About domains

A domain (sometimes called a domain name) is a user-friendly address used to access websites on the internet. It serves as a readable representation of an IP address, which is the numerical identifier computers use to locate each other on the network.

Adding a domain that you own, like www.example.com, blog.example.com, or even something with wildcards such as *.example.com to Fastly ensures that others cannot serve requests to your domain. Additionally, by routing your domain's traffic through Fastly, you can store cached copies of important information as close to your users as possible, helping to speed up its delivery to them.

To use your domain with Fastly:

1. Add the domain name that visitors use to access your website or application to a Fastly service.
2. (Optional, but recommended) Secure your domain by configuring Fastly TLS to serve secure traffic using HTTPS.
3. Test everything to make sure things are working the way you expect.
4. Update your DNS records to route production traffic for your domain through Fastly.

Before you begin

Be sure you learn about the web interface controls and how to work with services before you start working with your domains.

Adding a domain to Fastly

Use the service configuration to add a domain to Fastly, being mindful of the following domain creation limits.

Domains can only be associated with one service at a time

If a domain is in use by another service within your account, you can delete the domain and add it to the other service. However, if a domain is used by a service in another Fastly account, it can't be used without being delegated.

If you try to create a domain that is already associated with another service, you may get error messages like:

Domain [domain name] is already taken by service [service name].

In this case, follow the steps to delete a domain from your service before creating the domain on your new service.

If you try to create a domain that is already owned by another customer, you may get error messages like:

Domain [domain name] is taken by another customer. Domain [domain name] is owned by another customer.

If you receive one of these errors when adding a domain that you rightfully should have access to, or if you need to delegate a domain to another account or customer (for example, delegating a domain from a test account to a production account), contact support to help you delegate the domain to the correct account.

Services are limited to a set number of domains

We set a limit on the number of domains you can create per service by default based on your account type and any packaged offering you've purchased.

Once you reach that limit, error messages may appear that look something like this:

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{
  "msg": "An error occurred while connecting to the fastly API, please try your request again.",
  "detail": "Exceeding max number of domains: 10"
}

If you're receiving a limit message and need to create more services or domains, contact support for assistance. Fastly support engineers can not only increase the number of services that you can use, they can suggest other ways to design what you are trying to achieve.

Securing domains with TLS

TLS is used to form secure server connections so traffic can be served over HTTPS. You can have Fastly procure a Fastly-managed TLS certificate using Certainly or bring your own TLS certificate.

Testing domains

Fastly won't begin serving traffic for your domain until you update your DNS records and activate your service. Before doing this, you can check to see how your service is pulled through our network and identify any DNS issues or problems with your Fastly configuration.

Updating DNS records to point to Fastly

Once you're ready to have Fastly serve production traffic for your domain, you'll need to update your DNS records to point to Fastly by setting up a CNAME record for the domain.

What's next

Once you understand how domains work and their limits, add a domain to Fastly.