Connecting Your Domain to HubSpot

Before you start

This guide walks you through what it means to connect a domain to HubSpot, which pieces you actually need, and how to set them up. The goal is a clean, correctly authenticated setup that protects your email deliverability without disrupting your existing website.

A few things to know up front:

You'll need DNS access. These steps have to be completed by someone who can log in to your DNS provider (for example, GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap, or your IT team's provider) and add or edit DNS records. If you're not sure who that is, identify them before you begin.
Connecting a domain doesn't move your website. Adding DNS records to authenticate email or connect a subdomain does not change where your site is hosted, unless you specifically connect the domain your site lives on. More on that below.
HubSpot's support articles are the source of truth for exact steps. DNS interfaces and HubSpot's screens change over time, so throughout this guide we link to HubSpot's official articles for the click-by-click detail. Use those alongside this overview.

What "connecting a domain" actually means

In HubSpot, a domain or subdomain can be connected to host a specific type of content. The main types are:

Website pages
Blog
Landing pages
Email sending (authenticating your domain so HubSpot can send marketing email as you)

Each connection is separate. You can connect your email sending domain without touching your website, and you can connect a landing page subdomain without affecting anything else. You only connect what you actually plan to use HubSpot for.

For most clients, email sending is the primary connection needed. If you're also running landing pages through HubSpot, you'll connect a subdomain for those too. We'll cover both.

A quick note on terms: Your root domain is the bare address, like yourcompany.com. A subdomain is a prefix on it, like www.yourcompany.com, info.yourcompany.com, or go.yourcompany.com. HubSpot connects content to specific subdomains, so choosing the right prefix matters.

Important: don't connect your www subdomain unless your website will live on HubSpot

Your www subdomain (www.yourcompany.com) is almost always where your public website lives. In HubSpot, a subdomain can only host content in one place at a time. If you connect www to HubSpot but your website is hosted somewhere else, you will break your live website — visitors will hit HubSpot instead of your real site.

Only connect www if you are actually building or migrating your website onto HubSpot. If your site is staying where it is, leave www alone.

If your website is moving to HubSpot, treat that as its own project: publish your HubSpot pages and back up your existing content before you change the DNS records that point www at HubSpot. HubSpot walks through this carefully in Connect a domain to HubSpot.

The takeaway: connecting a domain for email and connecting a domain for a website are different jobs. Email authentication (below) is safe and doesn't affect your site.

The primary use case: your email sending domain

Connecting an email sending domain gives HubSpot permission to send marketing email on your behalf from your own domain — so your emails come from you@yourcompany.com rather than a generic HubSpot address. This is what protects your deliverability and your brand.

Why it matters

Major inbox providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, and others) increasingly require that bulk senders authenticate their domains. Without authentication, your emails are more likely to bounce, land in spam, or be quarantined. In fact, you cannot send email with your own domain in the "From" address in HubSpot until you've connected that domain for sending. So this isn't optional if you want email to come from you.

Step 1 — Choose the address you'll send from

Decide the email address (and therefore the domain) you want your marketing emails to come from — for example, marketing@yourcompany.com or hello@yourcompany.com. The domain in that From address is what you'll authenticate.

You can authenticate either your root domain or a dedicated subdomain. A subdomain used only for sending (like email.yourcompany.com or send.yourcompany.com) keeps your marketing sending reputation separate from your everyday corporate email — a common best practice for higher-volume senders. HubSpot covers how to choose in Understand email sending in HubSpot.

Note: You can only authenticate a domain or subdomain that isn't already being used for something else (like hosting your website). If the exact subdomain is in use elsewhere, choose a different one.

Step 2 — Connect and authenticate the domain in HubSpot

In HubSpot, click the settings icon, go to Content > Domains & URLs, open the Email Sending tab, and click Connect sending domain. HubSpot will generate a set of DNS records for you to add at your DNS provider. Behind the scenes, connecting your sending domain sets up the authentication records that prove HubSpot is allowed to send as you.

The full click-by-click process is in Connect your email sending domain.

Step 3 — Add the DNS records at your provider

Log in to your DNS provider and add the records HubSpot gives you, exactly as shown. Then return to HubSpot to verify. DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours to propagate, so if verification doesn't succeed immediately, give it some time before troubleshooting.

HubSpot's Update your DNS records article covers how to add records across common providers, and Troubleshoot your email sending domain helps if a record won't verify.

Understanding email authentication: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

When you connect your sending domain, you're really setting up email authentication. It's worth understanding what the pieces do, because they're what actually earn inbox providers' trust. HubSpot's Overview of email authentication is the definitive reference; here's the plain-English version.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your emails so receiving servers can confirm the message really came from your domain and wasn't tampered with. In HubSpot, DKIM is set up with two CNAME records and is the core requirement — you can't send from your domain without it.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a published list of who is allowed to send email for your domain. Adding HubSpot to your SPF record tells inbox providers that HubSpot is an authorized sender. SPF uses a single TXT record.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) tells receiving servers what to do with messages that fail SPF or DKIM, and gives you reporting on how your domain is being used (including spoofing attempts). DMARC uses a TXT record.

In HubSpot, your domain will show as Not authenticated, Partially authenticated (DKIM verified, but SPF or DMARC still pending), or Authenticated (all three verified). Aim for fully Authenticated for the best deliverability. HubSpot's Manage your email authentication article walks through each record and its status.

Optional: connecting a subdomain for landing pages

If you're using HubSpot to host landing pages, you'll connect a subdomain for them. This is separate from email and, like email, doesn't affect your main website as long as you use a subdomain that isn't already in use.

The convention is a short, purpose-built prefix such as go.yourcompany.com, info.yourcompany.com, or pages.yourcompany.com. You'll add this subdomain in HubSpot under Domains & URLs, then add the DNS record HubSpot provides (typically a CNAME) at your DNS provider.

Two things to keep in mind:

Pick a subdomain that isn't hosting anything else. Just like www, a subdomain can only point to one place. Choose a fresh prefix dedicated to your HubSpot landing pages.
This is only needed if you're publishing landing pages (or other web content) through HubSpot. If you're using HubSpot purely for email, you can skip this.

Full steps are in Connect a domain to HubSpot. If you're connecting content for more than one brand, see Connect additional brand domains.

Supporting resources

All of the following are official HubSpot support articles and are the best place for exact, up-to-date steps: