Set up a custom domain for your board

Plan: Pro or higher (or during your trial)

Serve your knowledge base, roadmap, changelog, and feedback board on your own domain. E.g: help.yourcompany.com instead of deskcrew.io/board/yourslug. Fully white-labeled, with a TLS certificate included and managed for you.

Steps

1. Dashboard → Install → Custom domain. Enter the subdomain you want (for example help.yourcompany.com), click Add domain, and we'll show you two DNS records with a unique verification token.

2. Add both records wherever your domain's DNS is managed:

   Type	Name / Host	Value
   CNAME	help.yourcompany.com	cname.vercel-dns.com
   TXT	_deskcrew-verify.help.yourcompany.com	deskcrew-verify=<your token>

   The CNAME points your subdomain at us; the TXT record proves you own it. (Some registrars want just the subdomain part in the Name field, e.g: help and _deskcrew-verify.help. They append your domain automatically.)

3. Click Verify in the dashboard. Once we find the TXT record, your domain is verified.

4. Wait a few minutes. We then issue and install a TLS certificate for your domain automatically. A brief "not secure" warning during that window is normal. It clears once the certificate is live. Then https://help.yourcompany.com loads your board.

Where to add the records (common providers)

Every provider has a DNS/records screen. You're looking for "DNS", "DNS management", "Name servers", or "Advanced DNS":

• Cloudflare → DNS → Records. ⚠️ See the Cloudflare note below.
• GoDaddy → your domain → DNS → Manage Zones / DNS Records.
• Namecheap → Domain List → Manage → Advanced DNS.
• Google Domains / Squarespace Domains → DNS → Custom records.
• AWS Route 53 → Hosted zones → your domain → Create record.
• Wix / Shopify / IONOS / Hover / Porkbun / others → look for "DNS" or "DNS settings" and add a CNAME + a TXT record.

If your domain's DNS is managed somewhere different from where your website is hosted, add the records at the DNS side (the one controlling your name servers).

⚠️ Cloudflare (and any proxy/CDN): turn the proxy OFF

The single most common problem. When you add the CNAME in Cloudflare, it defaults to Proxied (🟠 orange cloud). Switch it to "DNS only" (🔘 grey cloud).

Proxying puts Cloudflare's own SSL in front of the certificate we issue, which causes an "SSL handshake failed" error (Cloudflare error 525). Grey-clouding the record lets us serve TLS directly.

• Cloudflare → DNS → your help.yourcompany.com record → click the orange cloud so it turns grey → Save.

The general rule on any provider: point the record straight at us (cname.vercel-dns.com). Don't put a proxy, CDN, or "web forwarding / URL redirect" in front of it. Most registrars have no proxy and just work; Cloudflare is the main one that needs the toggle.

Troubleshooting

• "SSL handshake failed" / error 525 → the record is proxied. Set it to DNS only (grey cloud) in Cloudflare, or disable the proxy/CDN on your provider.
• "Not secure" for a few minutes after verifying → normal; the certificate is still provisioning. It clears on its own.
• Verify says the TXT isn't found → DNS can take a few minutes to propagate; wait and click Verify again. Double-check the record name (_deskcrew-verify.<sub>) and value (deskcrew-verify=<token>) match exactly.
• The board doesn't load → confirm the CNAME value is exactly cname.vercel-dns.com and the record isn't proxied/forwarded.
• The section isn't in your dashboard → custom domains are a Pro feature; make sure your workspace is on Pro or higher (or still in trial).

What keeps working

• Your chat widget embeds are unaffected. They authenticate by key, not by domain, so nothing breaks when you add or change a custom domain.
• Your board is always still reachable at its deskcrew.io/board/.. address, and old links redirect, so you can add or remove a custom domain any time.