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Using A Naked Domain with Feather

How to configure a naked domain with Feather.so + Google Domains

Chris DavisChris Davis

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Using A Naked Domain with Feather
I’m using a new service called Feather (affiliate link) for this blog — it turns Notion into a CMS which is pretty cool. I also like the fact that I can create unlimited blogs/sites for a flat rate monthly.
 
A minor speed bump
A minor speed bump
 
I ran into a minor speed bump trying to configure my naked domain (i.e. datadavis.com vs www.datadavis.com) so I’m sharing the quick fix here for anyone who’s using Google Domains and has the same trouble.
 

Set TXT Records First

When logged into your Feather account, navigate to Domains in the side nav menu.
 
Change the toggle to Custom Domain like below. For the domain, use the www.mydomain.com version.
 
You’ll first see a TXT record with _acme-challenge as the host with a string value. Before doing anything, refresh the page. You should see another TXT record pop up: _cf-custom-hostname. (It takes a moment for the second one to generate, I guess).
 
Now go to domains.google to add the TXT records. See the Google help docs if you don’t know how.
 

Grab the CNAME Record

 
Domains settings inside Feather admin
Domains settings inside Feather admin
 
Next, go back to get the CNAME value that you’ll need to actually redirect your site.
 
Note: you’ll need to use www as the host here. Otherwise you’ll get an error in the DNS manager that says “Can’t add CNAME records to the root domain.”
 
Save your changes, then give them a few minutes to propagate.
 

Setup Domain Forwarding

The solution to the abovementioned error is to forward the naked domain to the www version.
 
Navigate to the Website menu in Google Domains.
 
notion image
 
  1. Click Edit Forwarding to open the menu
  1. Enter your naked domain in Forward from (e.g. datadavis.com)
  1. Set Forward to as the full www address (e.g. http://www.datadavis.com)
    1. Notice that I used http instead of https here — more on why it doesn’t matter below
  1. Click to expand the Advanced Options
  1. Redirect Type - select 302 (first option)
  1. Path Forwarding - select Forward path (second option)
  1. Forwarding Over SSL - select SSL On (second option re: 3a)
  1. Click the Forward button to save
 
If it worked, you should now see a screenshot of your Feather blog.
 
notion image
 
Fin.
Chris Davis

Written by

Chris Davis

Today, I am focused on increasing the surface area of founder success through my venture studio, Bootstrapital. Prior to this latest foray into entrepreneurship, I was a data guy at startups; before that, a supply chain/analyst/bizops guy at big companies.