How to change your DNS information

Before I tell you how to change your domain name’s DNS info, I want to give you a quick explanation of what it all means.  That way what you’re doing will make sense and if the particular company you’re using does things a little different than my instructions, you’ll be able to figure it out all on your own (or at least be able to ask for help and understand their responses).

(If you don’t know what domains and hosting are, click here to read this first!)

[toc content=”.entry-content” headers=”h2,h3″]

What is a DNS?

DNS stands for Domain Name System.

When we want to go to a website, we type in a domain name like www.google.com.  But www.google.com is actually just the human-friendly version of its actual address.  The actual address that computers use is a series of numbers, called an IP address.

So when we type in www.google.com, here’s what happens in the computer world:

1. Your browser looks up what’s called the nameserver for that domain
2. The nameserver takes it to Google’s hosting company, who then tells your browser what the specific IP address for www.google.com is
3. Your browser then scurries over to that IP address, and finally shows you Google’s homepage (amazing how fast that all happens isn’t it?)

(The reason for all the extra work?  Well Google’s IP for example is 216.58.216.164.  But that would be pretty hard to remember every time you wanted to look something up right?  So all this was created so we could have some human-brain-friendly ways of reaching our favorite websites.)

Technical term	In plain English	What it means
Domain name	www._____.com	The human-friendly web address
Nameserver	ns1.yourhostsdomain.com	The address from your hosting company that translates the domain to an IP for your computer.
IP Address	216.58.216.164	The address used by computers to find a website.

Make sense?

When would you need to know about a DNS?

• When you buy a domain from a different company than your website is hosted at.
  Many people buy their domain names from NameCheap.com or similar, and then use a great host like SiteGround to host their website.
• When you are moving from one hosting company to another.
  Like if you’re making a wise move away from BlueHost to a quality host like SiteGround or similar, but you are keeping your domain with the previous host.

How to change your DNS (or “update” or “point” your nameservers)

I’ll start with the bad news: the process is different for every single host.  But, if you understand the basics of what the terms mean and how it all works, you should be able to find your way through.  The steps for all are as follows:

1. Acquire your nameservers from your hosting company
2. Log in to the company you purchased your domain name from (like NameCheap or GoDaddy)
3. Find the page required to add custom DNS
4. Paste your custom nameservers into the fields

If you use NameCheap:

1. Log into your hosting company and acquire your name servers (remember, they will look something like ns1.yourhostsdomain.com and ns2.yourhostsdomain.com)
2. Log into namecheap.  Hover over your name in the top left corner and click “Dashboard”
3. Click the “Manage” button next to the domain you need to make changes to
4. Find the section that says “Nameservers”
5. You’ll see a little drop-down menu: select “Custom DNS” if it isn’t already selected
6. Paste the two nameservers you got from your hosting company onto the two lines
7. Click the green check mark to save the changes

If you use GoDaddy for your domain:

1. Log into your hosting company and acquire your name servers (remember, they will look something like ns1.yourhostsdomain.com and ns2.yourhostsdomain.com)
2. Log into your account and go to the DNS Management page
3. Find “nameservers” and, click “change”
4. Under “choose your new nameserver type” choose “Custom”
5. Enter the nameservers from step 1.
6. Click save

If you’re using BlueHost for your domain:

1. Log into your hosting company and acquire your name servers (remember, they will look something like ns1.yourhostsdomain.com and ns2.yourhostsdomain.com)
2. Log in to Bluehost
3. Click “Domain” at the top of the page
4. Click on the domain name you need to make changes to
5. Click on the “Name Servers” tab
6. Select “Use Custom Nameservers”
7. Enter the nameservers from step 1.
8. Click “Save Nameserver Settings”

Important note:

While it often only takes under an hour or two, it could take up to 72 hours for it to “propagate,” which just means send people to your new host instead of your old one.