What does "domain root" mean and why does systeme.io keep asking?

Use one: the root domain you connect

The guide for adding a domain opens by saying it covers integrating your root domain, and gives the example as www.domain.com. A subdomain such as blog.domain.com is a different article on purpose.

So when you add a domain there, systeme.io wants the name of the domain itself, entered starting with www.

Why www is involved

Two CNAME records go into your DNS zone and the first of them has www as its host. That covers www.domain.com and nothing else.

Step three is what makes the bare name work: a redirection from domain.com to www.domain.com. On Hostinger it is an ALIAS record at the root pointing at the same destination as the www CNAME.

There is a catch worth knowing before you pick a registrar. Most only forward HTTP addresses, not HTTPS. For HTTPS redirection systeme.io recommends a provider that supports CNAME flattening, naming Cloudflare, or root level CNAMEs, naming Namecheap.

Use two: the page sitting at the root

The second meaning is the page a visitor gets when they type your domain and nothing after it.

You claim that spot by emptying the URL path field. A page with no path is the domain's home page.

• A funnel page: open the page and delete the text in URL path. It saves by itself.
• A blog, a website or a creator store: Sites, then the item, then the three dots, then Settings, then clear the URL path and save.

Why systeme.io keeps asking

Because a connected domain with nothing at its root has no answer to give. systeme.io closes the domain guide by saying it is essential to define a home page so the site works when a visitor lands on it.

Creating a website makes the same request in advance. As soon as you pick a domain, a Home page URL path field appears in the creation window.

Small things that trip the field up

URL paths cannot contain uppercase letters. On a funnel page, path changes and name changes both save automatically.