What are nameservers?
Your nameservers contain your domain’s DNS records that direct visitors to your website and emails into your mailboxes, as well as several other services.
Your nameservers are set and managed by your domain registrar. A registrar leases domain names and handles registrations in accordance with the guidelines established by the designated registry. They assign IP addresses for the names they provide. The primary difference between a domain registrar and a domain registry is that a registrar (such as us) leases the domain and provides support, whereas the registry owns the domain. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) manages TLD distributions.
- If your domain is registered with us, your nameservers are set to our default nameservers, but you can update them in your client area.
- If your domain is registered elsewhere, you would need to contact them to manage your nameservers.
Why would I need to update my nameservers?
In most cases, you never need to update your nameservers. Using our nameservers is beneficial if you are using our services, as it allows us to update your DNS records if necessary. However, if you are using third-party hosting or other services, you may need to update them to your new provider’s nameservers. Your new host should provide you with the new nameservers.
What’s the difference between nameservers and DNS records?
Nameservers are servers that store DNS records and serve as the authoritative source for a domain's information. They translate human-readable names into computer-readable IP addresses. DNS records are the individual entries contained within these nameservers, specifying which IP addresses or other information to return for a given domain or subdomain. Simply put, if nameservers are a phone book, DNS records are the individual entries in that phone book.
How do I update my domain nameservers?
Step 1: Go to: https://manage.christianwebhost.com/ or click the "Login" button located at the top right of our website. Unless you change them, your login details are the email address and password used when the account was created.
Step 2: Once logged in, click the Domains block to navigate to the My Domains page.
Step 3: Select the domain you wish to update by clicking the row. You can click anywhere on the box, except the domain name (this will take you to the domain’s website).
Step 4: In the Manage menu located on the left, click Nameservers.
Step 5: Once you reach the Nameservers page, you can choose between using our default nameservers or you can enter your own third-party nameservers.
Step 6: Once entered, click the Change Nameservers button to update the nameservers.
How do I create custom nameservers?
In some cases, you may want to create your own nameservers. This will allow you to use your domain name for the nameservers instead of our default nameservers. While this is mostly symbolic, it does give your services a greater look of legitimacy. You can create custom nameservers from your client area.
Step 1: Go to: https://manage.christianwebhost.com/ or click the "Login" button located at the top right of our website. Unless you change them, your login details are the email address and password used when the account was created.
Step 2: Once logged in, click the Domains block.
Step 3: From the My Domains page, select the domain you wish to update by clicking the row. You can click anywhere on the box, except the domain name (this will take you to the domain’s website).
Step 4: Select Private Nameservers in the Manage menu on the left.
Step 5: You should now be looking at the Register Nameservers page. You can also modify or delete nameservers from this page.
Step 6: In the Register a Nameserver Name section, fill out the information and click Save Changes once finished to update.
- Nameserver: You only need to enter the first part of the nameserver (e.g., “ns1, ns2”); the system will add the rest (e.g., “.domain.com”).
- IP address: This is the IP address of the DNS server you are using.
Step 7: Once you have set up your private nameservers with the registry, you will need to add the A records to your DNS zone file.
- If you are using our cPanel-based web hosting, you can find information on updating your DNS records here. The A record IP will be 66.84.21.130.
- If you are hosted with someone else, you will need to contact them and add the records to their system.
ns1.example.com IN A [ip address] ns2.example.com IN A [ip address]
In the above example, we used ns1 and ns2 as the two new nameserver prefixes, as this is common practice, but you can use whatever you like.
How long does it take for the change to take effect?
Any time you make changes to your DNS or Nameservers, it can take up to 24 hours for the changes to propagate fully. While most modern servers update within 4-6 hours, it can still take up to 24 hours for the update to be fully propagated worldwide.