As Twitter, now known as X, continues to face increasing issues and user dissatisfaction, many are turning to alternative platforms for their social posting needs. One promising option is Bluesky, a platform that offers a Twitter-like experience without the spam bots, toxic replies, or intrusive ads. 

Following X’s controversial decision to alter its Block functionality—allowing blocked users to still view posts—Bluesky experienced a significant surge in interest. Within days of the announcement, Bluesky’s decentralized platform reached over 12 million users, with 1.2 million new signups driven by those seeking a safer, more user-centered social experience.

One standout feature about Bluesky is the ability to create a custom username based on your own domain—providing a powerful form of verification and professionalism. Best of all, it’s free and accessible to everyone. This guide walks you through the quick and straightforward process of setting up your domain-based Bluesky handle.

Do I need a custom Bluesky handle?

Not at all! Bluesky is free to use and create an account without a domain or any other technical knowledge. Simply create an account and you’ll use the default @username.bsky.social handle structure.

Before you switch to a custom handle

If you are a public figure and are worried about impersonators, one recommendation is to create a second Bluesky account that you can use to protect your soon-to-be old Bluesky handle.

Get a domain

If you’ve never bought a domain before, it’s easy to do these days! There are many places where you can buy a domain. Namecheap is popular, user-friendly, and well-priced.

Different TLDs (or top level domains) have different costs with renewal fees ranging from a few dollars a year to a few hundred or even thousand dollars. You can get pretty creative with your domain name. Our suggestion is to look around to see what’s available and pick something that resonates with the type of account you’ll have. Many content creators lean towards .tv or .live, if you’re a developer you could use .dev or an artist should use .art. 

One thing we highly advise when buying a domain is to make sure WHOIS privacy is included in your purchase, which will prevent people from being able to look up your personal info with your domain. You probably don’t want people doing that.

Go to your Bluesky settings

Click the Settings tab and scroll down to the Advanced section where you’ll see a Change Handle option. Select “I have my own domain”. This will bring up a new screen with the information you need to verify that you own the domain. Enter the domain you want to use (this will become your new handle). You’re then given a couple of pieces of information that you will take to either a) where you bought your domain (called a registrar) or b) where you host your domain (like Cloudflare).

Find your DNS zone editor

Navigate to the site where your domain was purchased or is hosted on. You’ll want to edit a property of your domain called the DNS. This may be called a DNS zone editor or DNS manager. In Namecheap it is in the Advanced DNS tab.

Click on Add new record. You are adding a TXT record. The details for what to enter are provided for you in your Bluesky settings. The host or name is _atproto and the value or content is the string you were given.

Once you create and save a new record, return to the Bluesky Change Handle window and select Verify DNS record. It can sometimes take a few minutes so if it doesn’t work,  give it a few before clicking Verify again.

When it’s verified, your Bluesky handle will be changed. Don’t worry, your old tags or mentions will still point to your new account. Don’t forget to use a secondary Bluesky to protect your inactive default handle if it’s a concern.