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

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:

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

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).

Step 1: Prepare Your Website

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

Traditional VPS / Dedicated Server

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.

Cloud Hosting

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).

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.

Decentralized Hosting

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...).

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:

   Hosting Type	Record(s) to Add	Value
   VPS / Dedicated Server	A and/or AAAA	Your server's IP address
   Cloud Hosting	CNAME + TXT (if required)	Platform hostname + verification token
   IPFS	CNAME + TXT	Gateway hostname + dnslink=/ipfs/Qm...

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 or DNSChecker to look up your record and confirm it returns the expected value.

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.