CNAME
A CNAME is a DNS record that points a subdomain to another domain name instead of to an IP address.
What is CNAME?
A CNAME (Canonical Name) is a DNS record that points a hostname — usually a subdomain like www — to another, canonical domain name instead of to an IP address. Where an A record points directly at a numeric IP endpoint, a CNAME acts as an alias that says “look up this value on the domain I point to.” A CNAME cannot be used on the root domain (e.g. yourstore.com) and cannot coexist with other records for the same hostname.
Why does CNAME matter?
When you connect your own domain to an online store, the CNAME is what ties your brand domain to the platform’s infrastructure. Because it points to a domain name rather than a fixed IP, the platform can switch servers, add CDN nodes, and scale without you touching your DNS. If the CNAME points to the wrong place, the www version of the store can become unreachable, or the SSL certificate may fail to be issued correctly.
Common use cases
- Pointing the
wwwsubdomain to your Shopify store viashops.myshopify.com. - Verifying a domain with an email provider or analytics tool using a CNAME record.
- Setting up a subdomain for a landing-page or support platform (e.g.
help.yourstore.com). - Debugging why
wwwfails to load while the root domain works.
Shopify perspective
In Shopify you connect a third-party domain by pointing the root domain at Shopify’s IP 23.227.38.65 with an A record and the www subdomain at shops.myshopify.com with a CNAME. Use shops.myshopify.com specifically — not your store’s own .myshopify.com address. DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate, so check the status under Settings → Domains before troubleshooting further.