Websites
Free website address: yourname.onecraft.live, and when to move on
A free website address is a subdomain on someone else's domain: your name in front, their name behind. It costs nothing and works straight away, and it is a sensible start as long as you know you can rename it and later add your own domain without breaking links.
How the address is made
When a site is created, its address is made from the title, such as saltbush-physio.onecraft.live, with a short random ending if that name is taken. You can change it in site settings under Address. It must be 3 to 40 characters of lower case letters, numbers and single hyphens, starting and ending with a letter or number. Some names are reserved, such as www, shop, store, admin and the product names.
Renaming a live site
Renaming a published site moves it to the new address straight away and keeps the old address as a redirect for 30 days, so links you already shared keep working while you update them. After 30 days the old name is released and someone else could take it. A new site never gets a name that another site is still redirecting from.
What you get on the free address
The same site you would get on a custom domain: HTTPS, the CDN, a sitemap and robots file, canonical tags, share previews and the visit counter. On the free plan the footer shows a small Made with OneCraft badge next to a Report link; paid plans can hide the badge, and the Report link always stays, because it is how visitors report abuse.
When to add your own domain
A domain such as mossgrovegardens.com.au is easier to say, looks more established on a van or invoice, and keeps your address if you ever move platforms. Search engines treat the free address as a proper site, but your own domain builds value you keep. On a paid plan you add it in settings; the first domain becomes primary and the free address redirects to it.
Picking a good name
Use the business name people would type, not a keyword string: mossgrove-gardens beats best-garden-design-adelaide. Avoid numbers that are hard to say aloud. If the plain name is taken, add the town or the trade rather than a random suffix. Short names are easier on a phone keyboard and fit on a business card.
How it works, in three steps
Step 1
Open site settings
From the site card or the builder, open Settings and find the Address card.
Step 2
Type the name
Lower case letters, numbers and single hyphens, 3 to 40 characters; the card says if a name is reserved or taken.
Step 3
Save address
A live site moves to the new address at once and the old one redirects for 30 days.
Limits worth knowing
- Addresses are 3 to 40 characters: lower case letters, numbers and single hyphens.
- Reserved names such as www, shop, store, admin and app cannot be used.
- An old address redirects for 30 days after a rename, then is released.
- The free plan footer carries a Made with OneCraft badge; hiding it needs a paid plan.
Questions people ask
Is the free address really free?
Yes. Every site, on every plan, has its onecraft.live address at no extra cost, and it keeps working as long as the site exists. The only cost is the 1 credit used when the site is created, which applies to any new site. A custom domain is the part that needs a paid plan, and you buy the domain itself from a registrar.
Can I rename my site address more than once?
Yes. Each rename starts its own 30 day redirect from the address you left, so links to it keep working for a month. Settle on a name early, and update printed material and profile links soon after any change rather than relying on the redirect.
Will Google index a site on the free address?
Yes, unless you switch on Hide from search engines. The published site has its own sitemap, robots file and canonical tags on the onecraft.live address, and the pages are fast static files. If you later add a custom domain, canonical tags move to it and the free address redirects there.
Can I use the free address with a custom domain at the same time?
Once a custom domain is live and primary, visitors to the free address are redirected to it, so there is one public address. Before your domain is live, the free address keeps serving the site, which lets you publish and share it while DNS changes settle.
Why does my address have random letters at the end?
Another site already had that name, so a short random ending was added to keep yours unique. Open the Address card, try a variation such as adding the town, and save. If a name is available, the card accepts it; if not, it tells you it is taken.
Can someone take my old address after a rename?
Not during the 30 days it redirects to your site: new sites skip any name that is still redirecting. After 30 days the name is released and anyone can use it. If an old address is printed somewhere permanent, keep it as your address rather than renaming.
Make your own website
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match yours, generate, then edit anything you like.
Create a website with OneCraftRelated pages
Website SEO settings: what you set and what is done for you
Website SEO settings decide how your site appears in search results and when a link is shared: the title, the description, the small icon and the share image. The rest of technical SEO, such as a sitemap and canonical tags, should simply be right without you touching it.
Custom domain for your website: two records and a Verify button
Connecting a custom domain means telling the internet that your name, such as www.saltbushphysio.com.au, should open your site. You add two DNS records at the company where you bought the domain, one to prove you own it and one to point it, and the platform does the rest.
Website version history: three layers of going back
Website version history lets you put an earlier state of the site back online after a change goes wrong. It helps to know which layer you need: undo for the edit you just made, a restore for a publish you regret, or a code commit for a site written in code.
More finished work of this kind is on the website examples hub.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .