Use your own domain for the helpdesk

By default, your helpdesk lives at yoursubdomain.chatonio.com. On the Pro and Ultimate plans you can serve the exact same helpdesk on a domain you own — for example help.yourcompany.com — so your clients sign in, read articles and track tickets without ever seeing a Chatonio URL.

Setup is fully self-serve: add the domain in your knowledge base settings, create two DNS records, and click verify. HTTPS certificates are issued and renewed automatically — there is nothing to upload or configure on your side. If you haven't launched your helpdesk yet, start with Setting Up Your Helpdesk.

Before you start

• Your plan must include custom domains — Pro or Ultimate (the same plans that include the helpdesk portal itself).
• You need access to your domain's DNS settings (your registrar or DNS provider's control panel).
• Use a subdomain such as help.yourcompany.com or support.yourcompany.com. A bare domain (yourcompany.com) usually cannot carry the required CNAME record.

Step 1 — Add the domain

1. Go to Admin → Projects → [Your Project] → Knowledge Base and open the Settings tab.
2. Open the Address & search section and find Your own domain. (If you see an upgrade hint instead, your current plan doesn't include the feature.)
3. Enter your hostname — e.g. help.yourcompany.com — and click Set up.

Step 2 — Create the DNS records

That section now shows the two records to create at your DNS provider, with copy buttons for the values:

• CNAME — points your hostname at Chatonio's edge. Use the exact target shown in that section. This record must stay in place for as long as you use the domain.
• TXT — proves you control the hostname. Copy the name and value exactly as shown. The record name is a random string generated just for your account and the value is an opaque token — nothing in this record identifies your helpdesk provider to anyone inspecting your DNS zone.

Step 3 — Verify

Back in that section, click Check DNS now. Chatonio queries public DNS for your verification record. DNS changes can take a few minutes (occasionally longer) to propagate — if the check fails right after you added the records, wait a little and try again. Once it passes, the section shows your domain as verified and serving.

What changes after verification

• HTTPS is automatic. A certificate is issued on the first visit to your domain — that first page load can take a few extra seconds; after that everything is instant, and certificates renew automatically.
• Everything runs on your domain. The knowledge base, FAQ, client sign-in and the full ticket portal — including live message updates — are served at your hostname.
• Links in outgoing emails switch automatically. Sign-in (magic-link) emails, ticket notification emails and Telegram notification buttons all start using your custom domain instead of the chatonio.com subdomain.
• Your clients only ever see your domain. The visitor-facing URL is fully yours, and the verification record in your DNS is vendor-neutral.
• The subdomain keeps working. yoursubdomain.chatonio.com remains reachable, so existing bookmarks don't break.
• Search-engine indexing becomes available. The Search engines toggle, in that same Address & search section, only takes effect on a verified custom domain — on a chatonio.com subdomain it has no effect.

Removing or changing the domain

Click Remove domain in that section to go back to serving the helpdesk on your chatonio.com subdomain — links in new outgoing emails revert automatically. To change domains, remove the current one and run the setup again with the new hostname.

A custom domain requires an active plan that includes the feature. If your subscription later drops below Pro, certificates stop being renewed and the custom domain eventually stops being served — your chatonio.com subdomain address always keeps working.