Reviewed October 22, 2026
Connecting a third party domain to Shopify without downtime
Moving a domain you bought elsewhere onto your Shopify store sounds simple and mostly is, until DNS timing and old hosting get involved. The records to set, the order to set them, and how to keep the old site live until the new one takes over.
What connecting a domain actually changes
Connecting a third party domain means telling the internet's directory, DNS, that your domain name now points at Shopify's servers instead of your old host. The domain stays registered where you bought it; only its directions change. Shopify then serves your store when someone types the name, and issues the security certificate that makes the connection show as secure.
Two records do the pointing. An A record directs the bare domain, yourstore.com, to Shopify's IP address. A CNAME record directs the www version to Shopify's hostname. Both are needed, because customers type both forms and each is a separate direction in DNS until you set them.
The safe sequence
Before touching DNS, build and check the Shopify store completely, logged in and on its temporary myshopify address. Connect the domain inside Shopify's settings first, so Shopify is expecting the name and ready to issue its certificate the moment traffic arrives. Then change the DNS records at your registrar, and only after the new setup verifies, cancel or wind down the old hosting.
The order matters because DNS changes take time to spread, anywhere from minutes to a day in edge cases. During that window some visitors reach the old site and some the new one. If the old site stays up through the window, nobody sees an error; if you cancel the old hosting first, early arrivals at the old address meet a dead end.
The records, exactly
At your registrar or DNS host, set the A record for the root domain to Shopify's current IP address, shown in Shopify's domain connection instructions, and delete any other A records for the root, because conflicting records send visitors to random destinations. Set the CNAME for www to shops.myshopify.com, and remove any existing www A record, since a name cannot be both at once.
Watch for squatters in your DNS panel: old records for subdomains you forgot, parked page defaults from the registrar, and AAAA records from a previous host. A stray AAAA record is a classic cause of a domain that works for some visitors and fails for others, because it offers an IPv6 route to a server that is not your store.
Verifying and finishing the job
Shopify's domain page reports the connection status and flags wrong records specifically; wait for its verified state and a working secure connection before announcing the move. Then set the connected domain as your primary domain so the myshopify address and the www version redirect to it consistently, which keeps your links, analytics, and search listings pointed at one canonical address.
Give it a day before the final tidy up: confirm the site loads from a phone on mobile data, check that email on the domain still works if you run it through the same registrar, and only then close the old host. Domains forgive careful sequencing and punish haste in ways that always seem to surface on a launch day.
Related reading
If this topic is useful, these earlier guides go deeper on connected questions: Shopify tax and duties setup: the basics before you sell, Shopify staff permissions: roles to set up before you invite anyone, and Test orders on Shopify: Bogus Gateway, test mode, and what to check.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a domain connection take to work?
DNS changes usually take effect within a couple of hours, though full propagation can take up to 24 to 48 hours in rare cases. Shopify shows the connection status in the domains settings, and most stores verify well inside the first few hours.
Will connecting my domain break my email?
It should not if your email records, the MX entries, stay untouched. Problems happen when people reset the whole DNS zone to defaults while editing. Change only the A and CNAME records for the web, and leave MX and verification records exactly as they are.
Do I need to transfer the domain to Shopify instead?
No. Connecting keeps the domain at your current registrar and just points it at Shopify, which is simpler and keeps your existing registrar relationship and pricing. Transferring is optional and mostly a consolidation preference.
Why does my site work at www but not at the bare domain?
That pattern means the CNAME for www is set but the A record for the root domain is missing or wrong, or an old conflicting record remains. Check the root A record against Shopify's instructions and remove duplicates.