Changing Nameserver Addresses Print

Nameservers are a vital part of the Domain Name System (DNS). Nameservers point to an entity that hosts and provides managemnt of your domain names DNS records. They tell other servers how to match your website's domain name with its IP address so the right website content gets shown to your website visitors. Without nameservers, your domain name will not have DNS records to properly direct traffic to your website.

When you migrate a website to an AlpineWeb hosting plan, we recommend using Cloudflare for your DNS.

This article will provide general directions on changing your nameservers assuming you have registered your domain name with AlpineWeb and will be using Cloudflare DNS. The process will be different if your domain name is registered with another registrar and are using a different DNS provider.

There are several steps to changing your Nameserver addresses:

• Determining who your Domain Name Registrar is
  
  
• Choosing a DNS provider
  
  
• Nameserver Change Preparation
  
  
• Updating Nameserver Addresses
  
  

Determining who your Domain Name Registrar is

When you register a domain name, nameservers are automatically set by the Registrar unless you specify otherwise. If you don't specify your nameservers, you'll likely create your DNS records in an account with your Registrar. To change your nameservers, you will need to know who your domain Registrar or your domains Authorized Agent is to determine where to update your nameservers.

If you don't know who your registrar is, you can perform a WHOIS lookup here:

https://www.alpineweb.com/domain-names/whois/

The following is a WHOIS lookup example for alpineweb-design.com. Remember to replace "alpineweb-design.com" with your domain name:

Domain Name: ALPINEWEB-DESIGN.COM
Registry Domain ID: 4741605_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.1api.net
Registrar URL: http://www.1api.net
Updated Date: 2018-09-25T16:44:43Z
Creation Date: 1998-11-16T05:00:00Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2019-11-15T05:00:00Z
Registrar: 1 API GmbH
Registrar IANA ID: 1387
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@1api.net
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +49.6841.6984-200
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Name Server: LARA.NS.CLOUDFLARE.COM
Name Server: WILL.NS.CLOUDFLARE.COM
DNSSEC: signedDelegation
DNSSEC DS Data: 2371 13 2 F367F232C153468196142A4C768389BF0DAD07DC20E555FC21F7ABA1B787DCB6
URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: https://www.icann.org/wicf/
>>> Last update of whois database: 2018-11-03T22:29:52Z

Choosing a DNS provider

If you register your domain with AlpineWeb, your nameservers will default to Cloudflare nameservers:

lara.ns.cloudflare.com
will.ns.cloudflare.com

If your domain name will be hosted at AlpineWeb, we will create a free Cloudflare account and create a default set of DNS records pointing to your hosting plan. You will then be able to manage your Cloudflare plan including DNS records by logging in to your account in the AlpineWeb Customer Backroom here:

https://www.alpineweb.com/backroom/clientarea.php

If you are transferring your web hosting to AlpineWeb we recommend using Cloudflare as your DNS provider. In addition to DNS, Cloudflare provides additional services that provide security and performance enhancements. You can learn more about Cloudflare here:

Cloudflare Overview

Nameserver Change Preparation

When migrating an existing website to an AlpineWeb hosting plan, the following steps should be taken prior to the move:

• Provision your new web hosting account and services including the configuration of email accounts.
  
  
• Test your new site and it's content prior to updating DNS records to point to the its new home.
  
  
• Create DNS Records.
  
  Here are two options for managing DNS records when migrating an existing website to an AlpineWeb Hosting plan:
  
  
  1. Use an existing DNS service to create a temporary DNS "A" record pointing to the new web hosting account such as new.domain-name.com
     
     
  2. Create a new Cloudflare account with a set DNS records pointing to the existing domains web host and then update the nameserver addresses. Add an additional DNS "A" record pointing to the new AlpineWeb hosting plan.
     
     
  3. For information on creating and managing DNS Records, see the following Knowledgebase Article:
     
     Managing DNS Records
     
     

Updating Nameserver Addresses

When the website has been configured and tested in it's new home and ready to make live, it is time to change the Nameserver addresses.

1. If your domain is registered with AlpineWeb, log in to your AlpineWeb account in the AlpineWeb Customer Backroom here:
   
   https://www.alpineweb.com/backroom/clientarea.php
   
   
2. Once logged in, navigate to:
   
   Domains > My Domains
   
   
3. Click on the Manage button and then Nameservers or choose Manage Nameservers from the dropdown list.
   
   
4. Next, choose Use default nameservers or Use custom nameservers (enter below):
   
   If using Cloudflare be sure to use the following values:

lara.ns.cloudflare.com
will.ns.cloudflare.com

• Finally, click on Change Nameservers
  
  

DNS Propagation

Just like any other DNS change, changing your nameservers can take 24-48 hours to move through the whole internet! This is referred to as Propagation. If some people have trouble seeing your website right after you change nameservers, this could be why.

Other Registrars

If your domain name is registered with another provider we cannot provide detailed instructions on changing your nameservers. We recommend contacting your registrar's support department if you need specific assistance.

Note: using custom nameservers may limit our ability to assist you with DNS issues.

Support

If you should need additional assistance submit a Support Request here:

https://www.alpineweb.com/backroom/submitticket.php