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Deploy a Vercel Project and Connect a Custom Domain: A Practical Guide

A safe route from local development to a public Vercel site: link the project, review a Preview deployment, publish to Production, then configure and verify your custom domain.

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To take a local project live on Vercel, link it to a Vercel project, deploy a preview, check the result, and then run vercel deploy --prod. To use your own domain, add it to that project and configure the DNS values Vercel displays for it. You can keep DNS at your current provider or delegate it to Vercel; the right choice depends on how you manage existing services such as email.

How the path from local project to live site works

Vercel distinguishes between local development, Preview deployments, and Production. A Preview deployment gives you a URL to inspect without replacing the user-facing production site. Production is the release intended for visitors. This distinction makes it practical to check a build before publishing it. Vercel’s environment documentation describes these environments; its CLI guide documents the deploy sequence below.

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Link the project and create a preview

  1. Open a terminal at your project root. Run vercel link and follow the prompts to connect the local project to the intended Vercel project. This creates a .vercel directory containing project and organization configuration.
  2. Pull environment variables if the local project needs them. Run vercel env pull .env.local. This step is optional; it is not required for every project. Treat .env.local as sensitive because it may contain secrets.
  3. Deploy a Preview. Run vercel deploy. Open the resulting deployment URL and check the pages and functionality you care about. If the build fails, inspect the deployment’s error logs before continuing.
  4. Publish the checked version. When you are ready for visitors to see it, run vercel deploy --prod. Vercel deploys to Production and assigns the project’s production domain automatically.

For a project connected to Git, Vercel can also create Preview deployments from pushes and pull requests. See Deploying a project from the CLI and the vercel deploy reference for the documented commands.

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Add your domain to the Vercel project

In Vercel, add the domain to the project that should serve it. You can do this in the dashboard or with the CLI:

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vercel domains add example.com <project-name>
vercel domains inspect example.com

Replace example.com and <project-name> with your own domain and project name. The inspection output tells you what configuration is needed; the dashboard also shows the required values. Use the values Vercel currently displays for your project rather than assuming that a generic DNS example applies to your domain. Follow Vercel’s custom-domain setup guide and domain configuration guide.

Choose where to manage DNS

You do not have to move DNS to Vercel just to use a custom domain. If your domain’s DNS remains with its current provider, add the records Vercel requests in that provider’s DNS interface. Or, you can delegate nameservers to Vercel and manage DNS there. The trade-off is between retaining your current DNS setup and moving authority—and any records your other services depend on—to Vercel.

Consideration Keep your existing DNS provider Use Vercel nameservers
Where records are managed At your current provider’s dashboard. In Vercel’s DNS management.
What setup involves Manually add the project-specific records Vercel requests, then verify the domain. Delegate the domain to Vercel; record management can then be automatic.
Existing services DNS authority stays where it is; update only the records needed for the Vercel project. Recreate records that must continue working, especially mail-related records such as MX.
Wildcard domains Vercel’s troubleshooting guidance requires nameserver delegation for wildcard-domain certificate issuance. Supports Vercel’s automatic DNS-01 validation workflow.
Propagation timing Depends on record TTLs and resolver caches. Nameserver changes may take 24–48 hours to propagate, according to Vercel’s guidance.

Keep DNS at your current provider

Vercel commonly documents an A record for an apex domain such as example.com and a CNAME for a subdomain such as www.example.com. Its examples include 76.76.21.21 for an A record and cname.vercel-dns-0.com for a CNAME, but these are not a substitute for the values shown for your project. Check the project’s domain instructions before changing records. Vercel’s setup guide explains the record configuration.

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Delegate nameservers to Vercel

Vercel lists ns1.vercel-dns.com and ns2.vercel-dns.com for its nameserver setup. Before changing delegation at your registrar, make sure records needed by other services are present in Vercel’s DNS configuration. Vercel specifically notes that MX records are needed to keep receiving email when using its nameservers. Nameserver delegation can take longer to become visible than an ordinary record update. See Working with nameservers and Vercel’s domain troubleshooting guidance.

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Verify DNS and HTTPS

After configuring DNS, inspect the domain in Vercel again and confirm that it reports the expected configuration. Once DNS verification succeeds, Vercel automatically provisions SSL. Its setup guide says certificate provisioning typically takes a few minutes, but this is guidance rather than a guaranteed deadline. Check the certificate status in Vercel if HTTPS is not ready. The setup guide covers verification and certificate status.

Troubleshoot in a practical order

  1. Confirm the project association. Make sure the domain is attached to the Vercel project that should serve it.
  2. Compare the live DNS records with Vercel’s current instructions. Correct mismatched values and remove outdated conflicting records.
  3. Check what DNS returns. For example, run dig ns example.com to inspect nameservers, dig a example.com for an apex A record, or dig cname www.example.com for a subdomain CNAME. Replace the example domain and host with yours.
  4. Check DNS-provider formatting. Some provider interfaces expect only the host prefix in the record-name field. Copy the CNAME target exactly as Vercel displays it, including a trailing dot if one is shown.
  5. Allow for caching and propagation. Record updates depend on prior TTLs and resolver behavior. Vercel says nameserver changes may take 24–48 hours; that is an estimate, not a guarantee. If one device or network sees an error but another does not, clear browser or local/network DNS caches and test from another network.
  6. Check CAA records if certificate issuance fails. Review whether CAA records permit the certificate issuance Vercel requires, then compare your configuration with the instructions shown for the domain.

For provider-specific cases and additional failure symptoms, consult Vercel’s troubleshooting page.

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