How do I change my domain name's nameservers?

Changing your domain's nameservers is pretty easy. You just need to know where to look in your Site.eu dashboard. Let me show you how it works and explain what nameservers actually do.

What are nameservers?

Think of nameservers as the phone book of the internet. When someone types your domain name, nameservers tell their browser where to find your website. Simple as that.

Every domain needs at least two unique nameservers. Why two? Backup. If one stops working, the other takes over. These nameservers control where your website and email go.

Steps to change your nameservers

Here's exactly what you need to do:

1. Go to your Site.eu dashboard
2. Click your domain name - Find it in the left sidebar. Click it.
3. Find "Advanced settings" - Go to Domain settings. Then click Advanced settings.
4. Turn off default settings - See "Use default Site.eu settings"? Switch it off first. You need to do this before changing nameservers. Learn more about why Site.eu uses default settings.
5. Disable DNS management - This is important. Turn off DNS management. You can't have custom nameservers otherwise.
6. Add your nameservers - Now you'll see empty fields. Type in your new nameservers here. Your hosting provider gave you these (like ns1.example.com and ns2.example.com).
7. Save everything - Hit the save button. Done! The changes take up to 24 hours to work everywhere.

Why can't you use both DNS management and configure custom nameservers?

Here's the deal. You can't use custom nameservers AND our DNS management at the same time. They don't work together.

Why not? Simple:

• Our DNS management needs our nameservers - If you want to manage DNS records in your Site.eu dashboard, your domain must point to our nameservers. That's how we control your DNS.
• Custom nameservers point somewhere else - When you use custom nameservers, you're telling your domain to get DNS info from another provider. Not from us.

When to change nameservers

You might need to change your nameservers when you're moving to a new hosting company or when you want to link your domain to an external DNS service. That's about it. Most people don't need to touch these settings unless their hosting provider tells them to.

Good to know

• It takes time - Changes need up to 24 hours to propagate over the internet. Usually faster though.
• Write down your old nameservers - Just in case you need to switch back.
• Check with your host - They'll tell you exactly which nameservers to use.