Learn how to publish your Coda docs to your own custom domain.
Coda now allows you to publish your Coda docs to your own domain instead of just on your Coda.io maker profile. You can use Coda in conjunction with the domain registrar of your choice (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc) to create a personal portfolio, interactive resume, publish a job description, stand up a quick landing page, and more.
Within this article, you'll find...
Adjust your published doc settings
Published docs are published to your maker profile on the Coda URL. Custom domains, on the other hand, allow you to publish a Coda doc to your own domain, meaning you can have a custom URL for people to view your Coda doc. There are a few things to note before you set up a custom domain for your Coda doc.
Before you can access custom domains, your doc needs to be published. Additionally, make sure your doc’s share settings are set so Anyone with the link - can view. To do so, click on Share in the upper right corner of the doc, then change the Anyone with the link setting to Can view (learn more about this setting here). This is how Coda is able to share your published doc to your custom domain. If you decide to change this to No Access at any time, it means your doc will no longer be viewable via your custom domain.
Determine the correct publishing mode
When you publish your doc, you'll be able to choose between three different interaction modes: View, Play, or Edit.
When publishing to a custom domain, you'll generally want to choose either View or Play mode. When users visit your custom domain, View mode will allow them to only view the doc. Play mode will allow them to see and interact with the doc. But they will not be able to comment, edit, or react, as that functionality requires that they are logged into Coda.
You may choose Edit mode, but this is generally not recommended. An editable doc requires the editor to have a Coda account and be logged in to Coda. Therefore, when users visit your custom domain, they would be able view your doc but not interact with or edit it in any ways. Instead, to edit your doc, users would have to access your doc with the standard published doc URL.
Connect your doc to your domain
To connect your doc to the domain you want it to be accessed with, follow these steps:
From your doc’s Share settings (upper right corner of your doc), make sure that the doc is set to Anyone with the link - can view. Learn more about accessing this setting here.
Next, click the globe icon in the upper-right corner of this share menu to open the publishing settings.
If you haven't yet, click the blue Publish doc button to publish your doc. Learn more about publishing here.
Once your doc is published, click into the Custom domain section of the publishing settings.
Under the Add a custom domain title, enter the domain you want your doc to connect to, such as “www.example.com”
Select where your domain is registered, such as GoDaddy or Namecheap.
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At this point, you’ll need to log in to your domain registrar and edit the DNS settings for the domain there. You can find detailed instructions on how to do so directly in the product. Just look for Show step by step instructions as you go through the connection flow, or check out the FAQ below for more info.
Want to check out these steps ahead of time? You can find some provider-specific instructions here.
Once you’ve setup the connection, it will take 5-10 minutes to initialize, depending on your DNS provider. You will receive an email from Coda when your connection has been successfully enabled or if we have trouble enabling the connection, in which case you may need to double-check your DNS configuration.
FAQs
How do I edit the DNS settings of my domain registrar?
These are edits that you'll need to take directly in your domain registrar, rather than in Coda. And therefore, every registrar has slightly different steps for this. But to help you out, we've included step-by-step instructions for some of the most common registrars directly in Coda. When you connect to your registrar in Coda, you'll see an option to Show step by step. Also, once your custom domain is set up, you can revisit these instructions by clicking on the Share button at the top right of your doc, then clicking the globe icon at the top of this menu. This will bring you to the publishing settings. Click into the Custom domain section. Then, under the Domain settings section, look for View full instructions.
Should I use “www” or not when entering my domain?
When you enter the url of your custom domain when setting up the connection in Coda, you can enter it either with “www” or without. In order for both variations to direct to your published doc however, you will need to set up domain redirects within your DNS provider. Check out the above FAQ for more info on this.
Can I connect my doc to a subdomain?
Yes! Simply start by adding the full domain, including subdomain, you want to connect to your doc into Coda (ex: mydoc.example.com). Follow the instructions, and make sure the host name you enter into your domain provider DNS record is your subdomain.
For example, your CNAME record for the above example would have a host of mydoc (not www) and the TXT record would have a hostname of _coda.mydoc.
Also note that adding your subdomain after the / portion of the URL generally won't work as expected. For example, http://sub.coda.iosub.coda.io is a valid subdomain that would work. But http://coda.io/subcoda.io/sub wouldn't work, since the subdomain portion is after the forward slash.
Can I connect one doc to multiple domains?
No. Coda currently only supports connecting one custom domain to each individual doc.
Can my doc be editable on a custom domain?
No, an editable doc requires the editor to have a Coda account and be logged in to Coda. However an editable Doc will still be viewable on your custom domain.
If you want to publish an editable doc, you can set your doc to be editable in the publish settings, and your published doc will be able to be edited (via your published doc URL), and your custom domain will remain viewable.
Can I connect to a custom domain without publishing to the Gallery?
Yes - you can connect to a custom domain without publishing to the Coda Gallery. Your doc will still need to be published, but it does not have to be discoverable. Just ensure that the doc is still world-readable (in other words, the "anyone with the link" option is set to "can view").
How long does it take to connect to my domain?
After entering the domain information in Coda and editing your DNS settings with your domain provider, the connection will typically complete within 5-10 minutes. You will receive an email from Coda when your connection has been successfully enabled or if we have trouble enabling the connection, in which case you may need to double-check your DNS configuration.
Do I need to republish/reconnect to see changes to my doc?
No, the changes you make within your doc will automatically appear in the published version, within a few seconds to a minute.
Parts of my doc aren’t working on my custom domain - what's wrong?
Docs published to a custom domain are only able to be presented in “View” or “Play” mode, so certain elements of your doc (such as reactions) will not be functional within the published version. Pack functionality may also be limited within your custom domain doc. Additionally, sync pages are not currently supported on docs published to custom domains.
I changed my doc's share settings, and now my custom domain isn’t working?
Your doc’s share settings must be set to “Anyone with the link can view” in order for Coda to be able to share your published doc to your custom domain. If you decide to change this to “No Access” at any time, it means your doc will no longer be viewable via your custom domain.
Is it free to publish on a custom domain?
No, publishing your doc to a custom domain is not available on Coda’s Free tier. All of Coda’s paid tiers including Pro, Team, and Enterprise have access to an unlimited amount of custom domain docs. Learn more about upgrading here.