Helm › Helm University › Track 1 › Lesson 1.5
Lesson 1.5Proving your domain, two ways
One is friendlier, one is stronger, and both end in the same place.
Prefer to listen? This is the same lesson, word for word. The text below is the transcript.
This lesson prepares you to: Choose between the DNS and email proofs, and know the timings on each.
Option one, a DNS record
Helm mints a token that looks like helm-verify= followed by a unique string. You add it as a TXT record on your domain, then press check. Helm resolves the domain's TXT records and looks for that exact value.
This is the stronger proof, because editing DNS requires control of the domain itself rather than of one mailbox on it. It is also the fiddlier one if somebody else manages your hosting.
A failed check is not a rejection
If the lookup fails, because the record has not propagated yet or a resolver is blocked, Helm records it as not found and lets you retry. Nothing is cancelled and your request stays open. The token is deliberately kept the same across retries so you never have to redo the record.
Option two, an emailed code
The friendlier route. Helm sends a six digit code to the business email on file and you type it back.
- The code is valid for 15 minutes.
- You cannot request another one in the first minute, which stops a mistyped address turning into a flood.
Same destination, less DNS. Pick this one unless you specifically want the stronger proof or you cannot receive mail on the domain.
What happens the moment it passes
For the business tier, the check is not the end of a queue, it is the trigger. As soon as domain control is proven, Helm looks at whether your Stripe identity checks have also cleared. If both are true, the badge is granted immediately with nobody in the loop.
So the order you do things in does not matter, but the slower of the two is what you are actually waiting on. If Stripe is still reviewing you, proving your domain will not produce a badge until Stripe finishes, and the other way round.
domain proven + Stripe cleared = verified, automatically, business tier only.
If you get stuck
A pending request is reusable rather than disposable. Coming back to it later keeps your DNS token, so a record you added a week ago still counts. And a human can still verify a shop manually when an automated check will not cooperate, which is the backstop for the cases no rule anticipates.