By default, your public Compass site lives at compass.urtravelpro.com/p/yourslug. With a custom domain you can point your own subdomain (e.g. guides.youragency.com) at Compass — visitors see your branded URL, and you get full SEO ownership.
How It Works
You point a CNAME record at Compass's edge, Compass detects the CNAME via Cloudflare, requests a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate, and your site goes live at your custom hostname. The original compass.urtravelpro.com/p/yourslug URL keeps working too — visitors who land there get redirected to your custom domain.
Step-by-Step Setup
Pick a hostname. Most agencies use
guides.youragency.com,travel.youragency.com, orresources.youragency.com. A subdomain of your main site is ideal.Go to Settings → Custom Domain → Add Domain.
Enter your hostname (e.g.
guides.youragency.com).Compass shows you the CNAME target to add to your DNS — usually
compass.urtravelpro.com.Add the CNAME record at your DNS registrar (GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap, Google Domains, etc.). Set it as
DNS onlyif your registrar offers a proxy option.Wait for DNS to propagate (usually minutes; up to 48 hours worst case).
Back in Compass, click Sync — Compass verifies the CNAME and submits your hostname to Cloudflare for SSL issuance.
Wait for SSL issuance (usually 1-5 minutes). Status flows:
pending_dns→pending_cf→pending_ssl→active.Once active, visit your custom hostname — your site is live.
Status Lifecycle
pending_dns — Compass hasn't detected your CNAME yet. Wait for DNS to propagate, or check that the CNAME points at the right target.
pending_cf — CNAME detected; submitted to Cloudflare for SSL processing.
pending_ssl — Cloudflare confirmed; Let's Encrypt is issuing the cert (usually under 5 minutes).
active — Cert issued, site live on your custom hostname.
failed — Something went wrong. Check Settings → Custom Domain for the error message. Most often: the CNAME was removed, or a conflicting record exists at the same hostname.
What Visitors See
Once active, your public site is at
https://guides.youragency.com(your custom hostname)The Compass-default URL (
compass.urtravelpro.com/p/youragency) keeps working too, but 301-redirects to your custom hostnameAll guide URLs use your custom hostname (
https://guides.youragency.com/guide/your-slug)Sitemap and robots.txt are served from your custom hostname
SEO Benefits
Search engines see your site as part of
youragency.com— link equity and brand association accrue to your main domainVisitors trust
guides.youragency.commore than a third-party subdomainYou can set up Google Analytics, Search Console, etc. on your hostname normally
Removing a Custom Domain
In Settings → Custom Domain → Disconnect. The custom-hostname site stops responding within a minute; visitors fall back to your compass.urtravelpro.com/p/yourslug URL. Remove the CNAME from your DNS registrar to free up the hostname.
Troubleshooting
Stuck on pending_dns — your CNAME isn't pointing where Compass expects. Verify with
dig CNAME guides.youragency.com(or [dnschecker.org](https://dnschecker.org)). If Cloudflare-managed, set proxy status to gray cloud, not orange.Stuck on pending_ssl — Let's Encrypt issuance occasionally hangs. Click Sync to retry.
Status: failed — the error message in Settings → Custom Domain explains why. Most often a conflicting record at the same hostname; check your DNS registrar and remove or update the conflict.
SSL works in browser but shows "Not secure" warning — old browser cache or DNS cache. Try in incognito; the warning should be gone.
Related guides
SEO & AI Search Best Practices for Compass
How to get the most search-engine and AI-assistant visibility out of your Compass resource center — the exact settings to turn on, and how to write guides that get found and cited.
New: The Promotion Guide Type
Turn a limited-time deal into a shareable, trackable page — and, with one click, a draft email campaign in Marketing. A walkthrough of the new Promotion guide type, with examples.
PDF Export and Email Campaigns
Export any guide as a branded PDF. Send a guide as a marketing campaign through the Marketing app — a draft campaign is created with the guide's title, cover image, and link.