# Custom Domain (CNAME)
By default your Synap portal will use your business name to set up a portal at Synap's .ac domain. Springfield Elementary would have an initial URL that looked like:
```
springfield.synap.ac
```
Here `springfield` is the subdomain and `synap.ac` is the primary domain. All of our Pro & Enterprise plans come with an option to set up a custom subdomain to link your portal to a primary domain that you own. If Springfield Elementary owned the domain `springfieldelementary.io` then they could have their Synap portal live at any of the following:
```
learning.springfieldelementary.io
training.springfieldelementary.io
practice.springfieldelementary.io
anything.springfieldelementary.io
```
### 🧐 Choosing a custom subdomain
{% hint style="success" %}
Custom subdomains are available on Pro, Business and Enterprise plans
{% endhint %}
The subdomain is the first part of the URL, and can be anything you want. In order to create one you must own the primary domain. This can be anything you want, as long as it is not already in use by another part of your website. We recommend choosing something fairly short and easy to remember.
Some common examples are:
* practice
* learn
* training
* exams
* academy
Once you have decided on a subdomain, let your Synap onboarding manager know or leave a message on the chat support to request, so that we can generate an authentication record to add.
### Step 1. Add CNAME record
Once you have let us know your desired subdomain, we will send you a DNS records to add a CNAME record and value to your existing website hosting.
{% hint style="info" %}
🧠 The name of the record ('practice', learning etc) will change depending on which subdomain you have chosen.
Depending on your DNS registrar, you may need to enter the whole domain in this field, i.e. practice.mywebsite.com, however most DNS registrars automatically add this in, so you should only need to add the subdomain itself. Please check your domain provider docs for more
{% endhint %}
Your website hosting provider should have specific guides to help you add this record see [GoDaddy](https://www.godaddy.com/en-uk/help/add-a-cname-record-19236) or [123Reg](https://www.123-reg.co.uk/support/domains/how-do-i-set-up-a-cname-record-on-my-domain-name/) for more.
Let us know when you have done this depending on the provider it can take up to 48 hours to have updated properly. You can use tools like [https://dnschecker.org](https://dnschecker.org/#CNAME) to check for yourself, or just let us know and we'll confirm it on our end.
### Step 2.
Once the first CNAME record is added and we've confirmed it we can generate the final CNAME record to add. The steps are exactly the same, but the record contains a randomly generated string which. This second record is important as it authorises us to add your subdomain to our SSL certificate, which means that your site will be secure (i.e. sent via HTTPS).
As soon as you've completed this step please let your account manager know, the records can take can around 24-48 hours to update. This can also be confirmed through tools like [https://dnschecker.org](https://dnschecker.org/#CNAME), your account manager will perform more checks on their end and let you know if there are any mistakes.
### ⏳ Watch & Wait
Whilst you will often see a result within an hour, It can take up to 48 hours for new DNS changes to fully propagate. Once the final record is confirmed as being in place correctly we aim to finish the set up within 1-3 working days. Please let us know if there is a specific date you want to work towards to have the new domain live and switched over.
As a note your `businessname.synap.ac` domain will remain active, however the switch over is when we'll make your custom subdomain the primary domain that all emails / links point to.
{% hint style="info" %}
If you have users who've been using the default synap.ac domain, they will need to login to your new custom domain with their existing email and password. Password managers and autofill will treat this as a new website.
{% endhint %}
###