My custom domain isn't verifying

Most custom domains verify within 5 minutes. If yours is stuck longer than that, the cause is almost always one of five things below, work through them in order.

First check: open OpenChair → Storefront → Domain. The status badge tells you the current state. If it says Issue, the description will tell you what's wrong (e.g. "Conflicting CNAME found"). The list below covers the more ambiguous Pending DNS and Verifying cases.

TL;DR

99% of stuck verifications are one of: unsaved record, typo in the value, conflicting old record, Cloudflare proxy on, or slow propagation.
Use dnschecker.org to confirm the record is actually live before clicking Verify again.
On Cloudflare, set the record to "DNS only" (grey cloud), the orange-cloud proxy breaks verification.
If it's still stuck after 30 minutes and five checks, email support with screenshots of the OpenChair status, the DNS record, and a dnschecker lookup.

1. The DNS record isn't actually saved

The most common cause. You added the record in your domain provider's UI but didn't click Save, or saved it on the wrong record set.

How to check: at your domain provider, open the DNS settings page and scroll through the records. You should see exactly the values OpenChair gave you (Type, Name, Value). If you don't, add it again.

Tip: take a screenshot of the record in your provider's UI. If you need to email support, that screenshot saves a 20-minute back-and-forth.

2. The values don't match exactly

Typos kill DNS records silently. Common mistakes:

The Name field needs the subdomain only (e.g. book for book.salonsmith.com), not the full hostname. Some registrars want book.salonsmith.com. (with trailing dot), they'll usually auto-correct.
The Value field for a subdomain is the address we give you (e.g. cname.vercel-dns.com), copy and paste rather than typing.
For an apex (salonsmith.com), the Name is @ (an at-sign). Some registrars use a blank field or your bare domain instead, check the help text.

How to check: use a free DNS lookup tool like dnschecker.org. Type your hostname and pick the right record type (A or CNAME). It should show the value we asked for. If it shows something else, fix the record at your provider.

3. There's a conflicting older record

If you previously had a different A or CNAME pointing the same name elsewhere (an old website, an email forwarder, a previous SaaS), the old record blocks ours.

How to check: at your domain provider, look for any record with the same Name. Delete the old one, there can only be one A or CNAME per name. Don't delete TXT, MX, or other types, those are unrelated.

4. Cloudflare proxy is interfering

If your domain is hosted on Cloudflare and the proxy (orange cloud) is enabled on the record, verification will fail. Cloudflare proxies the connection through their edge, which masks the real DNS target.

How to fix: in Cloudflare → DNS, click the orange cloud next to the record to turn it grey ("DNS only"). Wait 60 seconds. Click Verify now in OpenChair.

You can re-enable the orange-cloud proxy after the domain is Active, but most owners leave it as DNS-only because OpenChair already handles HTTPS, caching, and DDoS protection.

5. DNS propagation is slow

Most providers propagate changes within 5 minutes. A few are slower, particularly if your domain has a high TTL (Time To Live) value on its existing records, sometimes set to 24 hours.

How to check: use dnschecker.org again, it shows propagation across multiple worldwide DNS servers. If the record shows for some servers and not others, you're mid-propagation. Wait another 30 minutes and try Verify again.

If your registrar lets you adjust TTL, lower it to 300 seconds (5 minutes) for future changes.

Specific provider notes

GoDaddy: their DNS UI sometimes doesn't save until you click both "Save" and a follow-up confirmation. Refresh the page to check.
Namecheap: Advanced DNS → Add New Record. The "Host" field uses the same convention as Name, @ for apex, the subdomain for everything else.
Cloudflare: see point 4. Always start with proxy off.
Squarespace Domains: they let you add records but the UI doesn't show propagation status. Allow up to 30 minutes.
Domain at one provider, DNS at another: sometimes you've moved the DNS to Cloudflare even though the registration is at another provider. Add the record wherever the DNS is hosted (the "nameservers" of your domain).

When to escalate to support

If you've worked through all five checks above and it's still failing after 30 minutes:

Take a screenshot of:
- The Domain page in OpenChair (showing the status)
- The DNS record at your provider
- A dnschecker.org lookup of your hostname
Email support@openchairpro.com with all three screenshots.
We can usually identify the issue from the screenshots within an hour.

What "verification" actually does

When you click Verify, OpenChair asks our hosting provider to check whether your DNS record is pointing where it should. If it is, the provider issues a free SSL certificate (so your domain works on https://) and routes traffic to your storefront.

The whole thing typically takes a few seconds once DNS is correct. If you're stuck, the issue is almost always upstream of us, at your domain provider's DNS layer.

FAQ

How long does verification usually take?

Usually 1 to 5 minutes after the DNS record is saved at your domain provider. If it's been more than 30 minutes, something needs fixing. See the checklist above.

Why does it say 'Pending DNS' even after I added the record?

Either the record is using the wrong values (most common), there's a conflicting older record, or your registrar uses a longer TTL. Use a DNS lookup tool to confirm the record is actually live before re-clicking Verify.

I'm on Cloudflare and verification keeps failing

Cloudflare's orange-cloud proxy intercepts the verification probe. Click the cloud next to your record to switch it to grey ('DNS only'), wait 60 seconds, then click Verify now. You can re-enable the proxy after the domain is Active.