Getting Started
Verbi works by sitting in front of your website as a reverse proxy. Connecting your domain takes two kinds of DNS record: a CNAME that points your domain at Verbi's proxy, and one or more TXT records that let Verbi issue an SSL certificate for your domain. Your original site doesn't move — only the DNS entries change.
The CNAME Record
Add the following record in your DNS provider:
| Type | Name | Target |
|---|---|---|
CNAME | your-domain.com | proxy.verbi.io |
The exact record name is shown in your site's Setup tab in the dashboard, pre-filled with your domain. The target is always proxy.verbi.io.
If your DNS provider asks for a TTL, 300 seconds (5 minutes) is a reasonable default.
Apex Domains
A CNAME record on a root domain (e.g. example.com without www) is technically invalid in the DNS spec — some providers enforce this, others don't.
If your provider rejects it, check whether they support one of these alternatives:
- ALIAS (Namecheap, DNSimple)
- ANAME (DNS Made Easy)
- Flattened CNAME (Cloudflare — just add a CNAME and Cloudflare flattens it automatically)
These all behave like a CNAME at the apex and work with Verbi the same way.
SSL Validation Records
Verbi serves your site over HTTPS, which requires an SSL certificate for your domain. To issue one, Verbi has to confirm you control the domain — so alongside the CNAME you add one or more TXT records to your DNS.
These records are generated specifically for your domain and shown in your site's Setup tab, each with a name and a value to copy:
| Type | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
TXT | shown in your Setup tab | shown in your Setup tab |
A few things to know:
- They may take a few seconds to appear. Right after you add a site, the Setup tab fetches your records — if they're not there yet, wait a moment and they'll show up.
- There may be more than one — add every record listed. As the certificate is issued and later renewed, the set can change. Your Setup tab always shows the current list, checking off each record once it's confirmed.
Leave the TXT records in place once your site is live. They're reused to renew your certificate automatically — removing them will break SSL renewal.
SSL
Once your CNAME and TXT records resolve, Verbi issues an SSL certificate for your domain automatically — there's nothing else to configure. The process usually completes within a few minutes of DNS propagating, and goes through these stages:
- Pending validation — waiting for your TXT records to resolve so domain ownership can be confirmed
- Pending issuance — ownership confirmed, certificate being issued
- Pending deployment — certificate issued, being deployed to the edge
- Active — your site is live over HTTPS
Your site's Setup tab shows the current SSL status if provisioning is still in progress.
If provisioning stalls at pending validation, double-check that every TXT record from the Setup tab is present in your DNS — a missing or mistyped record is almost always the cause.
Verifying the Connection
Once you've added the CNAME, go to your site's Setup tab and click Verify Connection. Verbi will check whether your domain resolves to the proxy correctly.
DNS propagation typically takes under 10 minutes, but can occasionally take longer depending on your provider and existing TTLs. If verification fails:
- DNS not propagated yet — wait a few minutes and try again
- Wrong target — your domain is reachable but not pointing to
proxy.verbi.io— double-check the CNAME value - Timeout — DNS may still be propagating — try again shortly
What Doesn't Change
- Your original site is untouched
- Your original domain continues to serve your default language as normal
- Translated pages are added at subdirectory paths (
/fr/,/de/, etc.) — the root URL is unchanged