Connecting your Hostinger domain to Systeme.io means adding a set of DNS records to your Hostinger account so that your domain name points to your Systeme.io pages instead of a blank holding page.
Until this is done, anyone who types your domain into a browser will not reach your funnel. Your Systeme.io pages exist, but they are sitting on a Systeme.io subdomain, not your own domain. This guide walks through every DNS record required, every step in the correct order, and how to check if your domain does not show as connected after the propagation window.
This is Article 3 in the Systeme.io Setup Series for Hostinger users. Article 2 covers email authentication. If you have not completed email authentication yet, do that first. The CNAME records added for email authentication and the CNAME records added here go into the same DNS zone editor, and it is more efficient to add them all in one session. Article 1 covers the full account settings walk-through.
What this guide covers
What the domain connection does and why it matters
What you need before starting
How to connect your Hostinger domain to Systeme.io in 5 steps
What each DNS record does
Troubleshooting domain still showing as Not Connected
Complete setup checklist
What comes next
What the domain connection does and why it matters
When someone visits yourfunnel.systeme.io that address belongs to Systeme.io. When someone visits yourdomain.com that address is yours.
The domain connection replaces the Systeme.io subdomain with your own domain. Instead of visitors seeing a platform-branded URL, they see your business name. Your opt-in pages, thank you pages, and sales pages all live at your own address.
There are two practical reasons this matters beyond branding.
The first is trust. A custom domain address signals to visitors that they are dealing with a real business. The systeme.io subdomain signals that someone is using a free platform tool. The difference is visible before anyone reads a word of your page.
The second is deliverability. In 2026, ISP spam filters check whether the domain used for email sending resolves to a real, active webpage. A domain pointing to a blank holding page or a 404 error signals low sender reputation before any authentication records are evaluated. Connecting your domain and pointing it to a live Systeme.io page satisfies this check. A Systeme.io free subdomain address does not.
Complete the connection before sending traffic to your pages or subscribers to your list.
What you need before starting
Before opening Hostinger hPanel, confirm you have everything below. Having these ready prevents interruptions mid-setup.
1. A domain registered and active in Hostinger. The domain does not need to be connected to a live website yet. You are about to set that up. It does need to be registered and showing as active in your Hostinger account, not expired or pending transfer.
2. A Systeme.io account with at least one funnel or landing page created. Systeme.io generates a validation CNAME record specific to your account and domain. That record is visible in your Systeme.io custom domain settings and you will need it in Step 2. You cannot retrieve it without a Systeme.io account.
3. Access to Hostinger hPanel DNS Zone editor. You will be adding multiple DNS records here. Log in to hPanel before starting, navigate to your domain, and locate the DNS Zone section. Knowing where it is before you need it saves time during the setup.
4. Both accounts open in separate browser tabs. You will be copying values from Systeme.io and pasting them into Hostinger. Having both open simultaneously reduces the chance of transcription errors.
5. Access to DNSChecker. dnschecker.org is a free tool used to confirm that DNS records have propagated correctly. No account required. You will use it in Step 5 to confirm the connection before concluding the setup is complete.
How to connect your Hostinger domain to Systeme.io in 5 steps
The full process takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes of active setup. The remaining time is waiting for DNS propagation, which can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours. Most records resolve well within that window.
Work through the steps in order. Each one depends on the previous.
Step 1 Add your domain in Systeme.io and retrieve your DNS record values
This step happens inside Systeme.io, not in Hostinger. You are adding your domain to your account and retrieving the specific DNS values you will need in the next step.
Follow these steps inside your Systeme.io account.
Click the profile icon in the top right corner of the Systeme.io dashboard.
Select Settings from the dropdown menu.
Click Custom Domains in the left sidebar.
Click Add Domain.
Enter your domain name with the www prefix included, for example www.yourdomain.com, and click Add.
Systeme.io will now display the DNS records you need to add to Hostinger. There will be a validation CNAME record with a Name value and a Target value that are unique to your domain and account.
Write down or copy the validation CNAME Name and Target values before moving to Step 2. These values are specific to your account. Do not use values from a screenshot or another tutorial.
Leave your Systeme.io tab open. You will refer to it throughout the next steps.
Step 1 is complete: Your domain is added in Systeme.io and you have the validation CNAME values you need.
Step 2 Add the validation CNAME record in Hostinger
This step happens in the Hostinger hPanel DNS Zone editor. You are adding the validation CNAME record that allows Systeme.io to confirm that you own the domain you are connecting.
Navigate to the DNS Zone editor using this path.
hPanel → Hosting → Manage → DNS Zone
Before adding any records, scan the existing DNS entries for any CNAME records with a Name value that matches the validation CNAME name shown in Systeme.io. If any exist from a previous setup attempt, delete them before proceeding to avoid conflicts.
To add the validation CNAME record:
Click Add Record.
Select CNAME as the record type.
NOTE: (The records here are examples; you must add your own values).
In the Name field, paste the validation Name value from your Systeme.io Custom Domains settings. This will be a long string of characters such as _d4817a3f3bbedeeecd67969a77dd7f16. Do not add your domain name after it. Hostinger adds that automatically.
In the Content or Points To field, paste the validation Target value from Systeme.io exactly as shown. It will point to an AWS validation address. Do not add spaces before or after. Do not add line breaks.
Leave the TTL at the Hostinger default of 14400.
Click Save.
The record will follow this format in your DNS zone.
Type: CNAME
Name: _[your unique validation string]
Points to: _[your unique validation target].acm-validations.aws.
The exact values come from your own Systeme.io account. The format above shows the structure only.
Step 2 is complete: The validation CNAME record is saved in your Hostinger DNS zone.
Step 3 Add the CNAME records for www and root domain
Still in the Hostinger DNS Zone editor from Step 2. You are now adding the records that point your domain and www subdomain to Systeme.io’s servers.
Check your existing DNS entries for any CNAME records with the Name values www or @. If any exist, check whether they are pointing somewhere other than Systeme.io. If they are, note down where they point before deleting them, in case you need to restore them later. Delete any existing www or @ CNAME records before proceeding.
Add the www CNAME record.
Click Add Record.
Select CNAME as the record type.
In the Name field, enter www.
NOTE: (The records here are examples; you must add your own values).
In the Content or Points To field, enter dx0kitehhr3rp.cloudfront.net.
Leave the TTL at 14400.
Click Save.
Add the root domain CNAME record.
Click Add Record.
Select CNAME as the record type.
In the Name field, enter @ to represent the root domain.
In the Content or Points To field, enter dx0kitehhr3rp.cloudfront.net.
Leave the TTL at 14400.
Click Save.
Note on the @ record in Hostinger: Some DNS providers do not allow a CNAME record on the root domain (@) and require an ALIAS record instead. Hostinger supports both. If the @ CNAME entry saves without error, proceed. If Hostinger displays an error when saving the @ record as a CNAME, delete it and re-add it as an ALIAS record with the same target value.
The two records will look like this in your DNS zone.
Type: CNAME, Name: www, Points to: dx0kitehhr3rp.cloudfront.net.
Type: CNAME (or ALIAS), Name: @, Points to: dx0kitehhr3rp.cloudfront.net.
Step 3 is complete: The www and root domain CNAME records are saved in Hostinger.
Step 4 Add the CAA records
Still in the Hostinger DNS Zone editor. You are now adding CAA records. CAA stands for Certification Authority Authorization. These records tell the internet which certificate authorities are permitted to issue SSL certificates for your domain.
Systeme.io uses Amazon Web Services for SSL certificates. The CAA records you add here authorize Amazon’s certificate infrastructure to issue and renew the SSL certificate that puts the padlock on your domain and enables HTTPS. Without these records, SSL certificate issuance may fail and your domain may show as not secure in browsers.
You need to add 8 CAA records in total, 2 for each of the 4 Amazon certificate authority domains.
For each of the 4 CA domains below, you will add one record with the tag issue and one record with the tag issuewild.
The 4 CA domains are: amazon.com, amazontrust.com, awstrust.com, amazonaws.com.
To add each CAA record:
Click Add Record.
Select CAA as the record type.
In the Name field, enter @.
In the Flag field, enter 0.
In the Tag field, enter issue (or issuewild for the second record per CA domain).
In the Value field, enter the CA domain, for example “amazon.com”.
Leave the TTL at 14400.
Click Save.
Work through all 8 records in the following order.
Record 1: Flag 0, Tag issue, Value “amazon.com”
Record 2: Flag 0, Tag issuewild, Value “amazon.com”
Record 3: Flag 0, Tag issue, Value “amazontrust.com”
Record 4: Flag 0, Tag issuewild, Value “amazontrust.com”
Record 5: Flag 0, Tag issue, Value “awstrust.com”
Record 6: Flag 0, Tag issuewild, Value “awstrust.com”
Record 7: Flag 0, Tag issue, Value “amazonaws.com”
Record 8: Flag 0, Tag issuewild, Value “amazonaws.com”
Before adding any CAA records, check your existing DNS entries for CAA records with the Name value @. If any exist and they list certificate authorities other than the four above, decide whether to delete them or add to them. Deleting them means those other certificate authorities can no longer issue certificates for your domain. If in doubt, add the 8 new records without deleting the existing ones. Conflicts between CAA records are rare unless the existing records explicitly restrict issuance to a different authority.
Step 4 is complete: All 8 CAA records are saved in your Hostinger DNS zone.
Step 5 Wait for DNS propagation and confirm the connection
DNS propagation is the process of changes made in Hostinger spreading across DNS servers around the world. DNS changes do not update everywhere instantly. They spread gradually over minutes to hours. Most records resolve within a few hours. Full propagation can take up to 48 hours.
Do not delete and re-add records during this period. Deleting a record resets its propagation timer and extends the wait.
Checking propagation with DNSChecker
Go to dnschecker.org.
Enter your domain name in the search field.
Select CNAME from the record type dropdown.
Click Check DNS.
Look for the www record in the results. Green ticks indicate the record is resolving correctly at that location.
A small number of servers showing as unresolved during the propagation window is normal. If the majority of servers are showing green within a few hours, propagation is progressing correctly.
Confirming the connection in Systeme.io
Once records are propagating correctly in DNSChecker, return to Systeme.io.
Go to Settings.
Click Custom Domains.
Check the status displayed next to your domain.
The status should show as Connected.
If the status still shows as Not Connected after 48 hours, work through the troubleshooting section below before making any changes in Hostinger or Systeme.io.
Step 5 is complete: DNS records are propagating correctly and your domain shows as Connected in Systeme.io.
What each DNS record does
If you want to understand what you added and why, this section covers the purpose of each record type. Skip it if you completed the setup and just want to move on.
Validation CNAME: Proves to Systeme.io that you own the domain you are connecting. It does not affect how your domain loads in a browser. It only exists to complete the domain ownership verification process. Some DNS providers allow you to delete it after verification completes. Leave it in place unless Systeme.io’s documentation specifically says to remove it.
www CNAME: Points the www version of your domain (www.yourdomain.com) to Systeme.io’s servers. Anyone who types www before your domain name reaches your Systeme.io pages.
Root domain CNAME or ALIAS: Points the root version of your domain (yourdomain.com without www) to the same Systeme.io servers. Without this record, visitors who type your domain without www reach nothing or get an error.
CAA records: Authorize Amazon Web Services certificate authorities to issue SSL certificates for your domain. SSL certificates enable HTTPS and the padlock that appears in browser address bars. Systeme.io runs on AWS infrastructure and requires these certificate authorities to be authorized before SSL issuance can complete.
Troubleshooting domain still showing as Not Connected
Work through the checks below in order before making any changes in Hostinger or Systeme.io. Each check addresses a specific failure condition.
Use this section only after the full 48 hour propagation window has passed and after you have checked record status in DNSChecker.
Check 1 Incorrect CNAME Name or Target value
The most common setup mistake is a typo or formatting error in one of the CNAME values. The validation CNAME values in particular are long strings of characters that are easy to mistype or copy with a trailing space.
Go to your Hostinger DNS Zone editor and compare each CNAME record value character by character against the values shown in your Systeme.io Custom Domains settings. Pay particular attention to trailing spaces or line breaks, which are invisible in the editor but cause resolution failures.
If any value does not match exactly, delete the record and re-add it by copying directly from Systeme.io, not from a note or a document.
Check 2 www or @ record still pointing to the old destination
If your domain was previously pointing to a WordPress installation or another service, the www or @ record may have been overwritten rather than replaced. Go to your Hostinger DNS Zone editor and confirm that both the www CNAME and the @ CNAME or ALIAS are pointing to dx0kitehhr3rp.cloudfront.net. and nothing else.
If either record points somewhere else, delete it and re-add it with the correct target.
Check 3 Missing CAA records
If your domain is showing as Not Connected and your CNAME records are resolving correctly in DNSChecker, the issue may be SSL certificate issuance failing because of missing or incomplete CAA records.
Go to your Hostinger DNS Zone editor and confirm all 8 CAA records are present with the correct Flag, Tag, and Value entries. A missing issuewild record for any of the four CA domains is enough to prevent certificate issuance for wildcard subdomains.
Check 4 @ record saved as CNAME when Hostinger requires ALIAS
If the @ CNAME record is not resolving in DNSChecker after 48 hours, it may have saved incorrectly. Some DNS configurations require the root domain record to be an ALIAS rather than a CNAME. Go to your Hostinger DNS Zone editor, delete the @ CNAME record, and re-add it as an ALIAS record with the same target value: dx0kitehhr3rp.cloudfront.net.
Check 5 Domain not yet added in Systeme.io Custom Domains
If you completed all DNS records in Hostinger but never added your domain inside Systeme.io settings, the connection cannot complete from the Systeme.io side regardless of what is in your DNS zone.
Go to Systeme.io Settings, Custom Domains. Confirm your domain is listed. If it is not there, add it, retrieve the validation CNAME values, and add them to Hostinger if you have not done so.
If all checks pass and the domain still shows as Not Connected
Contact Systeme.io support with the following information.
Your domain name. The date and time you added the DNS records in Hostinger. A screenshot of your current DNS records in the Hostinger DNS Zone editor showing all CNAME and CAA records. A screenshot of the domain status in Systeme.io Settings, Custom Domains. The results of your DNSChecker check showing current resolution status.
Providing this information upfront significantly reduces the time to resolution in support conversations.
Complete setup checklist
Use this as a final verification once all five steps are complete.
Prerequisites
☐ Domain registered and active in Hostinger
☐ Systeme.io account open with domain added in Custom Domains settings
☐ Validation CNAME values copied from Systeme.io
DNS records in Hostinger
☐ Validation CNAME record added with exact Name and Target values from Systeme.io
☐ www CNAME record pointing to dx0kitehhr3rp.cloudfront.net.
☐ Root domain CNAME or ALIAS record pointing to dx0kitehhr3rp.cloudfront.net.
☐ All 8 CAA records added with correct Flag, Tag, and Value entries
☐ No duplicate records with the same Name values in the DNS zone
Propagation and confirmation
☐ DNS propagation waited minimum 2 hours before checking, up to 48 hours for full propagation
☐ DNSChecker used to confirm www CNAME record resolving correctly
☐ Domain showing as Connected in Systeme.io Settings, Custom Domains
After connection
☐ Domain resolving to a live Systeme.io page (not a blank page or 404 error)
☐ HTTPS padlock visible in browser when visiting the domain
A note from the setup
I set this up on a real project, not a demo account.
The part that catches people out is the CAA records. They look optional because the domain connection often shows as pending rather than giving a clear error when they are missing. The SSL certificate issuance runs in the background and the failure only becomes visible later when the padlock does not appear or the connection stalls without an obvious reason.
Add them alongside the CNAME records in the same session. It takes an extra few minutes and removes an entire category of problem from the troubleshooting list.
The other thing worth knowing: if you are doing both the domain connection (this article) and the email authentication setup (Article 2) at the same time, you are adding records to the same DNS Zone editor in one session. The email authentication records are 3 CNAME records and 1 DMARC TXT record. The domain connection records are the validation CNAME, the www CNAME, the root CNAME or ALIAS, and the 8 CAA records. None of them conflict with each other. Do them together and you only have to wait for one propagation window.
What comes next
With your domain connected to Systeme.io, your pages are now accessible at your own domain address and your domain resolves to live content, satisfying the 2026 deliverability check for ISP spam filters.
The next step is building the funnel itself. The opt-in page and thank you page are the two core components of a lead capture system, and they connect directly to your email configuration and your authenticated sending domain.
→ How to Build Your First Systeme.io Funnel
If you prefer video, the full Systeme.io setup series covering every step in the correct order is on YouTube at LaunchWithDavid.
→ Systeme.io Setup for Beginners playlist, youtube.com/@launchwithdavid
The video companion for this article covering the domain connection process with a live Hostinger DNS walkthrough is here.
→ How to Connect a Hostinger Domain to Systeme.io (Hostinger DNS Walkthrough), YouTube
The tools used in this guide
Get your domain and hosting with Hostinger
Domain registration, hosting, and the hPanel DNS Zone editor used throughout this guide.
Get started with Systeme.io (free plan available)
The free plan covers custom domain connection, funnels, email, and domain authentication. No credit card required.
Affiliate disclosure: Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you sign up through them AffiliateTacticHive will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Every tool linked here is one used on real projects. Full disclosure at affiliatetactichive.com/affiliate-disclosure
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