---
title: "Claim your web address"
url: "https://mycommunitysync.com/claim-your-web-address"
community: "CommunitySync"
description: "Pick the handle that becomes your public web address. You need one before you can create a site, and changing it later breaks every link you've shared."
updated: "2026-08-13T11:28:38.772+00:00"
---

# Claim your web address

*My Website*

Your **handle** is the last part of your public web address. Pick it first — you can't
create a site until you have one.

## Claim it

![Claiming a handle](https://iaktsmonietvbikzietg.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-assets/kb/mw-claim-handle.png "Type your handle, then click the red checkmark to save it. The × cancels."){size=md}

1. Go to **My Website** in the left sidebar.
2. In the **Your public address** card, click **Claim your handle**.
3. Type the handle you want — most people use their own name, like `jane-smith`.
4. Click the **red checkmark** button next to the box to save. (The **×** cancels.)

Your address then appears in the card, in the form
`yourcommunity-site.mycommunitysync.com/a/jane-smith`.

## What makes a valid handle

The handle is tidied up automatically as it's saved:

- Only **lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens** survive. Capitals become lowercase.
- Spaces, accents and punctuation are stripped. "Ana Muñoz" becomes `ana-mu-oz`, which
  is probably not what you want — type the handle you actually want rather than
  relying on the cleanup.
- A handful of words are **reserved** and will be refused: `preview`, `a`, `listings`,
  `agents`, `admin`, `api`.
- It has to be unique **within your community**. Someone in a different community can
  have the same handle without clashing.

Your handle belongs to your **membership**, not to any one site. All three of your
sites share it, and whichever one is live answers at that address.

## Changing it later

Click **Change handle** in the same card.

**Every link you've already shared will stop working.** There's no redirect from the
old address to the new one — business cards, email signatures, social profiles and
anything a client has bookmarked will land on a "not found" page. Change it early or
not at all.

## Take care with the box when editing

If you clear the box and save an empty value — or type something that reduces to
nothing after cleanup, like `!!!` — your handle is **removed** rather than rejected.
If you have a live site, it goes offline immediately, because there's no longer an
address for it to answer at.

There's no confirmation step on this, so re-read the box before you save. If it does
happen, just claim the handle again.

## What if the name I want is taken?

Handles are unique per community and there's no way to see who holds one. Try a
variation — add your market area or a middle initial — or ask your community admin,
who can see the full roster.

### My Website

- [Your site and your community's brand](https://mycommunitysync.com/your-site-and-your-brand.md)
- [Your personal website — what it is and how it works](https://mycommunitysync.com/my-website-overview.md)
- [Create your site from a starter](https://mycommunitysync.com/create-your-site-from-a-starter.md)
- [Edit your site](https://mycommunitysync.com/edit-your-site.md)
- [Publish your site (and the two different Publish buttons)](https://mycommunitysync.com/publish-your-site.md)
- [Manage your three sites](https://mycommunitysync.com/manage-your-three-sites.md)
- [Show your listings on your site](https://mycommunitysync.com/show-your-listings.md)
- [Where enquiries from your site go](https://mycommunitysync.com/where-your-leads-go.md)
- [Why isn't my site showing?](https://mycommunitysync.com/my-website-troubleshooting.md)