How to Connect a Namecheap Domain to Shopify (Step by Step)

To connect a Namecheap domain to Shopify, you point two DNS records at Shopify and then add the domain in your Shopify admin. Namecheap makes the first part quick with a ready-made “Shopify” DNS template. The whole job takes about ten minutes, and Shopify says the change usually takes effect within two hours, though it can take up to 48.

This step-by-step guide follows Shopify’s own instructions for Namecheap domains, explains what each record does, and covers the extra verification step, email, and what to do if it doesn’t work. It also explains the other option, transferring the domain to Shopify, and when that makes sense. Every value comes from Shopify’s Help Center, checked on the date at the end.

Connect or transfer a Namecheap domain to Shopify?

Connecting is the simpler choice for most stores: your domain, renewals and any email stay with Namecheap, and Shopify simply serves your store on it. Transfer only if you want to manage and pay for the domain inside Shopify.

Before you start

• Your Namecheap login, and access to the Shopify admin for your store.
• A copy of your current DNS records, especially if you use email on the domain. Shopify recommends saving any records you need to keep before changing them.
• Your root domain (example.com) or the subdomain you want to use (for example shop.example.com).

Step 1: Open your domain in Namecheap

Log in to your Namecheap account in a new browser tab, go to your Domain List, and click Manage next to the domain you want to connect.

Step 2: Apply the Shopify DNS template

On the domain’s page, click Choose DNS Template and select Shopify from the list. Click Continue to confirm that Namecheap should change your DNS to Shopify’s recommended records.

The template replaces the records it covers, so make sure you saved anything you need, such as email (MX) records, first.

Step 3: Check the two records

Open the Advanced DNS tab and check that the records match Shopify’s values:

Values from Shopify’s Help Center when this guide was updated. Shopify may suggest a different IP address for your region when you connect; follow what your admin shows.

• The A record sends visitors who type your root domain (example.com) to Shopify. You can have only one; delete any other A records on the root.
• The CNAME record sends www.example.com to your store. Again, only one www CNAME is allowed.
• Connecting a subdomain only (such as shop.example.com)? Shopify says you need just a CNAME record for that subdomain, not an A record.

Shopify’s general guide also lists an AAAA record for IPv6 (2620:0127:f00f:5::). If your Namecheap DNS has an AAAA record on the root pointing elsewhere, change it to Shopify’s address or remove it.

Step 4: Connect the domain in Shopify

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Settings → Domains.
2. Click Connect existing domain.
3. Enter your domain (for example example.com, without www) and click Next.

Shopify checks the records. It can take up to 48 hours for the domain to be fully live, and you can click the domain in Settings → Domains at any time to see its connection status.

Step 5: Add the verification record (if asked)

Some domains need one more check. If Shopify asks for it:

1. In Namecheap, open the domain’s Advanced DNS tab and click Add New Record.
2. Choose TXT Record and enter shopify_verification as the Host.
3. In Shopify, go to Settings → Domains, open the domain and copy the value shown.
4. Paste it into the TXT record’s Value in Namecheap and save.
5. Back in Shopify, click I updated DNS records. Verification can take a few minutes.

The same TXT check is used if the domain is already connected to another Shopify store and you’re moving it to a new one.

After it connects

• Make it your primary domain in Settings → Domains, so customers always see your own address rather than your myshopify.com one.
• Check both versions: open example.com and www.example.com and make sure both reach your store.
• Keep renewing at Namecheap. Shopify says that with a connected domain you still manage settings, pay and renew with your domain provider.

Using a subdomain for your store

If your main website stays where it is (for example a WordPress blog on example.com) and you want the store on its own address such as shop.example.com, you don’t touch the root domain at all. Shopify’s Namecheap guide says a subdomain needs only a CNAME record:

• In Namecheap’s Advanced DNS, add a CNAME record with the Host shop (or whatever subdomain you choose) and the value shops.myshopify.com.
• Leave the root domain’s A record pointing at your current website, so the blog keeps working.
• In Shopify, add the subdomain as a domain; Shopify has a separate Help Center guide for connecting a third-party subdomain.

This is a tidy way to add a shop to an existing blog without moving anything: readers find the blog on your main address and the store one click away.

Keep your email working

Connecting your store only needs the A and CNAME records; your email uses different records (MX and usually TXT). If you use email on the domain, through Namecheap’s own email or a service such as Google Workspace or Zoho Mail, make sure those records are still in Advanced DNS after you apply the Shopify template, and add them back from your saved copy if not. Send yourself a test email once the change is live.

If it doesn’t work

• Wait first. DNS changes usually show within two hours but can take up to 48.
• Check for extra records. A second A record or www CNAME pointing elsewhere stops the connection; there can be only one of each.
• Check the CNAME value is exactly shops.myshopify.com.
• Using Cloudflare for DNS? Shopify says you don’t need to move back to Namecheap’s nameservers, as long as Cloudflare publishes the right records.
• Still stuck? Shopify Support can’t access your Namecheap account, so changes to the records have to be made at Namecheap; Namecheap’s support can help with that side.

Transferring a Namecheap domain to Shopify instead

If you’d rather manage the domain inside Shopify, you can transfer it. Shopify lists these requirements:

• The domain must be at least 60 days past its registration, its last transfer or a change to the registrant details.
• A transfer includes a one-year renewal, required by ICANN rather than a Shopify fee; it extends the domain’s expiry date by 12 months.
• Your account email must not be on the domain you’re transferring, because you’ll need to answer emails during the transfer.
• Only root domains such as example.com can be transferred, and Shopify won’t copy your custom DNS records, so save them first.
• Shopify doesn’t host email; it offers email forwarding, so you’ll need an email service if you use email on the domain.

To prepare, connect the domain to Shopify first, then in Namecheap unlock the domain and request its transfer authorization code, and start the transfer from Settings → Domains in Shopify. Keep the domain unlocked until the transfer is completely finished.

Should you buy your domain from Shopify or Namecheap?

If you haven’t bought a domain yet, you have two routes. Buying from Shopify keeps everything in one admin, but a Shopify-managed domain must use Shopify’s nameservers, and its settings live in Shopify. Buying from a registrar such as Namecheap means one more account, but the domain is independent of your store: if you ever move to another platform, you only change two records again instead of transferring the domain.

Whichever you choose, pick a short name that’s easy to say and spell; the guide to using your own name as a domain weighs up one common option.

A quick checklist after launch

• Both example.com and www.example.com open your store, with the padlock (SSL) showing.
• Your own domain is set as the primary domain in Settings → Domains, so the myshopify.com address redirects to it.
• Email to and from your domain still works.
• Your domain renews automatically at Namecheap, so the store never goes offline because a renewal was missed.
• You’ve added the store to Google Search Console under your own domain, so you can follow its search traffic.

Still choosing a store platform? See the best ecommerce platforms compared. For more on picking a registrar, see the Namecheap review, and for your store’s search basics, the SEO basics guide.