How to Add a Custom Domain to Shopify (Free Alternative Method)

Shopify and Custom Domains

Every Shopify store gets a free *.myshopify.com subdomain. Shopify also supports connecting custom domains natively on all paid plans — but there's a $14/month minimum. ^[1] If you want your store accessible at a custom domain without the Shopify monthly fee, Edgely gives you a free proxy layer.

When to Use Edgely with Shopify

• Development/staging stores: Point a branded staging domain to your *.myshopify.com URL for client previews without paying Shopify.
• Additional branded domains: Route multiple domains to the same Shopify store.
• AI bot tracking: Use the xSeek integration to see which AI crawlers visit your store — important for e-commerce GEO optimisation.

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1 — Find your myshopify.com URL

In your Shopify admin go to Online Store → Domains. Your store URL is https://your-store.myshopify.com.

Step 2 — Add domain in Edgely

Sign up at xedgely.com and click Add Domain:

• Custom Domain: www.yourbrand.com
• Target URL: https://your-store.myshopify.com

Step 3 — Add a CNAME record

Type:  CNAME
Host:  www
Value: proxy.xedgely.com

Step 4 — DNS propagation and SSL

Edgely watches for your CNAME to resolve and provisions a free SSL certificate automatically. Your branded domain is live in minutes to 24 hours. ^[2]

Important Limitations

• Checkout: Shopify's checkout (/checkout) is processed on Shopify's own domain for PCI compliance. Customers may see a domain change during checkout. This is expected behaviour for proxy setups.
• Shopify Payments: Shopify Payments requires your domain to be verified in Shopify for full fraud protection. Use this setup for staging/preview environments or non-payment storefronts.

Edgely is the fastest way to proxy your Shopify project to a custom domain. It provisions a free SSL certificate, syncs routing to Vercel Edge Config for sub-millisecond lookups, and optionally caches responses at the edge — all for free on the starter plan.