Publishing to the Web (Legacy Apps)

Publish your app to the web as a desktop web app or as a PWA (progressive web app).

Skill Level: Intermediate

Before You Begin

• Only Account Owners can add/change Domains in account settings.

• Know the basics of domains, subdomains, DNS Records, and DNS Providers.

• Adalo subdomains only apply to Desktop Web apps, not to PWA (mobile) apps.

• Custom domains apply to both Desktop web apps and PWA (mobile) apps.

• Custom Domains can be used for either Desktop Web Apps or PWAs, but not at the same time.

• If you plan to use a Custom Domain, make sure you have purchased the domain name already.

Your custom domain cannot include the phrase "adalo.com" or "adalo". These checks have been added to ensure non-Adalo affiliates do not impersonate the organisation. Your domain will NOT connect if your custom domain includes adalo or adalo.com.

• You do not need a paid Adalo plan to use an Adalo subdomain for publishing.

• You do need a paid Adalo plan to use a Custom Domain for publishing.

Walkthrough

Be sure to choose the correct tab below for the domain setup you are wanting to use!

Use an Adalo Sub-domain (Free)

Every Adalo account comes with its own subdomain such as example.adalo.com. Your subdomain is usually your team's name at first, but you can change this at anytime using these steps:

1.) While logged into Adalo, click on the profile/account icon in the upper right corner of the Adalo Builder, then click on Settings.

2.) In the popup that appears, click on the Domains tab.

3.) If you are a part of multiple teams, choose the Team you want to edit the subdomain for in the dropdown, then click Edit next to the subdomain.

4.) The URL will change to a text box where you can change the subdomain. Note that it can only contain numbers, letters, and dashes and that you may only use subdomains that are not already taken by someone else. Once you're finished, click Save.

It's important to note that this subdomain applies to all of your Desktop web apps. While you can't change the subdomain for each individual app if you're using an Adalo domain, you can change the ending URL slug. Let's do that now.

5.) To change the ending of the URL (commonly called a slug), click on the Publish button on the left toolbar in the Adalo Builder.

6.) Here, you can see the domain settings for your Desktop web app. You can change the slug by changing the value in the text input. When finished, click Save.

If you do not see an option to change the URL slug like below, your app is a PWA (mobile app) instead of a Desktop app and does not support changing the URL slug.

Use a Custom Domain (Paid)

While you can setup Custom Domains on the free trial, Actions will not complete is using the Custom Domain Link until you upgrade.

1.) While logged into Adalo, click on the profile/account icon in the upper right corner of the Adalo editor, then click on Settings.

2.) In the popup that appears, click on the Domains tab.

3.) In the Custom Domains section, type in the subdomain you wish to use for your app and click Add. Note that you will need to have already purchased your custom domain and set it up with your DNS Provider.

If you are trying to set up your domain to be formatted like "mydomain.com" you'll need to make sure you are adding the "www" so it looks like this: "www.mydomain.com".

4.) Upon clicking Add, Adalo will generate some information for you to add a DNS Record to your domain settings with your DNS Provider. This process looks different for each domain provider, so check the links below for how to do this for your provider.

5.) Once you have added the record with your domain provider, return to Adalo and click Test Setup.

Note: If you see the error below, please note that it may take up to 24 hours for DNS records to propagate, depending on your provider. Typically this takes 30 minutes or less.

Note that it may take up to 24 hours for DNS records to propagate, depending on your provider. Typically this takes 10 minutes or less.

6.) You should get a success message that looks like this, where you can click Finish Adding Domain:

7.) For both Desktop web apps and PWS (mobile) apps, you can use your Custom Domain by clicking the Publish button on the left toolbar of the Adalo Editor.

8.) For Desktop web apps, use the dropdown to select the Custom Domain you just added, or you can add another Custom Domain from here as well. When finished, click Save. Note that for Desktop web apps, you can also change the URL slug here as well. The Published On section tells you where the app is currently published. After saving changes to your domain, you may need to refresh the page to see the changes reflected under Published On.

9.) For PWA (mobile) apps, click on the Progressive Web App dropdown, then use the Domain dropdown to select the domain you just added or add a new one. Note that Adalo subdomains such as yourteam.adalo.com are not available for use on PWA (mobile) apps. When finished, click Save. Note that for PWA apps, you cannot change the URL slug. The Published On section tells you where the app is currently published. After saving changes to your domain, you may need to refresh the page to see the changes reflected under Published On.

How to set up a CNAME record with popular providers:

• INOS
• 123-reg
• AWS
• BigRock
• Bluehost
• Crazy Domains
• DreamHost
• easyDNS
• eNom
• FastDomain
• GoDaddy
• Google Domains
• HostGator
• Hover
• MelbourneIT
• Names.co.uk
• Namecheap
• Network Solutions
• Register.com
• SiteGround
• TierraNet
• Wix

Learn More

• You can learn more about DNS records, domain names, hosting, and subdomains here with this very good guide by GoDaddy.
• Mastering adding and managing DNS records with your domain provider can be a very valuable skill to have, especially when you need to add them for email marketing, payment processors, and website hosting services.

• You cannot use the same subdomain for two different apps, but you can create as many subdomains as you like. For instance, if you have a web version and a mobile version of your app. You may have a web.yourapp.com and an app.yourapp.com subdomain.

• In instances such as Sign in with Google, Sign in with Apple, and In App Purchases, you may need to use your Adalo or custom domain during the setup of those features.
• You cannot use Adalo subdomains on PWA apps, only on desktop web apps. You can however, use custom subdomains on PWA apps. Below is a table to help make this a bit clearer:

Use	Adalo Subdomain	Custom Subdomain
Desktop Web Apps	✅	✅
PWA (Mobile) Apps	🚫	✅
Native Apps	N/A	N/A

Help

If you need additional help with this article, you can always ask in our community forum! Be sure to paste the link to this article in your post as well!

Do you have a tutorial or help doc request? Let us know!