Rocket.net is a great hosting service for those using a page builder to build a WordPress website. The main issue with the service is that it has extremely lack of documentation. Not even the official documentation on how to connect a domain. If you experience an issue on how to connect your domain to Rocket.net, this post will show you how.
First thing first. Rocket.net doesn’t offer a DNS management feature like, for instance, Kinsta. Thus, to connect your domain, you need to have access to the DNS manager feature on your domain registrar (Namecheap, GoDaddy, Hover, and so on). All domain registrars have this feature so there is nothing you need to worry about.
Steps to Connect Your Domain in Rocket.net
When you add/create a new website on your Rocket.net account, you will have a temporary domain under the domain of onrocket.site to access your WordPress website. You can use this temporary domain while your website is still in a development stage. Once your website is ready, you can connect your domain so that visitors can access it via your domain.
To start connecting your domain, first, select a website you want to connect with your domain. Click the Manage link to manage it.
Next, click the Get Started button on the Ready to go live? section. Make sure to click the button once your website is completely ready to launch.
Enter your domain to the available field. Please note that yourdomain.com and www.yourdomain.com are different. So, if you want your domain to have www, you need to include the “www” letters on the field. Click the Continue button to proceed to the next step.
As you can see, Rocket.net will provide two TXT records which you need to add to configure the SSL. You can add these records to the DNS manager on your domain registrar. So, login to your domain registrar (the service you bought the domain from).
Setting Up SSL
After logging in to your domain registrar, select your domain and manage it. Find a menu to manage the DNS. It should say something like DNS Management.
Add a new record by clicking the Add New Record button.
Set the record type to TXT. Switch to the Rocket.net tab to copy the record name and value and enter them to the corresponding fields. Click the Add Record button.
Repeat the steps above to add another TXT record. Once done, you should see two TXT records on your DNS management.
Switch back to the Rocket.net tab and click the I’ve Added TXT Records, Continue button to continue.
It takes minutes for Rocket.net to configure the SSL. So, if you see a pending validation status after clicking the above button, retry in 5 to 10 minutes.
Connecting the Domain
Once the SSL configuration completed, you can start to connect your domain. The steps are the same as setting up the SSL above. You just need to change the record type this time.
- A Record
On the DNS manager of your domain registrar, add a new record and set the type to A. Enter the name and value (IP address) to the corresponding fields.
A little note. If you find an error adding the record, try to leave the domain field empty.
- CNAME
On the DNS manager of your domain registrar, add a new record. This time, set the type to CNAME. Enter the name and value to the corresponding fields.
That’s it.
You should now have four records as follows.
Lastly, switch back to the Rocket.net tab and click the I’ve Updated My DNS button.
Done. New DNS changes usually takes up to 24 hours to fully propagate. So, if you still unable to access your website via your domain after updating the DNS records, be patient.
The Bottom Line
Rocket.net is a great WordPress hosting service. It is especially a great fit if you use a page builder like Elementor and Breakdance. You will see about 40% performance improvement after switching from SiteGround, Bluehost, and other shared hosting services to Rocket.net.
As said earlier, while the hosting service of Rocket.net is great, it has poor documentation. You can’t even find a documention about how to connect your domain. If you have just created a new WordPress website on your Rocket.net account and experience an issue connecting your domain, you can read out post above.
