zoom.

See Podia’s official help doc here.

🧭 Step 3: Update Your DNS Settings in GoDaddy (or wherever your domain lives)

Here’s where the magic happens—we’re connecting your domain registrar (like GoDaddy) to Podia so the internet knows exactly where to send people.

If you’re using GoDaddy (most of my clients are), follow these steps:

1. Log in to your GoDaddy account.

2. Head to My Products > Domains and click on the domain you want to use.

3. Click DNS to open your domain settings.

4. Look for the section where you can Add a Record.

5. Choose CNAME as the record type.

6. For Host, enter: www

7. For Points to (sometimes called Value), enter: sites.podia.com

8. Save your changes.

☕ Grab a coffee—because this next part is important:

• If you also want yourdomain.com (without the www) to work, you’ll need to set up a redirect so it points to www.yourdomain.com. GoDaddy makes this easy right inside their DNS settings.

• DNS changes can take a little time to “travel the internet.” Sometimes it’s quick, sometimes it takes up to 48 hours. Totally normal!

✨ Remember: If you’re one of my clients, we’ll do this together during your live launch call. If you’re DIY-ing and get stuck, book a 30-minute support session and I’ll walk you through it on Zoom.

Here’s GoDaddy’s official guide if you want extra backup.

✅ Step 4: Confirm the Connection in Podia

Almost there! Once you’ve added the DNS records in GoDaddy (or your registrar of choice), head back over to Podia to finish things up:

1. Go back to your Podia dashboard.

2. In Settings > Domain, click Confirm next to your custom domain.

3. Podia will check to make sure everything is connected.

☕ Pro tip: Don’t panic if it doesn’t work instantly—DNS records sometimes take a little while to “propagate” (aka travel the internet highways). It can take anywhere from a few minutes to up to 48 hours.

💡 Bonus: Podia automatically gives you a free SSL certificate, which means your site will show up with that little padlock 🔒 and “https://” in the address bar. Translation: safe, secure, and looking profesh.

🎉 Once Podia gives you the green light, your shiny new custom domain is officially live. Pop the confetti!

🤔 What if it’s not working? (Don’t freak out!)

Sometimes domains like to play hard to get. If you’ve followed the steps and your Podia site still isn’t showing up on your custom domain, here are a few things to check:

• Did you save your DNS record? (Sounds silly, but double-check. We’ve all hit “cancel” instead of “save.” 🙋‍♀️)

• Is your CNAME record pointing to the right place? Make sure it says sites.podia.com exactly—no extra spaces, no typos.

• Do you already have an old CNAME record for “www”? If so, delete it before adding the new Podia one.

• Are you being impatient? (No judgment!) Remember, DNS can take up to 48 hours to update everywhere.

If you’ve checked all of the above and it’s still being stubborn:

👉 Podia has a handy help article here.
👉 Or skip the tech stress and book a 30-minute support session with me—I’ll help you get it sorted on Zoom.

📚 Additional Resources

If you’re the DIY type who loves a good manual (or just need a little extra hand-holding), these official guides will walk you through the nitty-gritty:

• Podia → How to set up your custom domain

• GoDaddy → Change domain nameservers (DNS)

• Namecheap → How to change DNS records

• Google Domains → Manage DNS records

💡 Pro tip: If your registrar isn’t listed here, just Google “[Your registrar name] change DNS records” and you’ll find their step-by-step instructions.

That's it friend, you podia site should now be live on the internet! If you DIYed it and are logged into your podia account, you can also click the chat icon to request that their support takes a look to make sure they can see the records accurately on their end, they will help you out :)

-Brittany Hardy | Podia Pro Website Designer and Agency Owner at EmptyDeskSolutions.ca

Book your free coffee chat at https://www.emptydesksolutions.ca/workwithme

My Podia Pro design services and packages: https://www.emptydesksolutions.ca/podia