🚀 Feature availability
The custom domain for referral links is available starting from the Growth plan.
Overview
By default, Growave uses a generic domain for referral links, looking like this:
https://refrr.app/pUzphmlxrM/62389
You can customize this to use your own domain to create cleaner, branded links that build trust with your customers:
https://ref.yourshop.com/pUzphmlxrM/62389
To achieve this, you need to create a specific subdomain and connect it to Growave via a CNAME record.
Step 1 – Choose a custom subdomain
Why is a subdomain required? Due to Shopify's technical restrictions, you cannot use your main store domain (e.g., yourshop.com) for referral links because it is already connected to your storefront.
Instead, you must create a subdomain dedicated to referrals. Common examples include:
ref.yourshop.comreferral.yourshop.com
📘 Note
Ensure the subdomain you choose is not already in use for other services (like email or landing pages).
Step 2 – Create a CNAME record
Log in to your domain registrar or DNS provider (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare) and follow these steps:
Go to your DNS / Nameservers management section.
Add a new record (or edit an existing one if you reserved it).
Enter the following values:
Field | Value |
Type | CNAME |
Host / Name |
|
Points to / Target |
|
TTL | Default or 3600 |
If you are using another custom domain (e.g., yourstore.com), leave the Host (or Name) field empty. If the editor does not allow you to leave the field empty, enter "@".
How to verify your CNAME
Before adding it to Growave, test if the record is working:
Open a new browser tab.
Visit your new subdomain (e.g.,
https://ref.yourshop.com).Success: If you see a generic message saying “Referral link expired,” the setup is correct! This message appears because the domain doesn't have a specific referral code attached to it yet.
Failure: If the page does not load or shows a DNS error, wait 15–30 minutes for propagation and try again.
Step 3 – Add the custom referral domain to your Growave Referral program
Go to Growave admin → Rewards → Settings → General.
Find the Custom domain section.
Enter your full subdomain (e.g.,
ref.yourshop.com). in the Set up a custom domain for your Referral links field.Click Save.
Once connected, all new referral links generated by your customers will use your branded domain.
📘 Note
Existing referral links that were generated before this change may take some time to update, as this requires a background process.
FAQ
Why does my referral link show a 404 error?
Why does my referral link show a 404 error?
A 404 error usually means the connection between your domain and Growave is incomplete. Check the following:
Did you use your main domain? Ensure you are using a subdomain (e.g.,
ref.yoursite.com), not your root domain (yoursite.com).Is the CNAME pointing to the right place? Go back to your DNS settings and confirm the CNAME points specifically to
ref.refrr.app.Is it a propagation issue? DNS changes can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 24 hours to propagate across the internet. If you just added the record, please wait one hour and test again.
Did you save the setting in Growave? Double-check that the domain is entered correctly in Rewards → Settings → General.
If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact us at [email protected] or use the chat icon in the bottom-right corner of your admin panel. We’re here to help! 🤗