Documentation / Getting started
Proving the site is yours
Before adding a module, you prove that the site belongs to you. Without this step, anyone could register someone else's site. Three proofs are accepted, and they are worth the same: choose the one that asks the least of you.
Your verification code
The site's "Ownership" screen shows your code, in the form blt-verif- followed by 32 characters. It is drawn once and never changes on its own: you can come back to the screen as often as you like without having to set the proof again.
All three proofs carry this same code. Only where you place it changes.
Proof 1: a file at the root
This is the tab open by default, and the only proof where you have nothing to copy out.
- Click "Download bonjour-la-toile.txt". The file already contains your code, and nothing else.
- Drop it at the root of your site, in the same place as your home page, by FTP or through your host's file manager. Do not rename it and do not put it in a subfolder.
- Check that it opens at this address:
https://example.com/bonjour-la-toile.txt(with your domain). - Come back to the "Ownership" screen, open the tab of the method you set, and click its "Verify" button.
The file's content must be exactly the code, with no other text. An error page from your host that happened to contain the code does not count.
The former address /.well-known/bonjour-la-toile.txt is still accepted: a file already placed there stays valid.
Proof 2: a line in your page
Paste this line into the <head> of your home page, with your own code in place of the example's:
<meta name="bonjour-la-toile" content="blt-verif-0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef">The "Ownership" screen shows the exact line, ready to copy. Most site builders have a "custom code" or "header" field for this kind of line. The check reads your domain's home page, over https then http.
Proof 3: a DNS record
The most robust proof, since it does not depend on the site's content. It is set with the provider that manages your domain name.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | TXT |
| Name | _bonjourlatoile |
| Value | Your code, for example blt-verif-0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef |
Some providers ask for the full name: _bonjourlatoile.example.com (with your domain). A DNS record sometimes takes an hour to propagate.
Running the check
Every tab has ITS button, and we only look at what you set: verifying the file does not read your DNS. On failure, the screen says what was found for that method, for example "the tag is there, but its code does not match" or "no TXT record at that name". The three are worth the same: one is enough, and you can set another one later.
The daily re-check, for its part, accepts any of the three: if you move from the file to DNS, your modules do not switch off.
Once the site is verified, a confirmation email goes to your address, and the "Add" buttons on the "Modules" screen are enabled.
Leave the proof in place after verification. You can run the check again at any time with the "Re-verify" button.
We re-read the proof every day
Once a day, we re-read the proof of every verified site. All three methods count: if you move from the tag to the DNS record, nothing is lost.
If the proof stays missing three days in a row, the site goes back to "To verify": its modules stop showing and an email lets you know. A single day without proof (a host down, a slow DNS) cuts nothing. Nothing is deleted: set the proof again, click "Verify", and everything comes back.
Drawing a new code
The "Draw a new code" button replaces your code with a fresh one. The old one is worth nothing anymore, and the site goes back to "To verify": you have to set the proof again with the new code and run the check again.
Changing domain
In the site's "Settings" screen, the "Domain" block replaces the site's address. A new domain is not proven yet: the site goes back to "To verify" and its modules switch off until the proof is found at the new address. Your verification code does not change.
The old domain also leaves the "Allowed addresses": modules no longer show there. The other addresses you had added stay.
Good to know
- A domain can be verified by only one site at a time. If it already is elsewhere, the check says so: write to us.
- The verified domain is the one you registered when adding the site, as is.
www.example.comandexample.comare two different names, and the proof must answer on the one you registered. To change it, see Changing domain. - The check accepts twelve attempts per hour for the same site. Beyond that, wait an hour.