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Knowledge > Runbooks > Deployment > Domain Setup

Add a New Domain or Subdomain

Add a new domain or subdomain to the ChurchWiseAI portfolio and route it to the correct Vercel project.

Prerequisites​

  • Access to the DNS provider for the domain (see DNS reference below)
  • vercel CLI logged in (vercel whoami → churchwiseai-5386)
  • Write access to the relevant codebase (if a hostname rewrite is needed)

DNS Provider Reference​

DomainDNS Provider
pewsearch.comVercel (DNS managed in Vercel dashboard)
All other domainsPorkbun

Steps​

1. Add the domain to Porkbun (or Vercel for pewsearch.com)​

For Porkbun:

  • Log in at porkbun.com
  • Navigate to the domain → DNS Records
  • Add an A record: @ → 76.76.21.21 (Vercel's IP) for apex domains
  • Add a CNAME record: www → cname.vercel-dns.com. for www subdomains
  • For subdomains (e.g., app.example.com): add CNAME → cname.vercel-dns.com.

For pewsearch.com (Vercel DNS):

  • Log in to Vercel Dashboard → Domains → add the subdomain there

DNS propagation takes 1–60 minutes typically (up to 48 hours worst case).

2. Add the domain to the Vercel project​

vercel domains add <domain-or-subdomain> --project <project-name>

Example:

vercel domains add app.churchwiseai.com --project churchwiseai-web

Vercel will attempt to verify DNS and provision an SSL certificate automatically. Run:

vercel domains inspect <domain-or-subdomain>

Check that SSL status shows "Valid".

3. Verify the domain routes to the correct project​

vercel ls --project <project-name>

The domain should appear in the project's domain list.

4. Add a hostname rewrite to middleware (if needed)​

If the new domain needs to serve content from a specific path in churchwiseai-web (like how sermonwise.ai serves /sermons):

Open C:\dev\churchwiseai-web\src\middleware.ts and add the hostname rewrite rule:

if (hostname === 'newdomain.com' || hostname === 'www.newdomain.com') {
  return NextResponse.rewrite(new URL('/your-path' + pathname, request.url))
}

Then deploy:

cd /c/dev/churchwiseai-web
git add src/middleware.ts
git commit -m "feat: add hostname rewrite for newdomain.com"
git push

5. Test the redirect chain​

After DNS propagates and SSL is provisioned:

curl -I https://newdomain.com

Expected: HTTP/2 200 (or 301 if you have a www redirect). No certificate errors.

Also test in a browser and check for console errors.

6. Verify SSL certificate is valid​

vercel domains inspect <domain>

SSL Certificate: Valid should appear.

Vertical Expansion Domains (Acquired)​

When setting up a new vertical (funeral homes, auto repair, etc.), follow the same steps. These domains are already acquired:

DomainVertical
funeralwiseai.comFuneral Homes (#1)
memorialwiseai.comFuneral Homes (#1)
veterinarywiseai.comVeterinary (#3)

Rollback​

To remove a domain from a Vercel project:

vercel domains rm <domain> --project <project-name>

Also remove the DNS records from Porkbun if the domain is no longer needed.

See Also​

  • deploy-churchwiseai.md — deploying after middleware changes
  • Agent memory: reference_dns_providers.md — full DNS provider reference