How to point your domain name to your website
OK, so you have a domain name and signed up with a web host. Now you are ready to add your domain to your web host. This article explains how you can point your new domain name to your website. If you don’t know what a domain name is, you might want to read my Introduction to domain names article first.
Before moving forward, you need to have both of the items listed below.
1. You need to already have a domain name
In order to transfer your domain name, you need to have a domain name already registered. If you do not, read the article How to register your own domain name to find out the necessary steps for getting your own domain.
2. You need to already have a web hosting account
A web host is essentially a company that has a network of computers that connect to your website in order for it to be seen on the internet.
If you haven’t signed up with a web host yet, you need to register for one before you can point your domain anywhere. If that is the case, read the article How to choose a web host to find out the necessary steps for getting your own domain. If you want to know which web host to use, read my Affordable web hosts article or my Which web host do you use? article.
How to point your domain name to your website instructions
1. Find your web host’s list of name servers
The first thing you need to do is to find out the list of name servers used by your web host. They are generally called “Name servers”, or “DNS servers”, and they direct your domain name to the actual location of your website. Basically, in order to display your website when someone searches for it, the browser needs to know the real address of the site. For that to happen, the internet needs to know the IP address (just like a home address) of the computers from your web host’s server, which is displayed as a series of numbers like 127.0.0.1. Every computer (including the one you are using now) has an IP address, and in this step you are telling the internet that when someone looks for your domain name, they can connect to your web host’s servers. Don’t worry if you don’t understand any of this. All you are doing here is finding these IP addresses and telling your domain name registrar.
How do you find the name servers used by your web host for your domain? Your first option is to open the email you received from your web host when you first signed up. This is one of the most common first questions your host will receive, so there is a very good chance it is right in that email. (Quick tip: save that email. You may only reference it once or twice in the beginning, but it is a great way to make sure you have this information available). If that doesn’t work, search around in your web host’s site. You can probably find it in a FAQ’s section or some place on their site. If that doesn’t work, email them directly. But this might take a while, even up to a day or two, so I would suggest avoiding email if you can.
Name servers will often look like ns1.example.com, ns2.example.com, etc, where “example.com” will probably be replaced by some other domain name used by your web host for their servers.
Your web host will generally give you two, three, or more name server addresses. Keep track of all of these names and be ready to enter these names later.
2. Provide the name servers to your registrar
The next step after getting the list of name servers is to enter them into your domain name registrar’s system. First, log into your registrar with the login information you used when you first registered your domain.
Now you need to find out the place where you can enter your domain’s name servers. How easy that is depends on the set up of your domain name registrar, and each registrar will do it a different way. Since they are all set up differently, I will give you an idea of what to look for.
The following general instructions should help you find where to enter your name servers:
- You probably want to look for the place where you list all of the domains you set up with your registrar. The page is probably called something like “My Domains”.
- Pick the domain for which you want to enter the name servers. That’s a pretty obvious step, but you want to make sure you pick the right domain.
- Look for a “Manage DNS” menu link, a “DNS” button, or a “Nameservers” button. Basically look for things that say “DNS” or “Name Servers” or “Nameservers”, whether to “set” it or “change” it, or “manage” it or some other thing.
If you finally get to the right page, you should see a form that lets you enter things like your “Primary Name Server”, “Secondary Name Server”, “Tertiary Name Server”, etc.
Enter your first name server from your list, usually the name beginning with “ns1“, into the “Primary Name Server” field. Then type your second name server, the name beginning with “ns2“, into the “Secondary Name Server” field. A domain name should have at least 2 name servers associated with it. Enter as many names as you are able to. Don’t worry, it is fine if you only can enter 2. Once again, do your best to find out where things are, but you can always email them if you need to.
Well, that’s it. Then you just need to wait before you can access your website using your domain name. This could take a few minutes, hours, or even a couple days depending on the registrar.
What’s Next
Congratulations! You’ve finished the first steps towards starting your own website. Now you get to the fun part of actually creating your site. If you want some help with how to do that, you definitely want to read the article, How to start your own website. It will give you step-by-step instructions on the entire process, plus plenty of other articles on all things related to starting your site.
on May 19, 2010 at 4:23 pm
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What company is the best Domain Registrar? i’ve heard that Godaddy and Moniker are the best..;-
on May 22, 2010 at 10:19 pm
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Daisy, I’ve always gone with GoDaddy. They may not be the best out there, but their prices are decent and they are pretty easy to use.
on May 29, 2010 at 10:00 am
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Can I ask you a question? If I want to buy domain and hosting in the US, how can I transfer money? I have tried several times but I failed.
on July 31, 2010 at 2:04 am
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Thanks for posting. I came across your site in yahoo and I’m happy I clicked on it. I will be back to read more soon.
on August 23, 2010 at 8:55 pm
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Hack again?!