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How to change your DNS settings

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Here is the thing about DNS changes. They are not hard. They just feel hard because most DNS panels look like they were built for network engineers, not for someone who wants to point a domain at a new website. Once you understand where your DNS lives and what each record does, the whole process becomes straightforward.

If you need a refresher on the different DNS record types before you start, that chapter has you covered. For now, let's walk through the practical steps to change DNS settings for your domain.

Where do your DNS settings live?

This is the first thing to figure out, and it trips people up more than the actual change itself. Your DNS settings live wherever your nameservers point.

There are two possibilities.

At your domain registrar. If you have never changed your nameservers, your DNS is managed at the company where you registered your domain. Log in there and look for a section called DNS Management, DNS Settings, or DNS Zone
At your hosting provider. If you (or someone else) changed your nameservers to point to a hosting company, your DNS is managed there instead. Logging in to your registrar and editing records will not do anything because the nameservers are pointing somewhere else

Not sure where your nameservers point? You can check by searching "WHOIS lookup" and entering your domain name. The results will show which nameservers are active. If they match your registrar, your DNS lives at the registrar. If they match a hosting company, your DNS lives there.

What should you check before making changes?

Before you touch anything, take a screenshot or write down your current DNS records. If something breaks after a change, you want to be able to put things back the way they were.

Here is what to check.

Your current records. Open your DNS panel and note every record that exists. Pay special attention to A records (these point your domain to a server), MX records (these handle email), and any TXT records (these are used for verification and email security)
Your TTL values. If you are about to make a major change like switching hosts, lower your TTL to 300 (five minutes) at least 24 hours before the change. This way, DNS servers around the world will check for updates every five minutes instead of every few hours
Which records you are changing and why. Know exactly what you need to update. If your new hosting provider gave you an IP address, you are updating an A record. If they gave you a hostname to point to, you are updating a CNAME. If you are setting up email, you are changing MX records

How to change a single DNS record

This is the most common type of DNS change. You need to update one record, like an A record to point your domain to a new server or a TXT record to verify ownership for a service.

Here is what you do.

Log in to the panel where your DNS is managed. That is your registrar or your hosting provider, depending on where your nameservers point
Find the DNS settings. Look for DNS Management, DNS Zone, Advanced DNS, or a similar label. Every provider names it slightly differently, but it is always in the domain settings area
Find the record you want to change. You will see a list of your current records. Each one shows the record type (A, CNAME, MX, TXT), the hostname it applies to, and the current value
Click edit on that record. Update the value field with the new information. For an A record, that is the new IP address. For a CNAME, it is the new hostname. For a TXT record, paste the text string you were given
Save the change. Click save, apply, or update. The exact button depends on your provider
Wait for DNS propagation. Your change will not take effect everywhere at once. It spreads across DNS servers worldwide over minutes to hours, depending on the TTL that was set on the old record

That is it for a single record. If you are adding a new record rather than editing an existing one, look for an "Add Record" button in the same panel. You will pick the record type, enter the hostname, enter the value, set the TTL, and save.

How to change your nameservers

Changing nameservers is a different process from editing individual records. When you change nameservers, you are telling the internet to look at a completely different DNS panel for all your records. This is common when you move to a new hosting provider that manages DNS for you.

Here is how to do it.

Get the new nameserver addresses. Your new hosting provider will give you two or more nameserver addresses. They look something like ns1.provider.com and ns2.provider.com
Log in to your domain registrar. Nameserver changes are always made at the registrar, even if your current DNS is managed elsewhere
Find the nameserver settings. Look for Nameservers, DNS Servers, or Custom Nameservers in your domain settings. It is separate from the DNS records section
Replace the current nameservers with the new ones. Delete the old entries and paste in the new nameserver addresses
Save the change. Nameserver changes can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate, though most complete within a few hours

One thing to keep in mind. When you change nameservers, you are moving all your DNS to a new location. Any records you had at the old location (A records, MX records, TXT records) will no longer apply. Make sure your new DNS panel has all the records you need before switching. Otherwise your website, email, or connected services could go down.

For more on how NS records work, check that chapter.

What to check after making DNS changes

You made the change. Now verify that everything is working the way it should.

Check that your site loads. Open your domain in a browser and confirm it loads the correct website. If it still shows the old site, give propagation more time
Test both www and non-www. Try your domain with and without www in front. Both should load correctly. If one works and the other does not, you may need to add a record for the version that is not working
Verify your email. Send a test email to and from your domain. DNS changes can sometimes affect MX records, especially if you changed nameservers. If email is not working, check that your MX records are present and correct in the new DNS panel
Use a DNS checker tool. Search "DNS propagation checker" and enter your domain. These tools show you whether DNS servers around the world are returning your new records. If some show the old value, propagation is still in progress
Verify connected services. If you had TXT records for email authentication (SPF, DKIM) or for verifying ownership with a third-party service, confirm those records still exist in your DNS panel. If you changed nameservers, you may need to re-add them

Common reasons to change DNS settings

People do not change DNS settings for fun. There is always a trigger. Here are the most common ones.

Switching to a new hosting provider. You need to update your A record or change nameservers so your domain points to the new server
Setting up a new email provider. New email means new MX records, and sometimes new TXT records for authentication
Connecting a third-party service. Many services ask you to add a CNAME or TXT record to verify you own the domain
Setting up SSL. Some SSL configurations require a specific DNS record to validate your domain
Pointing a subdomain somewhere new. If you want blog.yourdomain.com to point to a different server, you add or update a CNAME or A record for that subdomain

Common mistakes when changing DNS settings

These come up over and over, and all of them are avoidable.

Editing the wrong DNS panel. If your nameservers point to your hosting provider but you make changes at your registrar, nothing happens. Always confirm where your DNS is managed before editing anything
Deleting records you still need. If you are adding a new A record and accidentally delete your MX records in the process, your email stops working. Double-check what you are removing before you save
Not lowering TTL before a big change. If your TTL is set to 86400 (24 hours) and you make a change, some visitors will see the old setup for up to a day. Lower your TTL to 300 at least 24 hours before any migration
Switching nameservers without recreating records. When you point nameservers to a new provider, your old records do not follow automatically. Set up all your needed records in the new panel before making the switch
Changing the wrong record type. Confusing an A record with a CNAME, or editing a CNAME when you should be adding a TXT record, leads to things breaking. Check the instructions from your hosting or email provider carefully

How WEMASY guides you through DNS changes

When you connect a custom domain to a WEMASY website, the platform tells you exactly which DNS records to add or update. You do not have to guess which record type to use or what value to enter. WEMASY provides the specific records, and you add them in your DNS panel.

WEMASY handles SSL automatically once your domain is connected, so there is no separate DNS step for that. Hosting, SSL, and domain setup are included in every plan. See what each plan offers on the WEMASY pricing page.

What comes next

Now that you know how to change DNS settings, the next chapter covers what to do when your domain is not working. You will learn how to troubleshoot common domain problems, from DNS issues to SSL errors to a site that simply will not load. For the full picture of how domains and DNS fit together, revisit the main everything about domains hub.