Custom domain

Serve your site at your own domain (e.g. menu.yourrestaurant.com or yourrestaurant.com) instead of the default app.bitethemenu.com/{your-slug} URL. Customers see the same content — menu, photos, ordering — but under your brand from the moment they land on the page.

Used by the venue owner, usually once, at setup time. Lives under Settings → Site.

What it does

When a customer searches for your restaurant and clicks the link, the default URL looks like app.bitethemenu.com/io-osteria-sukhumvit-31. It works, but it’s not your brand. With a custom domain the same menu is served at menu.yourrestaurant.com (or yourrestaurant.com) — more professional, easier to remember, and consistent with everything else you print or share.

Two domain shapes are supported.

Subdomain (recommended) — menu.yourrestaurant.com, qr.yourrestaurant.com, order.yourrestaurant.com, etc. Works at every DNS provider, no special setup. Doesn’t affect any other website you have at the main domain.
Apex (root) — yourrestaurant.com by itself. Works only if your DNS provider supports CNAME flattening (called ALIAS or ANAME at some providers). If your domain is on Aruba, Register.it, or GoDaddy, this won’t work — use a subdomain instead.

Paid plan only. Custom domains are included in the Paid Public Site tier. Without it, the section in admin shows a yellow lock badge.

How to use it

Go to Settings → Site. You’ll find the Custom domain card under the SEO settings.
In the Domain field, type the full domain without https:// in front. Examples: menu.yourrestaurant.com (subdomain) or yourrestaurant.com (apex). If you type something the system doesn’t recognise as a hostname, the field turns red and explains what’s wrong.
Under When someone visits the domain root, choose what visitors see when they go to the bare domain:
- Home page — your configured public layout (recommended if you have a real homepage with photos and info).
- Menu directly — visitors skip the home and land straight on the menu (recommended if the domain is just a menu — handy for table QR codes).
If you entered an apex domain, an amber warning appears reminding you that (a) your DNS provider must support CNAME flattening, and (b) saving will replace any existing website at that address. Confirm both apply before continuing.
Click Save. A yellow Waiting for DNS badge appears with the domain you typed.
Now add one DNS record at your registrar (Cloudflare, Aruba, Register.it, GoDaddy, Route 53, etc.). The card shows the exact values:

For a subdomain (menu.yourrestaurant.com):
- Type: CNAME
- Name: the part before the first dot (e.g. menu)
- Target: customers.bitethemenu.com
For an apex (yourrestaurant.com):
- Type: ALIAS, ANAME, or CNAME (whichever your provider exposes for the root record)
- Name: @ (root) — sometimes shown as blank
- Target: customers.bitethemenu.com
Save the record at your registrar. Propagation usually takes a few minutes; sometimes up to an hour.
Come back to Settings → Site. The system checks every 5 minutes, but if you want to force a check, click Check now on the yellow badge. Once the HTTPS certificate has been issued, the badge flips to a green Live badge with a clickable link to your new address.

What happens behind the scenes

When you save the domain:

The system registers it automatically on our side. You don’t need to open any third-party account or pay anything extra.
A free HTTPS certificate (Let’s Encrypt) is issued for your domain as soon as the DNS record is reachable. No payment, no manual cert handling.
From that point on, every visit to your domain reaches our edge, gets recognised as your venue from the hostname, and serves the same content as app.bitethemenu.com/{your-slug}.
Check now triggers an immediate status poll. Otherwise the system polls every 5 minutes on its own.

If the system reports a problem (wrong CNAME target, DNS not reachable, validation timeout), the badge turns red with the exact error message. Fix the DNS record and click Retry.

DNS provider compatibility (apex only)

For subdomains, every DNS provider works — they all support standard CNAME records.

For apex domains, the provider must support CNAME flattening:

Provider	Apex support	What to use
Cloudflare DNS	✅ Built-in flattening	CNAME at `@`
Route 53 (AWS)	✅	ALIAS record
DNSimple	✅	ALIAS record
NS1	✅	ALIAS record
DNS Made Easy	✅	ANAME record
EasyDNS	✅	ANAME record
Aruba	❌ No flattening	Use a subdomain instead
Register.it	❌ No flattening	Use a subdomain instead
GoDaddy	❌ No real flattening	Use a subdomain instead
Most other Italian registrars	❌ Usually no	Use a subdomain instead

If your provider isn’t on this list, check their docs for “CNAME flattening”, “ALIAS record”, or “ANAME record”. If none of those terms apply, your provider doesn’t support apex — a subdomain is the right choice. You can also move DNS to Cloudflare DNS (free) which adds flattening to any domain, but that’s a bigger change.

Examples

🍝 Standard subdomain — You own iltuoristorante.com and want a clean URL for the menu. In Settings → Site, save menu.iltuoristorante.com, choose Home page. At your registrar add: type CNAME, name menu, target customers.bitethemenu.com. A few minutes later the badge is green and https://menu.iltuoristorante.com shows your menu.
📱 QR-only subdomain — You want a short URL for the QR codes on every table that drops straight into the menu, no home page. Save eat.iltuoristorante.com, choose Menu directly. Same DNS step as above. Print the QR codes pointing at https://eat.iltuoristorante.com.
🏠 Apex (provider supports flattening) — BiteTheMenu is your only web presence and your DNS is on Cloudflare. Save iltuoristorante.com, choose Home page. At Cloudflare DNS add: type CNAME, name @, target customers.bitethemenu.com — it flattens automatically. Within minutes the badge is green and https://iltuoristorante.com serves your site.
⚠️ Apex on Aruba — You try to save iltuoristorante.com but your DNS is on Aruba. The amber warning in the card reminds you Aruba doesn’t flatten. Save anyway would just sit on yellow forever. Better path: save menu.iltuoristorante.com instead — works on Aruba with a normal CNAME.
⚠️ TLS error after 24 hours — Badge is still yellow long after saving. Almost always the DNS record at the registrar has a typo — for example, the name field has the full domain (menu.iltuoristorante.com) instead of just the label (menu), or the target has a trailing dot. Open the record at your registrar, fix it, click Check now on the card.

Frequently asked questions

Does the old app.bitethemenu.com/{slug} URL stop working? No, it keeps working. The custom domain is added alongside, not in place of.
How much does it cost? Nothing extra — it’s bundled with the Paid Public Site plan. The TLS certificate is free too.
Can I have more than one domain for the same venue? Not yet, one per venue.
Can I switch from a subdomain to an apex (or vice versa)? Yes. Click Clear on the card, wait for the old setup to disappear, then save the new domain and follow the DNS steps for that shape.
Do I need to update anything when my Let’s Encrypt cert renews? No, the system renews it automatically — usually around day 60 of the 90-day cert lifetime.

SEO and site metadata — titles, descriptions, and social images apply to both the default URL and your custom domain.
Public site layout — the layout you pick (Simple, Smart, Rich) also drives what visitors see on your custom domain.