Understanding Your Frame Domain
When a church, school, ministry, or organization website is added to the Frame platform, we automatically provide a free, official domain name for your website.
You can identify a platform-supplied domain by one of two formats:
Churches:
*.adventistchurch.org(e.g.,austinnewbeginningtx.adventistchurch.org)Schools:
*.adventistschoolconnect.org(e.g.,adobe.adventistschoolconnect.org)
Ministries are always welcome to purchase and connect their own custom domains (like mychurch.com), but the platform-supplied domains remain permanently available at no cost.
My Website Does Not Appear
When you make a change to a domain, including name server or DNS record changes, it can take time for the update to be visible everywhere. This delay is called domain propagation, and it happens because servers around the world need to update their records to recognize your change.
Propagation usually completes within a few hours but can take up to a maximum of 72 hours. In the meantime, some visitors may see your old settings while others see the new ones. Clearing your browser cache or trying a different network (like mobile data) can help you see the changes sooner
Confirm the site has finished provisioning
Newly added Frame sites take a short time to fully activate. If your site was added recently, wait a few minutes and try loading it again.
Clear your browser cache or try another browser
Cached data can cause an old or broken version of the page to load. Clear your cache, or open the domain in a private/incognito window or a different browser to rule this out.
Check the address for typos
Confirm you're entering the exact domain assigned to your site, including the part after the period (.org). A single misspelled character will prevent the page from loading.
Test from another network or device
If the site loads elsewhere — for example, on mobile data instead of your office Wi-Fi — the issue is likely local network or DNS caching rather than the Frame platform itself.
Wrong Address is Appearing
If you visit your website and the address bar shows a different domain than you expect, make sure you've set the correct domain as your site's primary address. Frame uses your primary domain as the main address for your site; any other connected domains will redirect to it.
See Adding or Removing a Custom Domain for how primary domains behave when you add or remove a domain.
Domain Security Warning (SSL)
Frame automatically provides a free security certificate (SSL) for every site, so your site loads securely over https://.
If your site loads under http instead of https, or your browser shows a security warning, the SSL certificate may not be active yet. This is normal for a newly added domain — certificates are issued automatically and can take a short time to finish. If it has been more than 24 hours since any domain issues were corrected and you still don't see a valid certificate, contact support for help.
Troubleshooting a Custom Domain
If you've connected your own custom domain (like mychurch.com) and it isn't connecting, the issue is almost always with the domain's configuration at your registrar.
Allow time for DNS changes to take effect
After updating DNS records or name servers at your registrar, changes may take up to 48 hours to fully propagate. During that window you may not see any change to your domain or the issue you're trying to resolve.
Confirm your domain points to Frame
For a custom domain to connect, it must point to Frame using the records provided during setup. If those records are missing, incomplete, or pointing somewhere else, your site won't load. See Add Custom Domain to Frame for the exact values and setup steps.
Check both the root and www versions
Make sure both mychurch.com and www.mychurch.com are configured, so visitors reach your site no matter which they type.
Confirm the domain is added in Frame
A custom domain must be configured at your registrar and added inside Frame. If you completed the registrar side but haven't added it in Frame, the connection won't complete.
Confirm the domain registration is active
If a custom domain has expired or lapsed at your registrar, it will stop resolving regardless of your Frame settings. You may see an error like DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN. Renew the domain with your registrar to bring it back online. Connecting a custom domain to Frame does not handle its registration or renewal for you.
Managing and Removing Domains
Related: Add Custom Domain to Frame
Keep the following in mind when removing or changing domains:
If you're removing your primary domain, make sure to set another domain as primary first.
Removing a domain will make it unavailable for accessing your site.
This action does not cancel any domain registrations you may have purchased separately.
Your site will still be accessible via your remaining domains or your default adventistchurch.org or adventistschoolconnect.org domain.
How long does it take for a new domain or domain change to work?
Changes usually take effect within a few hours but can take up to 72 hours to fully propagate. For DNS or name server changes on a custom domain, allow up to 48 hours. During this window, some visitors may see your old settings while others see the new ones.
Do I have to buy a domain to use Frame?
No. Every church, school, ministry, or organization site gets a free, official domain automatically (*.adventistchurch.org for churches, *.adventistschoolconnect.org for schools). You're welcome to connect a custom domain, but the platform-supplied one stays available permanently at no cost.
My site works for me but not for someone else (or vice versa). Why
This is almost always propagation. Internet servers around the world update at different times, so a domain change can be visible in one place before another. Clearing your browser cache or trying a different network (like mobile data) often helps.
Why does my site show a security warning or load over http instead of https?
The SSL certificate may not be active yet. Frame issues these automatically, and it can take a short time for a newly added domain. If it's been more than 24 hours since any domain issues were resolved and you still see a warning, contact support.
My custom domain still won't connect. What should I check first?
Confirm three things: the domain points to Frame using the records from setup, it's been added inside Frame (not just configured at your registrar), and the registration is still active at your registrar. An expired domain will stop resolving regardless of your Frame settings.
Still Need Help?
Frame's support team is here for you. If you can't find what you're looking for in the knowledge base or through the assistant, reach out directly at support@adventistconnect.org. You're not navigating this alone — and getting the right answer for your specific platform is always worth the ask.
Have a question or need a hand with your website? We'd love to hear from you. See Contacting Support for a guide to all the ways you can reach us.