Blog / Technical Guides

Lovable Custom Domain Not Working? The Fixes for Pending, SSL and www Errors

By Keyona Meeks, Founder, ReRev Labs · Oct 31, 2026 · 12 min read

The short answer: Open Project → Settings → Domains in Lovable and read the status next to your domain. Fix only what that status says. Four checks cover the usual causes: your project is published, your A and TXT records match what Lovable shows, no old A, AAAA or CNAME record is left for the same name, and no proxy (such as Cloudflare's orange cloud) sits in front of the A record. Then wait. DNS changes can take up to 72 hours. Source: Lovable's custom domain docs, as of October 30, 2026.

By the end of this post, you'll be able to:

• Read every status Lovable shows for your domain and know the one action each status asks for.
• Check your A, TXT and AAAA records from your own computer, so you know if the problem is DNS or something else.
• Fix the four common blockers: old records, a Cloudflare proxy, CAA records and a missing www setup.

You told your team the new site goes live today. You open your domain and see a browser warning, your old website, or an error page. The site works fine on the lovable.app address, so the build is not the problem. The domain is.

Do not start by editing DNS records at random. Lovable's docs say the records it gives you must stay unchanged until verification finishes. Changing them mid-check can leave the domain stuck. This post walks the checks in order, so you change one thing at a time.

What should I check before I change any DNS record?

Four quick checks rule out the simple causes.

1. You are on a paid plan. Custom domains need a paid Lovable plan. Publishing to a lovable.app address works on every plan.
2. The project is published. A domain does not serve your site until you publish. A correctly set up domain on an unpublished project shows Ready. Click Publish to fix it.
3. Lovable hosts the site. This post covers domains served by Lovable's own hosting. If you host the site somewhere else, such as Netlify or Vercel, the Lovable statuses below do not apply. Follow how to deploy your Lovable website to your own domain instead.
4. You can read the status. Go to Project → Settings → Domains. Each domain shows one status. The next section explains each one.

You can also ask Lovable in the project chat about the domain. Per the docs, it reports the state, how long the domain has been there, which DNS records it expects, whether it can see them and whether the project is published. Treat that answer as a lead. Then check the record yourself at your DNS provider.

What does each status next to my Lovable domain mean?

This table covers a domain you bought outside Lovable and connected. Source: Lovable's custom domain docs, as of October 30, 2026.

My take on the last row: it is the one people get wrong. Check failed does not mean your site is down. Lovable says so itself. Click Check status and look at your site before you touch a single record.

Why is my domain stuck on Verifying or Unable to verify?

Lovable needs two records to match. Find them in the DNS setup window, or under the domain in Project → Settings → Domains while it shows Verifying.

Source: Launch your site on a custom domain, Lovable docs, as of October 30, 2026.

Work through these in order:

1. Compare the TXT value character by character. The docs name the full TXT value as the thing to check first. A cut-off value is a common reason for Verifying.
2. Check the Name field. Some providers do not accept @. Leave the field blank or enter your full domain instead. Amazon Route 53 is the example in Lovable's docs. If your provider's table shows your domain already added to the end of the name, you may have typed it twice. Look at the final name in the table.
3. Check what the internet returns. Open a terminal or Command Prompt and run these. Replace yourdomain.com with your domain.

nslookup -type=A yourdomain.com
nslookup -type=TXT _lovable.yourdomain.com
nslookup -type=AAAA yourdomain.com

The first should return 185.158.133.1. The second should return your lovable_verify= value. The third should find no IPv6 address. Your computer may show a cached answer. For a view from several places, use dnschecker.org, which Lovable's docs recommend.

1. Leave the A record alone. The docs say the records must stay unchanged until verification finishes. Do not turn on a proxy and do not point the A record at a CDN while the status is Verifying. Either one keeps the domain in Verifying.
2. Click Check status. Lovable looks up your records right away. If it says to wait, wait about five minutes before you try again.

DNS changes can take up to 72 hours to reach every network. Most are live within a few hours. A domain whose records never arrive shows Removed after 72 hours. Click Reconnect to start again.

Why does my domain show my old site or the wrong page?

Your DNS provider probably still has records from the old host. Per Lovable's docs, an old A, AAAA or CNAME record for the same name sends visitors to the previous site.

1. Open the DNS records for your domain at your DNS provider.
2. For the name you are connecting, delete every A, AAAA and CNAME record except the A record that points to 185.158.133.1.
3. Keep the TXT record _lovable and leave your MX records alone. MX records keep your email working.
4. Wait for the change to spread. Test in a private browser window, so a cached page does not fool you.

The AAAA record deserves its own mention. It points a domain to an IPv6 address. Lovable's docs say an AAAA record can interfere with setup and send traffic to the wrong place. If your third nslookup command above returned an address, remove that record. If the address 185.158.133.1 shows up in your DNS settings, that is Lovable's server and not an old host.

Why is SSL stuck on Setting up, Stalled or Failed?

An SSL certificate gives you the padlock and the https:// address. Lovable issues it for you. You do not buy, install or upload one at your registrar. Any certificate you hold at Namecheap or GoDaddy is not used by Lovable's hosting.

• Setting up: Verification passed and Lovable is issuing the certificate. The browser shows a security warning until the certificate is ready. Wait for Live before you open the site.
• Stalled or Failed: Click Retry. Do not remove and re-add the domain.
• Still not issued after 72 hours: Contact Lovable Support.

If your domain stays in Setting up, Stalled or Failed and you have CAA records, those records may block the certificate. A CAA record lists which certificate authorities may issue certificates for your domain. Lovable's docs recommend allowing all three it uses. Add these at your DNS provider:

0 issue "pki.goog"
0 issue "letsencrypt.org"
0 issue "ssl.com"

If your provider shows separate fields, use flag 0, tag issue, and the issuer domain as the value. Check the parent domain too. A subdomain such as app.example.com inherits the CAA records of example.com when it has none of its own. If you cannot change the parent, add the records at the subdomain. When the changes take effect, click Retry and wait for Live.

Source: Lovable's custom domain docs, as of October 30, 2026.

Why does www not work, or why does it redirect?

When you connect a root domain, Lovable offers the option Redirect www.yourdomain.com → yourdomain.com. It is on by default. Three facts explain most www confusion:

• www is its own domain in Lovable. It is listed separately and needs its own two records: an A record named www and a TXT record named _lovable.www. Use the lovable_verify= value from the www setup window, not the one from the root domain.
• If you turned the option off, the list shows www.yourdomain.com as Not connected after the root domain goes Live. Click Connect next to it.
• The primary domain wins. The first custom domain you add becomes the primary domain, and Lovable redirects every other connected address to it. To change it, open the three dots menu next to a Live domain and click Set as primary.

If you bought the domain through Lovable, it sets up both the root domain and www for you.

Pick one address as your main one and stay with it. Lovable uses temporary (302) redirects between connected domains. It does not support permanent (301) redirects between them. If redirect type matters for your search results, plan for that.

What if Cloudflare is in front of my domain?

Lovable's docs say Cloudflare errors 1001 and 1003 come from Cloudflare's proxy, not from Lovable. You have two options:

1. Turn the proxy off for these records. In Cloudflare's DNS settings, set the records for your Lovable domain to DNS only (gray cloud) instead of Proxied (orange cloud). Wait a few minutes and try again.
2. Keep the proxy on, and connect the domain a different way. Disconnect the domain, then connect it again with the Uses Cloudflare or similar proxy option enabled. Lovable's docs name this option. I could not confirm where it sits in the dashboard, so look for it when you reconnect. Lovable then gives you one CNAME record instead of the A and TXT records. You own the proxy setup from that point. Lovable does not configure or monitor it.

Do not switch on the proxy while the status is Verifying. That is the case Lovable's docs describe as getting stuck.

What if the status says Pending, Action required or Suspended on a domain I bought through Lovable?

A domain bought through Lovable has its own statuses.

• Pending: Lovable is registering the domain and setting up DNS and SSL. Lovable's launch guide says setup usually finishes within 30 minutes and can take up to a day. If you see a warning, click Check status. Contact Lovable Support if it is not done after a few hours.
• Action required: ICANN requires you to verify the registrant email address. Open the verification email and click the link. If the email matches your verified Lovable account email, Lovable does this for you.
• Suspended: The registrar suspended the domain, most often because the email was not verified before the deadline. The domain stops serving your project. Verify the email. If it stays suspended, contact support.

Source: Lovable's custom domain docs, as of October 30, 2026.

Where this has limits

• This is Lovable's own hosting. The statuses and fixes here come from Lovable's documentation as of October 30, 2026. They can change. If your screen shows a label that is not in this post, read the current Lovable docs first.
• Lovable controls the checks. Some cases need Lovable's team, for example a certificate that is not issued after 72 hours. No DNS change on your side fixes those.
• You need a paid plan to connect a new domain. Domains that are already connected keep serving your app after a downgrade. You cannot connect a new one until you upgrade.
• You cannot remove the lovable.app address. Lovable's docs say there is no way to remove it. Set your custom domain as primary so visitors land on your own address.
• Propagation is outside your control. You cannot speed up other networks. Check your records, then wait.
• A host change is a different job. If you plan to leave Lovable's hosting, the steps differ. Start with the deploy tutorial. For the DNS basics behind all of this, read the DNS crash course for founders.

If DNS has already cost you an evening, you can apply on /letstalk and name the stuck domain as the workflow. Bring your domain name, the company where it is registered, and a screenshot of the status in Project → Settings → Domains. Do not send passwords or registrar logins.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a Lovable custom domain take to go live?

Lovable says DNS changes can take up to 72 hours to propagate, though most updates are live within a few hours. For a domain bought through Lovable, its launch guide says setup usually finishes within 30 minutes and can take up to a day. Check your records first. Waiting does not fix a wrong record.

Do I need a paid Lovable plan for a custom domain?

Yes. Custom domains need a paid plan. You can build and publish on a free lovable.app address first, then upgrade when you are ready to connect your domain.

Why does sign-in fail on my new domain?

The new address is probably missing from your app's list of allowed sign-in redirect URLs. For apps on Lovable's built-in backend, Lovable adds a custom domain to that list when the domain goes Live. If sign-in still fails, ask Lovable in the project chat to add the domain. Apps that use your own Supabase project need the domain added in that project's auth settings.

Should I connect the root domain or a subdomain?

Either works. Use the root domain, such as yourdomain.com, for your main site. Use a subdomain, such as app.yourdomain.com, when the root domain already serves something else. Each subdomain is added and set up on its own, and different subdomains can serve different projects.

Can I use Lovable's chat to fix a stuck domain?

It can tell you what it sees. Per the docs, Lovable's chat reports the domain's state, the records it expects and whether it can see them. You still change the records yourself at your DNS provider. Let the chat read the status, and let a person check the record.

When should I contact Lovable Support?

Contact Lovable Support when your records are correct and the status has not moved after the waits above. The docs name two cases: a certificate that is not issued after 72 hours, and a bought domain that is still Pending after a few hours. Bring your domain name and the status you see.