DigitalOcean setup

The correct setup depends on whether DigitalOcean only manages DNS, hosts an App Platform app, or runs your site on a Droplet.

DigitalOcean DNS only

If the active nameservers point to DigitalOcean and the site has a separate working origin URL, use managed DNS:

1Type: CNAME
2Hostname: www
3Value: customers.prerenderbuddy.com

Remove a conflicting www record, keep mail records, redirect the root domain to www, and add the TXT records shown in the dashboard.

App Platform

Use the stable App Platform URL as the origin when it remains publicly reachable after the custom www hostname points to Prerender Buddy.

If your application already has a server or edge request layer, a developer integration may be cleaner. Use the generated integration from the dashboard and keep the API key in App Platform secrets.

Droplets

For a Droplet with Nginx, Caddy, Apache, or an application server, prefer a server-side integration when you control the request path. This avoids introducing a second public proxy layer and lets the existing server decide which crawler requests are rendered.

If you choose managed DNS instead, create a separate origin hostname that points directly to the Droplet before changing www. Confirm the origin supports HTTPS and does not redirect every request back to www.

DigitalOcean checklist

1. Confirm active nameservers before editing DigitalOcean DNS.
2. Identify whether the site is DNS-only, App Platform, or Droplet based.
3. Keep the origin separate from the public protected hostname.
4. Store API keys only in server-side secrets.
5. Preserve MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
6. Verify the final public URL and inspect render logs.