# Custom Tracking Domain (And How to Set It Up) This guide explains what a custom tracking domain is, why it matters, and how to set one up for a mailbox in Warmerly. No technical background needed. ## What is tracking, and why does it matter? When you send a campaign email through Warmerly, we can tell you when someone opens that email or clicks a link inside it. This is called **open and click tracking**. Here's how it works behind the scenes: any link you put in your email actually points to a special Warmerly web address first. When someone clicks it, Warmerly notes "this person clicked," and then sends them straight on to the real page. The same trick is used for tracking opens. Without a working custom tracking domain, a mailbox sends with **no tracking and no unsubscribe link at all**: Warmerly puts none of its own addresses in your emails, and you are responsible for including your own way to opt out. A link that shows **your own website's address** looks like it came from a real, established business, because it did. This setting puts your own domain on the tracking and unsubscribe links, which switches both back on. ## What you'll be setting up: a CNAME record To make this work, you need to add one small entry to your domain's **DNS** settings. DNS (Domain Name System) is basically your domain's address book. It's the place where your domain name gets pointed to your website, your email provider, and other services. Your DNS is managed wherever you bought or host your domain — for example, Namecheap, GoDaddy, IONOS, or Cloudflare. The entry you'll add is called a **CNAME record**. In plain English, a CNAME record is a DNS record that points one web address to another. You'll use it to point a subdomain of your own website — something like `track.yourdomain.com` — over to the address Warmerly gives you. Once that's done, tracking links in your emails will show `track.yourdomain.com` and your unsubscribe link lives on that same domain, even though Warmerly is still doing all the tracking behind the scenes. ## Step 1: Get your CNAME details from Warmerly 1. In Warmerly, go to **Accounts**. 2. Click into the mailbox you want to set this up for. 3. Go to **Settings**. 4. Find the **Custom tracking domain** section. There you'll see a box with three pieces of information: | Field | What it means | | --- | --- | | Record | Always `CNAME` — this tells your DNS host what kind of entry to add. | | Host | The subdomain name to use, such as `track`. | | Value | The Warmerly address to point to, exactly as shown in the box. | There's also a text box where you can type the exact subdomain you want to use, for example `track.yourdomain.com`. Type in the domain or subdomain you plan to use, then copy the **Host** and **Value** shown. ## Step 2: Go to your domain's DNS settings This is the same DNS panel you'd use to set up **DKIM** (an email security stamp) or **SPF and DMARC** (two more email security records). If you've already done either of those for this domain, you already know where to go. 1. Log in to your domain host's dashboard — this is the company you bought your domain from (for example, Namecheap, GoDaddy, IONOS, or Cloudflare). 2. Find the **DNS** or **DNS Records** section. If you're not sure how to find this for your specific provider, our other guides walk through it step by step: - [Setting up DKIM](https://docs.warmerly.com/guides/dkim) — covers finding the DNS section on Namecheap, GoDaddy, IONOS, and Cloudflare. - [SPF & DMARC records](https://docs.warmerly.com/guides/spf-dmarc) — covers the same DNS panel for two more email security records. ## Step 3: Add the CNAME record 1. In your DNS section, choose to add a new record. 2. Set the record type to **CNAME**. 3. In the **host** (sometimes called "name" or "subdomain") field, enter exactly what Warmerly showed you — for example `track`. 4. In the **value** (sometimes called "target" or "points to") field, enter exactly what Warmerly showed you. 5. Save the record. **Copy the host and value exactly as Warmerly shows them.** A typo here is the most common reason this doesn't work — even a missing letter or an extra dot will stop it from verifying. ## Step 4: Wait for Warmerly to confirm it Back in Warmerly, the **Custom tracking domain** section shows two status lights. | Status | What it means | | --- | --- | | **Domain link pending** | Warmerly hasn't found your new CNAME record in DNS yet. This is normal right after you add it. | | **Domain link verified** | Warmerly has found and confirmed your CNAME record. Your tracking links can now use your own domain. | DNS changes don't happen instantly across the internet — they spread out slowly, a bit like ripples in a pond. This can take anywhere from a few minutes up to **24–48 hours**. Don't worry if it still says "pending" right after you add the record — just check back later. ## Step 5: Make sure HTTPS works for your domain You'll also see a second status, for something called **SSL**. SSL stands for the technology behind **HTTPS**, the padlock icon and "secure" label browsers show for trusted websites. Once your CNAME record verifies, Warmerly checks that HTTPS works for your tracking domain with a valid certificate, so links open safely and don't trigger browser warnings. **Warmerly does not issue that certificate for you.** Your domain needs to sit behind a service that holds one for it, for example Cloudflare with the orange-cloud proxy turned on for the CNAME record. | Status | What it means | | --- | --- | | **Secure connection pending** | HTTPS does not work for your domain yet (no valid certificate, or the check has not run since you fixed it). The check repeats every few minutes. | | **Secure connection verified** | HTTPS works. Your tracking and unsubscribe links will open over a secure connection. | **Until both statuses say "verified", your mailbox does not use the domain.** It sends with no tracking and no unsubscribe link, and you are responsible for including your own way to opt out. Once both say "verified," your custom tracking domain is fully live. ## Still stuck? No worries — DNS settings can be fiddly, especially if this is your first time editing them. If you get stuck on any step, click the chat help button in the bottom corner of the Warmerly app. It connects you straight to a real person on our support team who can look at your account and help you sort it out.