I'm excited to announce that custom domains are now live on Jottings. You can finally publish your microblog on your own domain—no more yourname.jottings.me unless you want it. Just add your domain, verify ownership, and you're done.
This has been one of the most requested features since we launched. And honestly? I understand why. There's something about owning your domain that changes how you think about your content. It's not someone else's platform with your content on it. It's your space, on the internet, that happens to be built with Jottings.
Why We Built This
When I started Jottings, I wanted to make it as simple as possible to start writing and sharing. We focused on getting you from zero to publishing in minutes. Subdomain hosting was perfect for that—instant, no friction, no cost.
But I kept hearing from users who wanted more. They already owned their domain. They wanted their personal site, their writing, their voice—on their own URL. And they didn't want to deal with the technical complexity of SSL certificates, DNS records, or any of that infrastructure overhead. They just wanted it to work.
Custom domains solve that. You bring your domain. We handle everything else—SSL certificates, HTTPS, the DNS routing, all of it. No extra cost, no technical config beyond adding a couple of DNS records.
How It Works (It's Really Simple)
I'll be honest: setting up custom domains involved some serious technical infrastructure work on our end. But we built it specifically so you don't have to care about that.
Here's what your experience looks like:
Step 1: Go to your site settings and add your custom domain.
Step 2: We show you two DNS records to add (a CNAME and a TXT record for verification). Copy and paste them into your domain registrar's DNS settings.
Step 3: Wait a few minutes for DNS to propagate (usually 5-15 minutes, sometimes up to an hour depending on your registrar).
Step 4: Click "Check Verification" or just refresh—we'll automatically detect when your DNS is set up correctly.
Step 5: We issue an SSL certificate and activate it. Your site is now live at your custom domain with full HTTPS.
That's it. No terminal commands, no certificate management, no technical rabbit holes. Just DNS records and patience.
What's Included
A lot, actually:
Automatic SSL Certificates: We handle HTTPS with wildcard SSL certificates. All your subdomains work too (blog.example.com, writing.example.com, whatever you want).
No Extra Cost: Custom domains are included in both free and Pro plans. This isn't a premium feature that costs extra.
One Domain Per Site: Each site on Jottings can have one custom domain. You can run multiple sites, each with their own domain, but we keep it simple—one domain per site.
Automatic Renewal: SSL certificates auto-renew. You never have to think about expiration or certificates again.
Fast Propagation: Most people are live within 15-30 minutes. DNS and SSL don't have to be slow.
Who This Is For
Honestly? Everyone, but especially:
People with personal brands: You already own your domain. Your writing, your voice, your URL—it should all be together.
Writers building an audience: Your custom domain builds credibility. It says "I'm serious about this."
Newsletter creators: If you're treating your microblog like a personal newsletter, your domain is part of your brand.
Anyone who wants ownership: Maybe you just prefer owning your URL. That's enough. You don't need a fancy reason.
If you're happy with yourname.jottings.me? That's totally fine. We'll keep those subdomains fast, reliable, and working forever. This is just another option.
Getting Started
If you already have a Jottings site and a domain you own, you can add it right now:
- Log in to your Jottings dashboard
- Go to site settings
- Look for "Custom Domain" in the SEO section
- Add your domain and follow the setup steps
The documentation walks through everything step-by-step with screenshots. And if you get stuck, reach out—I read every support message.
Why This Matters
This was a complex feature to build. We had to integrate with Cloudflare's SSL for SaaS platform, build custom DNS routing with Workers, sync domain mappings across our infrastructure, and handle automatic verification and certificate renewal.
But none of that complexity is your problem. That's the entire point of Jottings. We take the infrastructure work so you can focus on writing.
I think this is what Jottings is really about. Not being a hosted platform that owns your content or your URL. Being a tool—simple, reliable, and low-cost—that you use to own your own space on the internet.
Custom domains go live today. I hope you use them.
Write on your own domain.
—Vishal