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Setting up Vercel with an owns.it.com subdomain

This guide will walk you through the process of setting up a Vercel site and pointing your owns.it.com subdomain towards it.

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Create a Vercel Site

First, you’ll need to have a site deployed on Vercel:
  1. Go to the Vercel Documentation
  2. Follow the instructions to create and deploy your site
  3. Make sure your site is accessible at your Vercel domain (e.g., your-site.vercel.app)

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Configure Your Domain in Vercel

Before creating the domain files:
  1. Go to your Vercel Dashboard
  2. Select your project
  3. Navigate to “Settings” → “Domains”
  4. Enter your owns.it.com subdomain (e.g., yourname.owns.it.com)
  5. Note down the TXT verification string provided by Vercel

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Create the Domain Files

You’ll need to create two files for this setup. Let’s go through them in order:

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1. Vercel TXT Verification File

Create _vercel.subdomain.json in the domains directory (replace “subdomain” with your desired subdomain): 
{
    "owner": {
        "username": "your-github-username",
        "email": "[email protected]"
    },
    "records": {
        "TXT": "vercel-verification-string"
    }
}
Replace:
  • your-github-username with your GitHub username
  • [email protected] with your email address (or social media handle)
  • vercel-verification-string with the TXT string from Vercel
Important: Do not submit a pull request yet! You need to create the main domain file first.

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2. Main Domain File

Create subdomain.json in the domains directory (replace “subdomain” with your desired subdomain). You can choose either CNAME or A record configuration: Use this if you don’t need additional records like MX: 
{
    "owner": {
        "username": "your-github-username",
        "email": "[email protected]"
    },
    "records": {
        "CNAME": "your-site.vercel.app"
    }
}

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Option B: Using A Record

Use this if you need to use additional records (requires preview): 
{
    "owner": {
        "username": "your-github-username",
        "email": "[email protected]"
    },
    "records": {
        "A": ["76.76.21.21"]
    }
}
Note: If using an A record, you must provide a preview of your site in your pull request (either a link or screenshot).

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Submit Your Pull Request

After creating both files:
  1. Submit a pull request to the main repository
  2. If using an A record, include a preview of your site
  3. Wait for the pull request to be merged

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Your website should be live!

After your pull request has been merged, your website should be accessible at your owns.it.com subdomain. The process may take a few minutes for DNS changes to propagate.

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Troubleshooting

If your site isn’t working:
  1. Check that both domain files are correctly formatted
  2. Verify that the TXT verification string matches exactly
  3. Clear your browser cache if the site is still redirecting to owns.it.com
  4. Wait for DNS changes to propagate (this can take up to 48 hours)
  5. Verify your domain configuration in Vercel’s dashboard

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Need More Help?

For additional assistance: Note: owns.it.com is not affiliated with Vercel. For Vercel-specific issues, please use their support channels.
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