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A WordPress.com site can use a domain registered at NicNames while DNS stays on NicNames—useful when the domain already handles email or other services. Add the domain in WordPress.com, copy the two A records it provides, keep unrelated records, and verify the connection before choosing the address as primary.
1. Add the domain to your WordPress.com site
WordPress.com supports a connected custom domain on its paid plans. In the Hosting Dashboard, choose the site, open Domains, select Add domain name → Use a domain name I own, enter the bare domain such as example.com, and choose Connect your domain name to this site. This connects the address to the site; it does not transfer the registration away from NicNames.
On the connection screen, choose I use this domain name for email or other services. WordPress.com then shows two A-record IP addresses for the root domain and a CNAME for www. Copy the values from that screen. The A addresses are issued for the connection and can change, so do not reuse numbers from an old guide or another site.
2. Confirm where the domain's DNS is active
In NicNames, open ClassicDNS, select the domain and check Name-Servers. If it uses NicNames Free Name-Servers, open DNS Records → Manage. If it uses custom nameservers, make the records at the DNS provider named by those servers; editing an inactive NicNames zone will not change the public website.
Before editing, record the current root A and AAAA rows, the www rows, and any records used for email or verification. WordPress.com's A-record method is designed to leave DNS with the current provider. Preserve MX, TXT and unrelated subdomain records. If you intended to move the registration instead, review the difference in our domain-transfer preparation guide before changing anything.
3. Replace the website records in NicNames
In the NicNames DNS table, find the A rows whose Name is the bare domain itself. Replace only their IPv4 Data with the two exact addresses shown by WordPress.com, using one A row for each address. If no root A row exists and the editor's root-name format is unclear, ask NicNames Support rather than guessing.
Review any AAAA record at the same root name. WordPress.com instructs customers using this connection method to remove existing AAAA records so IPv6 visitors are not sent to another destination. Confirm that a record belongs to the website connection before removing it; leave unrelated mail and verification records alone.
For www, use + Add record and choose CNAME, or replace an existing conflicting www website row. Enter www in Name and the bare domain, such as example.com, in Host alias. Keep the displayed TTL unless you have a specific reason to change it. A CNAME cannot coexist with A or AAAA records at the same www name, so review old rows deliberately. Save the complete table once after checking both A records and the CNAME.
4. Verify the site, HTTPS and preferred address
Return to WordPress.com and choose Verify Connection. Its Domains screen shows Verifying while DNS is updating and Active when the connection is complete; WordPress.com says activation can take up to 72 hours. After the domain is active, it automatically provisions an SSL certificate, which can take a few minutes and occasionally up to 24 hours. Set the connected domain as primary only after the address and HTTPS work as expected.
Open both the bare domain and www in a browser and confirm they reach the intended site. If WordPress.com still reports a mismatch, compare its current two A values with the public root answers, check the www CNAME, and confirm the authoritative nameservers before changing more records. Our DNS troubleshooting checklist helps separate an incorrect saved record from an older cached answer.
