Why does my site break after pointing a custom domain?

User Guide Domains and DNS
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If you’ve just connected a custom domain to your ProFreeHost account and everything has gone dark, don’t panic.

1. The Propagation Waiting Game

The most common “issue” isn’t actually an error, it’s just time. When you change nameservers at your registrar (like Namecheap or GoDaddy) to point to ProFreeHost, that information has to travel to every ISP. This can take anywhere from 2 to 48 hours. You might see your site on your phone but get an “NXDOMAIN” error on your laptop. Wait at least 24 hours before changing any more settings. Every time you “tweak” a setting, you potentially reset the clock.

2. The Cloudflare “Double-DNS” Confusion

Many ProFreeHost users use Cloudflare for SSL. If you are doing this, you have two places where DNS can be managed. Editing DNS records at your registrar or on the ProFreeHost panel while your nameservers point to Cloudflare can cause disruption and it causes the website to crash. If your nameservers are ...cloudflare.com, all A records and CNAMEs must be managed inside the Cloudflare dashboard. ProFreeHost’s DNS settings will be ignored.

3. The WordPress URL Mismatch

If you installed WordPress on a free subdomain (like yoursite.unaux.com) and then added a custom domain, WordPress is likely still trying to load files from the old address. The site loads without images/styling, or it automatically redirects back to the unaux.com address. You must update your Site URL and Home URL. If you can’t access the dashboard, you can do this via phpMyAdmin in your ProFreeHost control panel by editing the wp_options table.

4. Incorrect Record Configuration

To make a custom domain work with ProFreeHost, you generally need two specific records. If one is missing, the site won’t resolve.

  1. A Record: Pointing @ to your ProFreeHost IP address.
  2. CNAME Record: Pointing www to your root domain.

On ProFreeHost, you often must add the domain through the “Custom Domains” section in the Control Panel before it will accept incoming traffic.

5. HTTPS/SSL Redirect Loops

ProFreeHost’s free servers don’t always handle “Flexible” SSL perfectly. You see an “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” message. If using Cloudflare, change your SSL setting from “Flexible” to “Full” (if you have a cert on the server) or check your .htaccess file to ensure you aren’t forcing HTTPS in a way that conflicts with the server’s settings.