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Add a custom domain so the public status page lives at status.yourdomain.com instead of something.use.observer. Observer provisions a TLS certificate automatically. The default subdomain keeps working as a fallback.

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Prerequisites

  • A Starter plan or higher. Free accounts cannot configure custom domains.
  • A status page already created.
  • Permission to add a CNAME record on the domain you want to use.

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Pick a subdomain, not the root

CNAME records cannot be set on the root of a domain. Use status.yourdomain.com, not yourdomain.com. If your status page is the only thing on that domain, www.yourdomain.com is a reasonable choice.

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Steps

1

Add the custom domain in Observer

In the console, open the status page and go to the Custom domain section. Enter the hostname in Subdomain (for example status.yourdomain.com) and click Add custom domain.The domain starts in Waiting for DNS and Observer starts checking every 30 seconds for the CNAME you’ll add next.
2

Add the CNAME at your DNS provider

Create a CNAME record with these values:The Observer UI shows provider-specific notes for Cloudflare, Route 53, GoDaddy, Namecheap, Vercel, and Netlify under the DNS provider dropdown.
DNS on Cloudflare: the CNAME record must be DNS-only (grey cloud), not proxied. A proxied CNAME ends in Cloudflare error 1014 (“CNAME Cross-User Banned”).
3

Verify

Wait a minute or two for DNS to propagate, then click Check now in the Custom domain section. The status walks through:
  • Waiting for DNS: Observer hasn’t seen the record yet.
  • DNS not pointing at Observer: your CNAME exists but points somewhere else. Fix the record and click Check now.
  • DNS verified: DNS is right. Observer requests a certificate automatically.
  • Issuing certificate: certificate issuance in progress (usually under a minute, sometimes longer while the certificate authority validates the hostname).
  • Active: your domain serves the status page with a valid TLS cert.
Two failure states can also appear: Certificate issuance failed and Error. See Common failures.

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After it’s active

The page serves at your custom hostname. The original *.use.observer URL keeps working. Feel free to redirect from it in your own infrastructure if you want a single canonical URL. Observer renews the certificate automatically about 30 days before expiry. The UI shows the next expiry date in the Custom domain section.

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Common failures

Waiting for DNS for more than 30 minutes. Your DNS provider’s TTL may be aggressive (1 hour or more). Wait it out, or temporarily lower the TTL. DNS not pointing at Observer. Your CNAME is pointing at the wrong target. The correct value is cname.use.observer. Certificate issuance failed. Certificate issuance did not complete. The most common cause is the CNAME flipping away from cname.use.observer after DNS was verified, or a proxied (orange-cloud) Cloudflare record blocking validation. Confirm the record is DNS-only and points at cname.use.observer, then click Check now. Observer retries issuance automatically on its background schedule. Error. Setup stopped; the section shows the reason under the status. One cause is an active domain whose CNAME has not pointed at cname.use.observer for more than seven days. Fix the record, then remove the custom domain and add it again. Cloudflare error 1014. Your CNAME is proxied. Switch the record to DNS-only (grey cloud) in the Cloudflare DNS panel.

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Removing a custom domain

Click Remove custom domain in the Custom domain section and confirm. The page stops serving on the custom hostname immediately and reverts to the default *.use.observer URL.