These steps assume you've already [set your site up](getting_started_part_two.md) and and it's served under the default Pages domain `namespace.gitlab.io`, or `namespace.gitlab.io/project-name`.
Once you've set the DNS record, you'll need navigate to your project's
**Setting > Pages** and click **+ New domain** to add your custom domain to
GitLab Pages. You can choose whether to add an [SSL/TLS certificate](#ssl-tls-certificates)
to make your website accessible under HTTPS or leave it blank. If don't add a certificate,
your site will be accessible only via HTTP:
Once you have added a new domain, you will need to **verify your ownership**
(unless the GitLab administrator has disabled this feature). A verification code
will be shown to you; add it as a [DNS TXT record](#dns-txt-record), then press
the "Verify ownership" button to activate your new domain:
Once your domain has been verified, leave the verification record in place -
your domain will be periodically reverified, and may be disabled if the record
is removed.
You can add more than one alias (custom domains and subdomains) to the same project.
An alias can be understood as having many doors leading to the same room.
All the aliases you've set to your site will be listed on **Setting > Pages**.
From that page, you can view, add, and remove them.
Note that [DNS propagation may take some time (up to 24h)](http://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/domain-names/dns-nameserver-changes/domain-names-dns-changes),
although it's usually a matter of minutes to complete. Until it does, verification
will fail and attempts to visit your domain will respond with a 404.
Read through the [general documentation on GitLab Pages](introduction.md#add-a-custom-domain-to-your-pages-website) to learn more about adding
### Redirecting `www.domain.com` to `domain.com` with Cloudflare
If you use Cloudflare, you can redirect `www` to `domain.com` without the need of adding both
`www.domain.com` and `domain.com` to GitLab. This happens due to a [Cloudflare feature that creates
a 301 redirect as a "page rule"](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/48848#note_87314849) for redirecting `www.domain.com` to `domain.com`. In this case,
you can use the following setup:
- In Cloudflare, create a DNS `A` record pointing `domain.com` to `35.185.44.232`
- In GitLab, add the domain to GitLab Pages
- In Cloudflare, create a DNS `TXT` record to verify your domain
- In Cloudflare, create a DNS `CNAME` record poiting `www` to `domain.com`
Back in the 1990s, where HTTPS came out, [SSL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_Layer_Security#SSL_1.0.2C_2.0_and_3.0) was considered a "special"
security measure, necessary just for big companies, like banks and shoppings sites
with financial transactions.
Now we have a different picture. [According to Josh Aas](https://letsencrypt.org/2015/10/29/phishing-and-malware.html), Executive Director at [ISRG](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Security_Research_Group):
> _We’ve since come to realize that HTTPS is important for almost all websites. It’s important for any website that allows people to log in with a password, any website that [tracks its users](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/12/10/nsa-uses-google-cookies-to-pinpoint-targets-for-hacking/) in any way, any website that [doesn’t want its content altered](http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/09/why-comcasts-javascript-ad-injections-threaten-security-net-neutrality/), and for any site that offers content people might not want others to know they are consuming. We’ve also learned that any site not secured by HTTPS [can be used to attack other sites](http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/04/dont-be-fodder-for-chinas-great-cannon/)._
Therefore, the reason why certificates are so important is that they encrypt
[you'd rather issue a certificate than generate a self-signed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-signed_certificate),
for security reasons and for having browsers trusting your
site's certificate.
There are several different kinds of certificates, each one
with certain security level. A static personal website will
not require the same security level as an online banking web app,
for instance. There are a couple Certificate Authorities that
offer free certificates, aiming to make the internet more secure
to everyone. The most popular is [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/),
which issues certificates trusted by most of browsers, it's open
source, and free to use. Please read through this tutorial to
understand [how to secure your GitLab Pages website with Let's Encrypt](https://about.gitlab.com/2016/04/11/tutorial-securing-your-gitlab-pages-with-tls-and-letsencrypt/).
With the same popularity, there are [certificates issued by CloudFlare](https://www.cloudflare.com/ssl/),
which also offers a [free CDN service](https://blog.cloudflare.com/cloudflares-free-cdn-and-you/).
Their certs are valid up to 15 years. Read through the tutorial on
[how to add a CloudFlare Certificate to your GitLab Pages website](https://about.gitlab.com/2017/02/07/setting-up-gitlab-pages-with-cloudflare-certificates/).
### Adding certificates to your project
Regardless the CA you choose, the steps to add your certificate to
