diff --git a/src/freedombone-controlpanel b/src/freedombone-controlpanel
index 26138e80..548183c0 100755
--- a/src/freedombone-controlpanel
+++ b/src/freedombone-controlpanel
@@ -482,6 +482,14 @@ function hubzilla_channel_directory_server {
     case $sel in
         0)
             hubzilla_domain_server=$(<$data)
+            if [[ $hubzilla_domain_server != *"."* ]]; then
+                return
+            fi
+            if [[ $hubzilla_domain_server != "https"* ]]; then
+                dialog --title "Hubzilla channel directory server" \
+                       --msgbox "Invalid domain - include the https://" 6 40
+                return
+            fi
             ./var/www/$HUBZILLA_DOMAIN_NAME/htdocs/util/config system directory_server $hubzilla_domain_server
             dialog --title "Hubzilla channel directory server" \
                    --msgbox "Domain channel directory server changed to $hubzilla_domain_server" 6 40