Preparing a domain for your hosting

A domain and a hosting service are separate things: the domain is the name people type, and hosting is where your website actually lives. Connecting them is a matter of telling the domain where to send visitors. This guide covers both domains registered with YallowHost and domains registered elsewhere.

Option 1: point the nameservers

Changing a domain's nameservers hands control of all its DNS records to the DNS service those nameservers belong to. This is the simplest option for managed hosting, because the hosting account provides the DNS records your website and email need.

• Domain registered with YallowHost: open the domain under Domains, enter the nameservers provided for your hosting in the Nameservers form and choose Save nameservers.
• Domain registered elsewhere: sign in to that registrar's control panel and replace the nameservers there with the values for your hosting.

Option 2: keep your DNS where it is

If your DNS is managed by another provider, perhaps because it also handles email or other services, you can leave the nameservers unchanged and edit individual records at that provider instead. Typically you update the A record for the root domain and the www record to point at the IP address of your hosting account or cloud server. See Understanding DNS records for what each record does.

This option keeps existing email and other services working, but it means website-related records are managed in two places, so document what you change.

Pre-switch checklist

1. Confirm your hosting service or server is Active and your website files are in place.
2. Write down the current nameservers and DNS records so you can switch back if needed.
3. If the domain has email, make sure the new DNS includes the correct MX records before switching nameservers, or mail can stop arriving.
4. Plan the change for a quiet period, because DNS updates take time to reach everyone.

After the switch

DNS changes are cached by networks around the world, so some visitors see the new site before others. Allow up to 48 hours, then check your website and email. If something still looks wrong after that, see DNS propagation and troubleshooting or open a ticket with the domain name and what you changed.