# Website Configuration

**Sol.site** allows you to transform your **Web3 identity** into a functional **Web2 website**. By mapping your `.sol` domain to standard web hosting records, you can display content on the traditional internet via your `yourname.sol.site` subdomain.

### Prerequisites <a href="#user-content-prerequisites" id="user-content-prerequisites"></a>

To go live, you need your website files hosted on a platform. Common choices include:

* **Traditional VPS / Dedicated Server:** A dedicated server with a static IP address.
* **Cloud Hosting:** GitHub Pages, Vercel, or Netlify.
* **Decentralized Hosting:** IPFS

Your hosting platform will provide you with the values needed to configure your DNS records. The record type depends on your hosting setup:

<table><thead><tr><th width="134.142822265625">Record Type</th><th width="380.8572998046875">Use Case</th><th>Example Value</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>A</strong></td><td>Points to a server's IPv4 address. Common with VPS or dedicated servers.</td><td><code>185.199.108.153</code></td></tr><tr><td><strong>AAAA</strong></td><td>Points to a server's IPv6 address. Same as A but for IPv6-enabled servers.</td><td><code>2606:4700:3030::ac43:a8c4</code></td></tr><tr><td><strong>CNAME</strong></td><td>Points to another hostname. Used by most static hosting platforms and IPFS gateways.</td><td><code>your-project.vercel.app</code></td></tr><tr><td><strong>TXT</strong></td><td>Stores arbitrary text values. Required for IPFS <code>_dnslink</code> resolution.</td><td><code>dnslink=/ipfs/Qm...</code></td></tr></tbody></table>

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** You will typically use **either** an A/AAAA record **or** a CNAME record — not both. Your hosting platform's documentation will specify which one to use. IPFS setups typically require both a CNAME (pointing to a gateway) and a TXT record (containing the content hash).
{% endhint %}

### Step 1: Prepare Your Website

Before configuring your Sol.site records, ensure your website is deployed and publicly accessible on your chosen hosting platform.

<details>

<summary>Traditional VPS / Dedicated Server</summary>

1. Set up a web server (e.g., Nginx, Apache, or Caddy) on your machine.
2. Deploy your website files to the server's web root directory.
3. Obtain your server's **static IP address** (IPv4 and/or IPv6).
4. You will use this IP as the value for an **A** or **AAAA** record in Step 2.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Cloud Hosting</summary>

1. Deploy your website files through your platform's dashboard or CLI.
2. Locate the **default hostname** provided by the platform (e.g., `your-project.vercel.app`, `yourusername.github.io`).
3. You will configure:
   * A **CNAME** record pointing to the platform's hostname.
   * One or more **TXT** records if the platform requires domain ownership verification (e.g., Vercel and Netlify may ask you to add a TXT record with a specific verification token).

{% hint style="info" %}
**Tip:** Check your platform's custom domain documentation for the exact records required. Most will guide you through the process once you enter `yourname.sol.site` as a custom domain in their dashboard.
{% endhint %}

</details>

<details>

<summary>Decentralized Hosting</summary>

1. Upload your website files to IPFS (via a pinning service like Pinata or Fleek).
2. Obtain your **content identifier** — a CID for IPFS (e.g., `QmXoyp...`).
3. Choose an **IPFS gateway** that supports DNSLink resolution (e.g., `cloudflare-ipfs.com`).
4. You will configure:
   * A **CNAME** record pointing to your chosen gateway.
   * A **TXT** record on `_dnslink` containing your content hash (e.g., `dnslink=/ipfs/QmXoyp...`).

</details>

### Step 2: Configure Sol.site DNS Records

Once your site is hosted and accessible, point your `yourname.sol.site` subdomain to it.

1. Navigate to the **domain details page** for your `.sol` domain.
2. Click the **Configure Sol.site** button.
3. Add the appropriate record(s) based on your hosting type:

   <table><thead><tr><th width="206.71435546875">Hosting Type</th><th>Record(s) to Add</th><th>Value</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>VPS / Dedicated Server</td><td><strong>A</strong> and/or <strong>AAAA</strong></td><td>Your server's IP address</td></tr><tr><td>Cloud Hosting</td><td><strong>CNAME</strong> + <strong>TXT</strong> (if required)</td><td>Platform hostname + verification token</td></tr><tr><td>IPFS</td><td><strong>CNAME</strong> + <strong>TXT</strong></td><td>Gateway hostname + <code>dnslink=/ipfs/Qm...</code></td></tr></tbody></table>
4. Save your changes.

### Step 3: Verify Your Setup

DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to propagate globally.

* **Browser:** Visit `https://yourname.sol.site` and confirm your website loads correctly.
* **DNS Lookup Tools:** Use [MXToolbox](https://mxtoolbox.com/) or [DNSChecker](https://dnschecker.org/) to look up your record and confirm it returns the expected value.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Troubleshooting:** If your site doesn't load after 48 hours, double-check that the record values match exactly what your hosting provider specifies, and ensure your website is properly deployed and publicly accessible on the hosting platform itself.
{% endhint %}