Pointing your domain to our nameservers
The step that makes your website and email actually work. Takes five minutes to do, a few hours to take effect.
Nameservers tell the internet which company is in charge of your domain's settings. Until they point at us, your website and email will not work here — no matter how perfectly everything else is configured.
Before you start
- Your nameservers — listed in your Account Information email
- Login access wherever your domain is registered (this may be a different company to your old host)
- A copy of your existing DNS records if you have anything unusual — third-party email, verification records, subdomains pointing elsewhere
Step-by-step
Find your nameservers
Open your Account Information email and look for the nameservers section. They will look something like ns1.yourhost.com.au and ns2.yourhost.com.au. Copy them exactly.
Log in where your domain is registered
This is the company you pay for the domain each year — not necessarily your old web host. If you registered through us, log in to the client portal instead and skip to step 4.
Find the nameserver setting
Every registrar words it differently: "Nameservers", "DNS Settings", "Manage DNS" or "Delegation". You are looking for the option to use custom nameservers rather than the registrar's defaults.
Enter ours and save
Replace the existing entries with the nameservers from your email. Most domains use two; if the form has four boxes, leave the extras blank. Save.
Wait, then check
Changes typically take 2–6 hours, occasionally up to 24. Once done, your site loads from our servers and your mail settings become active. You can watch progress with any online DNS checker, or just try loading your site periodically.
During the changeover
DNS updates roll out gradually, so for a few hours some people see the old site and others the new one. This is normal and unavoidable. Two practical tips:
- Do not delete anything at the old host until the new site has been live for at least a week.
- Check email settings after the switch, not before — cPanel → Email Accounts → Manage → Connect Devices will show the correct values once DNS has moved.
Common problems
Still seeing the old site after a day
Usually your own browser or router cache. Try a different device on mobile data. If a phone on 4G shows the new site, the change worked and your local cache just needs to catch up.
Website works but email stopped
Your old mail was probably running on records that did not come across. Contact us with details of the old provider and we will recreate the right records.
The registrar will not let me change them
Some registrars lock nameservers while a transfer is pending, or require the domain to be unlocked first. If you are stuck, send us the registrar name and we will talk you through their particular quirks.
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