Custom Domain
Definition
A custom domain is the store's own web address, such as www.yourbrand.com, used instead of a subdomain provided by the platform. It carries the brand, is what search engines index, and stays with the merchant if they ever change platforms. Connecting one usually means pointing a DNS record at the platform and waiting for an SSL certificate to be issued.
Why it matters for your store
Your domain is the one asset that moves with you. Customers remember it, search rankings attach to it, and printed material carries it. A store that runs on a platform subdomain is building that value for the platform.
Connecting a domain is where many store owners get stuck: DNS records, certificate validation, www versus the bare domain. The platform should turn that into a short wizard with clear instructions and automatic checks, and it should not ask for a credit card to do it.
How Kambloo handles it
Every store starts at your-slug.kambloo.com, a free test address hidden from search engines. When you are ready, the go-live wizard walks through six steps: enter your domain, add the DNS record it shows you (a CNAME to connect.kambloo.com, with instructions for the bare domain and www), wait while Kambloo checks the record, wait while the SSL certificate is issued automatically, let Kambloo finalise the switch, and you are live.
The finalisation step activates the domain, warms the page cache for your most visited pages, rebuilds the sitemap with the new address, opens robots.txt for indexing, and redirects the test address to the new domain permanently. www and the bare domain are normalised so only one is indexed. You can connect more than one domain.
No credit card is needed to go live, and the first month on your own domain is free.
Questions about Custom Domain
Do I need to buy my domain through Kambloo?
No. Buy it from any registrar. You connect it by adding a DNS record that points to Kambloo; the go-live wizard shows exactly which record to add.
What happens to my test address after I connect a domain?
It redirects permanently to your custom domain. The test address was never indexed by search engines, so no ranking is lost.