Use your own domain

Serve your school’s ValidBridge site on an address like learn.school.ac.ke: add the domain, create two DNS records, verify, and HTTPS is set up automatically.

Admins

By default your organization lives at its ValidBridge address. With a custom domain, learners visit your own address instead — for example learn.school.ac.ke — with a secure HTTPS certificate issued for you.

Who can use it

Custom domains are available on the Pro plan and above. You need the Admin role in ValidBridge and access to your domain's DNS settings (often held by your IT team or web host).

Pick the right address

Use a subdomain such as learn.school.ac.ke or portal.academy.co.ke. Your main website (school.ac.ke) usually cannot take the CNAME record this needs, and pointing it at ValidBridge would replace your existing site.

1. Add the domain

Go to Developers → Domains (open Domains) and click Add Domain.
Type the full address, e.g. learn.school.ac.ke, and add it.
The domain appears as Pending, and ValidBridge shows the two DNS records to create.

2. Create the DNS records

At your domain registrar or DNS host (KENIC reseller, Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap…), create both records exactly as shown on the page:

Type	Name / host	Value	Purpose
TXT	`_validbridge-verification.learn`	`validbridge-verify=…` (your code)	Proves you own the domain
CNAME	`learn`	The target shown on the page	Sends visitors to ValidBridge

The example is for learn.school.ac.ke. The TXT record must end up at _validbridge-verification.learn.school.ac.ke. Most DNS hosts add your domain to the name automatically, so you type only the part before it (_validbridge-verification.learn and learn). If the page shows a longer name than your DNS host expects, keep only the part before your own domain.

Copy, don’t retype

Use the copy buttons on the Domains page. A single wrong character in the code or the CNAME target stops verification.

3. Verify

Wait for the records to take effect — often minutes, occasionally up to 48 hours.
Click Verify next to the domain, then Verify DNS.
When the TXT record is found, the domain changes to Verified.

4. HTTPS is set up for you

Once the domain is verified and the CNAME is in place, a certificate is issued automatically, usually within a few minutes. The SSL column updates on its own; you can also open the domain and click Check.

SSL badge	Meaning
SSL Active	The certificate is live. Learners can use the address.
Provisioning	The certificate is being issued. Give it a few minutes.
Invalid	The certificate could not be issued — almost always because the CNAME is missing or points somewhere else. Fix it, then verify again.
Unknown	The status could not be read right now. Check again shortly.

Removing a domain

Click the delete (bin) icon next to the domain and confirm. The address stops serving your organization and its certificate is released. Then delete the TXT and CNAME records at your DNS host. Your ValidBridge address keeps working throughout.

Troubleshooting

“TXT record not found”

The record is missing, has not spread yet, or sits at the wrong name (often the domain was added twice, e.g. …learn.school.ac.ke.school.ac.ke). Check the name and wait a little before verifying again.

“TXT record found but value doesn’t match”

The value was mistyped or is from an earlier attempt. Copy it again from the Domains page.

Verified, but the certificate stays in Provisioning

Check that the CNAME exists and points to the exact target shown. If your DNS is on Cloudflare, set the record to DNS only (grey cloud) while the certificate is issued. Still stuck after an hour? Email [email protected] with the domain name.

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