Namecheap DNS setup
If your domain is registered at Namecheap, connecting it to Redirect Supply means swapping a few records in Namecheap’s Advanced DNS. Your domain stays at Namecheap, and your registration, renewal and email don’t change. It takes about five minutes, and Namecheap usually picks up new records within half an hour.
Before you start
You need two things ready before you open Namecheap.
Add the domain in Redirect Supply
Add your domain in Redirect Supply first. Its settings page shows the records you’ll need, including a TXT value that’s unique to your domain. Keep that page open in another tab. This guide covers a root domain like brand.com. If you’re connecting a subdomain like go.brand.com, the DNS setup guide explains the differences.
Check your nameservers
Namecheap’s Advanced DNS only controls your domain when it uses Namecheap’s own DNS. In Domain List, select Manage next to your domain and look at the Nameservers section on the Domain tab. It should say Namecheap BasicDNS or PremiumDNS. If it says Custom DNS, your records live somewhere else, such as Cloudflare, and you should add them there instead.
Open Advanced DNS
All the changes in this guide happen on one tab.
Find the Advanced DNS tab
Sign in to Namecheap and open Domain List from the left sidebar. Select Manage next to your domain, then open the Advanced DNS tab. The Host Records section lists everything that currently points your domain somewhere.
Records you’ll see there
New Namecheap domains come with two default records: a CNAME on www pointing to parkingpage.namecheap.com, and a URL Redirect Record on @. Both use the names Redirect Supply needs, and both have to go before the new records will work.
Remove the default records
Namecheap won’t warn you about conflicts, but Redirect Supply will. The conflict table on your domain’s page lists every record that’s in the way. These are the usual ones.
Delete the parking page CNAME
Find the CNAME record with host www and value parkingpage.namecheap.com. Select the trash icon next to it. If there’s no parking record but there’s another www record pointing somewhere else, remove that one instead.
Delete the URL Redirect Record
Find the URL Redirect Record on @ and delete it the same way. This is Namecheap’s own forwarding. If you leave it in place, it competes with Redirect Supply for your root domain and your redirects behave unpredictably.
Leave email records alone
MX records, and TXT records for SPF or DKIM, keep your email working. They don’t affect redirects, so leave them exactly as they are.
Add the Redirect Supply records
You’ll add four records. In Namecheap’s Host field, enter only the name, never the full domain. Namecheap adds your domain automatically, so typing www.brand.com would create www.brand.com.brand.com. Leave TTL on Automatic.
Name | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|
www | CNAME | proxy.redirect.supply |
@ | A | 188.114.96.9 |
@ | A | 188.114.97.9 |
_cf-custom-hostname | TXT | Value from your domain’s settings page |
Add two A records for the root domain
Select Add New Record and choose A Record. Enter @ as the host and 188.114.96.9 as the value. Add a second A Record with host @ and the value 188.114.97.9. On Namecheap, two separate A records with the same host are the normal way to do this.
Add the www CNAME
Add a CNAME Record with host www and the value proxy.redirect.supply.
Add the TXT record
Add a TXT Record with host _cf-custom-hostname and paste the value from your domain’s settings page in Redirect Supply. On some less common domain endings, Redirect Supply also asks for an _acme-challenge TXT record. Add it the same way if you see it.
Save each record
Namecheap saves records one by one. After filling in each row, select the green checkmark next to it. A record that isn’t saved this way disappears when you leave the page.
Check the status in Redirect Supply
Once all four records are saved, you’re done in Namecheap.
Check the conflict table
You don’t have to wait for DNS to find out if something’s wrong. Your domain’s page in Redirect Supply shows a conflict table with the records currently on your domain. Anything that blocks the setup, like the parking CNAME or a leftover URL Redirect Record, is flagged there along with what to do about it. Fix those first, and the rest is just waiting.
How long it takes
Namecheap says new records usually take effect within about 30 minutes. In rare cases it can take longer while other DNS servers refresh.
When the domain goes Active
Redirect Supply checks your records automatically. When it finds them, the domain switches to Active and HTTPS is issued on its own, with no extra steps from you. See Domain statuses for what each status means along the way.
Namecheap-specific issues
Most problems on Namecheap come from a leftover default record or the wrong DNS setting.
There’s no Host Records section
Your domain is set to Custom DNS, so Namecheap isn’t managing its records. Either add the records at the DNS provider your nameservers point to, or switch the nameservers back to Namecheap BasicDNS on the Domain tab.
The domain still shows a Namecheap parking page
The parking CNAME or the URL Redirect Record is still there. Delete it, then wait a few minutes and check again in a private window.
Records disappear after saving
A record only saves after you select the green checkmark in its row. Add the records one at a time and confirm each before adding the next.
The domain is stuck on Pending
Open the conflict table on your domain’s page in Redirect Supply. It shows which record is blocking the setup, usually a duplicate www record or a host typed with the full domain. Remove what it flags and wait a few minutes. Record conflicts covers the common cases.