A domain is the part of your website people actually remember, and Wix effectively covers it for year one: every paid plan ships with a free domain voucher. The process is simple, but there are a few sharp edges — a validity window on the voucher, renewal pricing after the first year, and some registrar-specific steps if you're bringing your own domain. None of it is difficult, but each step has one detail that costs you time if you miss it. This guide covers all of it.
What the free Wix domain voucher is
When you buy any paid Wix plan — Light, Core, Business or Business Elite — you get a voucher for one free custom domain for the first year, typically a $15–$20 value. The voucher appears in your Wix dashboard after purchase and covers a standard registration in common extensions such as .com. Two things to understand up front: the voucher comes with the plan, so the Free plan doesn't qualify and can't use a custom domain at all; and the free period lasts one year — after that, the domain renews at Wix's standard domain rate.
Which extensions qualify? The voucher covers standard domains — .com first and foremost, along with other common endings that Wix sells; premium and specialty extensions can carry an extra charge. During redemption, Wix's search shows you what's available and suggests alternatives if your first choice is taken. The voucher is single-use: one domain, one year, attached to the account that bought the plan.
How to claim your free domain
Step 1: Buy or upgrade to a paid plan
Choose any paid tier — the voucher is included with annual and monthly billing alike. If you're currently on the Free plan, upgrade straight from your dashboard; everything you've built carries over, and the voucher appears once the purchase completes. Annual billing is the smarter buy here: it cuts the plan price by roughly 25–35% and locks it in for twelve months.
Step 2: Find the voucher in your dashboard
After checkout, open your Wix dashboard and go to the Domains section. You'll see the free domain voucher attached to your plan, marked as available to redeem. There's no code to enter — the voucher is tied to your account automatically.
Step 3: Redeem it within the validity window
Vouchers don't last forever: redeem yours within the validity window shown in the dashboard. If a voucher lapses unclaimed, it may not be restored — so don't park this step on your to-do list for later. The redemption itself takes only a few minutes: a search-and-register flow walks you through picking the name and confirming it's yours.
Step 4: Choose a good name
During redemption you'll search for and register your domain. Practical rules: keep it short and easy to spell; prefer .com if you have a general or international audience; make it brandable rather than keyword-stuffed; and avoid hyphens and numbers, which are awkward to say out loud. If your first choice is taken, try a short prefix or suffix (get, shop, hello) before settling for an obscure extension.
Connecting a domain you already own
If you bought your domain at another registrar, you can point it at Wix instead of registering a new one. The standard route is to update your domain's nameservers — or the relevant DNS records — in your current registrar's control panel so they point to Wix. This happens at the registrar, not inside Wix, and the exact screens differ by provider, so follow Wix's official step-by-step help article for your registrar rather than a generic tutorial. While the change propagates, your site remains reachable on its old address; once it completes, your own domain becomes the primary address for your site.
Two practical notes before you switch. First, if you use your domain for email through your old provider, back up the relevant DNS records first — email lives in the same zone as your website records, and a careless nameserver change can interrupt inboxes. Second, pointing a domain at Wix doesn't move its registration: renewals, transfers and ownership changes still happen at your original registrar, so keep those login credentials safe.
Troubleshooting
- Propagation takes time. After you change nameservers or DNS records, the update can take up to 48 hours to reach every visitor worldwide. If your domain doesn't resolve immediately, wait before assuming something broke.
- HTTPS is automatic. Once the domain is connected, Wix provisions the SSL certificate for you — there's nothing to configure.
- Still seeing the old site? Clear your browser cache or test in a private window. Local caches often disguise themselves as DNS problems.
- Domain already connected to another site? A domain can only be the primary address of one Wix site at a time. Disconnect or reassign it from the old site in your dashboard before connecting it to the new one.
With the voucher redeemed and the domain live, the rest is content: write your pages, connect your store or bookings, and publish. If you're still deciding which plan to attach the domain to in the first place, our Wix pricing guide walks through every tier — and the current deals page shows how to pay less for it. And remember the two numbers that matter most in this whole process: the date your voucher expires, and the renewal price you'll pay from year two onward.