Skip to main content

Buy a Domain

Register a new domain directly through the platform

Bring Your Own Domain

Point a domain you already own at Shard Cloud
A domain on Shard Cloud is a resource you can attach to your apps and VMs to serve them under your own hostname instead of the default *.shardweb.app subdomain or a raw VM IP. There are two ways to get one:
  1. Register a new domain directly through Shard Cloud — we handle the purchase, renewal, and DNS.
  2. Bring your own domain (BYOD) — use a domain you already own at another registrar by pointing its nameservers at Shard Cloud.
Both paths end up in the same place: an active domain, fully managed by Shard Cloud and ready to be pointed at an app or VM.
Bringing your own domain requires a Core plan or higher.

​
Buying a Domain

Domains are registered through our registrar partner (Namesilo) and billed as a one-time invoice.
1

Check availability

Search for a domain in the dashboard to get live availability and pricing, including up to 4 alternative TLD suggestions if your first pick is taken.
2

Register

Choose how many years to register (1–5) and a payment method — credit card (a card-processing fee applies) or PIX. Registering creates an invoice; the domain is only registered with the registrar once that invoice is paid.
3

Automatic setup

Once payment clears, Shard Cloud registers the domain and takes over its DNS automatically. Auto-renew is enabled by default.
Most domains discount the first year of registration; years 2 and beyond (and all renewals) are billed at the standard renewal rate, not a flat multiple of the first-year price. The dashboard always shows the real per-year price before you buy.

​
Bringing Your Own Domain

If you already own a domain at another registrar (Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.), you can bring it to Shard Cloud instead of transferring ownership — you keep the domain registered where it is, and just delegate DNS to Shard Cloud.
1

Register the external domain

Add the domain from the dashboard. Shard Cloud provisions a dedicated DNS zone for it and gives you two nameservers to configure. The domain starts out in a pending state.
2

Update nameservers at your current registrar

Log in to wherever the domain is currently registered and replace its nameservers with the pair Shard Cloud gave you. This pair is unique to your domain — don’t reuse nameservers from a different domain.
3

Verify

Once the change propagates, verify it from the dashboard — or just wait, since a daily background check does this automatically. Verification checks the real delegation status of your domain, not just what nameservers you typed in, so it can’t be spoofed by pointing at a shared nameserver pair that isn’t actually authoritative for your zone.
4

Active

Once verified, the domain becomes active with Shard Cloud managing its DNS — from here it behaves the same as a platform-registered domain.
Nameserver propagation can take up to 48 hours. If a domain sits unverified for more than 4 days, it’s automatically removed, freeing you to try again.
You can only have one domain awaiting verification at a time, and up to 15 external domains per account (this cap doesn’t apply to domains you buy through the platform — those are unlimited). We also do a quick registration check before setting anything up, so adding a domain that isn’t actually registered anywhere will be rejected.

​
Using Your Domain

Once a domain is active — whether bought or brought — you can point it at an app or a VM straight from the dashboard. Shard Cloud creates the necessary DNS records for you automatically:

Point at an App

Attaching a domain to an app creates the DNS record (and the validation records needed for SSL) for you. If the app doesn’t already have this hostname as a custom domain, it’s claimed automatically — apps can have up to 5 custom domains, and this requires a Core plan or higher.

Point at a VM

Attaching a domain to a VM creates a DNS record pointing directly at the VM’s IP address.
You can point the domain’s apex (example.com) directly, or use a subdomain (app.example.com) instead.
See How to Set Up Your Custom Domain for the full dashboard-driven walkthrough of attaching a custom domain to an app, including SSL and troubleshooting.
A freshly registered domain needs about 30 minutes before its DNS delegation is confirmed and it’s ready to use this way — this happens automatically, no action needed.

​
Managing DNS Records Directly

Beyond the app/VM shortcuts, you have full control over a domain’s DNS: create, update, and delete individual records (A, CNAME, TXT, MX, and more), switch the domain’s SSL mode (flexible/full), and purge its edge cache — all from the domain’s page in the dashboard.

​
Renewal

Renewal is handled automatically. An invoice is generated 20 days before expiry and gives you 15 days to pay; on payment, the domain is renewed and the expiry date updates. You can disable auto-renew if you don’t want this, re-enable it later, or renew on demand for 1–5 years at a time — all from the domain’s page in the dashboard.

​
Deleting a Domain

Only externally-registered (BYOD) domains can be removed. Deleting one tears down its DNS zone first, and only removes it from your account if that succeeds — so nothing is ever left dangling with your DNS still delegated to it. Platform-registered domains aren’t deleted this way; simply let auto-renew lapse if you no longer want one.