When creators, entrepreneurs, or community builders set out to launch a job board, they rarely think about DNS records. They’re focused on the bigger picture: audience growth, content, relevance, and monetization. And yet, the moment you send someone to a job board with a generic subdomain, something doesn’t feel quite right.
It’s like throwing a great event-but forgetting to put your name on the invitation.
That was one of the earliest lessons we learned when building the Artha Job Board. At first, connecting a personal domain wasn’t just hard-it was manual, time-consuming, and prone to error. Our support team would spend hours configuring domains for users, troubleshooting broken links, expired SSLs, and incorrect DNS entries. The process was slow, often frustrating, and far from scalable.
We knew it had to change. And more importantly, we knew what it needed to feel like:
Fast. Simple. Personal. And deeply connected to your brand.
Why Custom Domains Matter
In the digital world, your domain name is your identity. Whether you’re a creator with a niche audience or a startup helping companies hire smarter, a branded domain builds immediate credibility.
According to HubSpot, 91% of users say they trust branded domains more than generic ones. And when it comes to job boards, trust is everything. Applicants hesitate to apply if they don’t feel confident in the platform. Employers won’t return if they feel the environment isn’t professional.
Custom domains communicate legitimacy. And legitimacy drives results.
The Creator’s Struggle: Branding, Costs, and Complexity
We’ve seen it time and again-creators launch products, communities, or job boards, only to hit a wall when trying to make them feel theirs. Custom domains are often locked behind “Pro” plans, white-label add-ons, or lengthy onboarding calls.
You sign up. Then you’re told:
- “You’ll need to upgrade for branding.”
- “We can connect your domain-after a discovery call.”
- “It’s included in the enterprise plan.”
For someone bootstrapping a product or running solo, it’s discouraging. The one thing that could tie their project to their personal brand-now behind a paywall.
That’s why, at Artha, we made a clear decision:
Custom domain connection is included in our Lifetime Free Plan.
Because we believe that trust and brand ownership shouldn’t cost extra. Every job board owner-free plan or premium-deserves to own their brand from day one.
Reimagining Domain Setup for Everyone
We didn’t just stop at making domains available-we rebuilt the experience from the ground up. The new domain connection tool inside Artha is intuitive, fast, and designed for anyone, not just the tech-savvy.
- A step-by-step interface to add your domain
- Automated SSL provisioning-no certificates to manage
- Smart verification tools that test your setup before going live
- Subdomain and root domain support
There’s no need for support tickets. No waiting. No upsells.
Just a few instructions, some DNS entries, and your board is live under your own brand.
The Impact: More Than Just a Pretty URL
The shift is immediate-and measurable. Boards that moved from a generic subdomain to their own branded domain saw:
- Increased job applications: Candidates felt more confident applying.
- Higher email engagement: Emails came from a trusted domain.
- Improved SEO performance: Google indexed the custom domain faster.
- Better employer retention: A professional presence encourages repeat usage.
But there’s also an emotional shift. Admins and creators stop thinking of their board as “hosted somewhere” and start owning it. The platform becomes a product, a brand, an extension of their mission.
One user put it perfectly:
“Switching to my domain didn’t just change the link. It changed how seriously I took my board-and how seriously others did too.”
Built for Creators, but Beneficial for All
While we built this with creators in mind, people building newsletters, communities, content ecosystems-it’s just as powerful for recruiters, consultants, and teams. The benefit of owning your domain is universal:
- Recruitment firms can host their own-brand job board without technical headaches.
- Startup HR teams can spin up careers pages on careers.[yourbrand].com.
- Freelancers and solopreneurs can monetize their niche audience through a fully-branded, trustworthy job experience.
In every case, it’s your name on the door. Your brand. Your rules.
No Lock-ins. No Gimmicks. Just Ownership.
We could’ve kept this feature gated. It’s a common play in SaaS: charge for the brandable stuff. But that didn’t sit right with us.
You’re already investing time and energy to build your platform. Adding friction-or fees-to own your domain felt backwards.
So we included custom domain connection in the Lifetime Free Plan.
Not as a limited trial. Not as a one-time perk. As a core part of your experience from day one.
Final Thought: You Deserve to Own Your Brand
Too many platforms treat branding like a luxury. We treat it like a right.
Your domain is more than a web address-it’s a message. To your audience. To employers. To job seekers. And to yourself.
It says:
- This platform matters.
- It’s not a side project.
- It’s mine.
So claim your space. Own your presence. Let your job board run on your terms.
Start by connecting your domain today-on any plan. For free. Forever.
