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Connect a Namecheap domain to Krexel

This guide shows you how to connect a domain you bought from Namecheap to a site hosted on Krexel. Takes about 5 minutes.

Before you start

You need:

  • A Namecheap account with at least one domain
  • A Krexel account with at least one site deployed
  • Your domain added in Krexel (run krexel domains add yourname.com first, or use the dashboard)

Step 1 — Log in to Namecheap

Go to namecheap.com and sign in.

Step 2 — Open your domain list

From the dashboard sidebar, click Domain List.

Step 3 — Manage your domain

Find your domain in the list. Click the Manage button on the right.

Step 4 — Open Advanced DNS

Click the Advanced DNS tab at the top of the domain management page.

You're now on the DNS records page.

Step 5 — Remove default records

Namecheap adds some default records when you register a domain. These conflict with what we're adding.

Remove these:

  • Any A record with Host = @ (might be pointing to Namecheap parking)
  • Any CNAME with Host = www (might be redirecting to Namecheap parking)
  • Any URL Redirect Record pointing @ or www

Keep these:

  • MX records (email)
  • TXT records for SPF/DKIM (email auth)
  • Any verification TXT records for other services

Step 6 — Add the A records

Click Add New Record:

TypeHostValueTTL
A Record@198.51.100.42Automatic

Click the green checkmark to save.

Add a second A Record:

TypeHostValueTTL
A Record@198.51.100.43Automatic

Save.

Step 7 — Add a CNAME for www

Click Add New Record:

TypeHostValueTTL
CNAME Recordwwwkrexel-edge.pages.devAutomatic

Save.

Step 8 — Add the CAA record (recommended)

Click Add New Record:

TypeHostValueTTL
CAA Record@0 issue "letsencrypt.org"Automatic

Save.

This restricts SSL issuance to Let's Encrypt, which Krexel uses. Recommended for security.

Step 9 — Wait for verification

Back in your terminal:

krexel domains verify yourname.com

Namecheap DNS usually propagates within 5 minutes but can take up to 30 minutes for full global resolution.

Namecheap-specific gotchas

"I have a URL Redirect record I can't remove"

Namecheap adds these by default. Find them in the Advanced DNS list, click the trash icon to remove.

If you can't remove one, your domain might still be on Namecheap's "BasicDNS" instead of "CustomDNS". Switch to CustomDNS:

  1. Domain List → your domain → Manage
  2. Nameservers dropdown → select Namecheap BasicDNS first, then CustomDNS
  3. Wait 2 minutes, then try removing the record again

"Domain is 'parked' by Namecheap"

If your domain shows a Namecheap parking page, the nameservers are pointing to Namecheap's parking IPs. Switch them to Namecheap BasicDNS (or PremiumDNS) in the nameservers dropdown, then re-do the steps above.

"I bought the domain from Namecheap but use another DNS provider"

That's fine. Just edit the nameservers to point at your other provider (e.g. Cloudflare):

  1. Domain List → your domain → Manage
  2. Nameservers dropdown → CustomDNS
  3. Enter your other provider's nameserver addresses (e.g. anna.ns.cloudflare.com and bob.ns.cloudflare.com)
  4. Then follow the Cloudflare guide instead

"Email forwarding was set up by Namecheap"

Namecheap offers free email forwarding. Adding A/CNAME/CAA records for your website doesn't affect this. Email continues to work.

If you want to disable Namecheap's email forwarding:

  1. Domain List → your domain → Manage
  2. Email Forwarding section → turn off

"I want to keep Namecheap's CDN"

Namecheap has a basic CDN included. Turn it off for the Krexel site — it interferes with our caching layer:

  1. Advanced DNS → find the records you added
  2. The icon next to each record (orange/grey) shows CDN status
  3. Toggle to grey (off) for all Krexel-related records

Advanced: Setting up email + web together

If you want to use Namecheap for email and Krexel for web:

  1. Keep MX records pointing to Namecheap's mail servers (default)
  2. Add A records for @ pointing to Krexel (steps above)
  3. Add CNAME for www pointing to Krexel (steps above)

These don't conflict. Email stays on Namecheap, web goes to Krexel.

What if I have multiple subdomains?

Add a CNAME for each one:

TypeHostValueTTL
CNAMEblogkrexel-edge.pages.devAutomatic
CNAMEshopkrexel-edge.pages.devAutomatic
CNAMEdocskrexel-edge.pages.devAutomatic

Each becomes a separate "site" in your Krexel dashboard.

Troubleshooting

"DNS not propagating" — Namecheap is usually fast. Check after 5 minutes. If still pending:

dig yourname.com A +short

You should see 198.51.100.42 and 198.51.100.43. If you see Namecheap IPs, the records weren't added correctly.

SSL certificate failed to issue — usually a CAA issue. Add the 0 issue "letsencrypt.org" record (Step 8).

Old Namecheap parking page showing — your records weren't actually saved. Refresh the Advanced DNS page and re-add them.

Email stopped working — you accidentally modified MX records. Restore them.

Pricing note

Namecheap's pricing is in your local currency. Their .com domains are usually $9-13/year. Renewals are sometimes higher than initial registration — check Namecheap's renewal pricing before committing to multi-year terms.

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