Nameservers Explained

Nameservers are the servers that answer for your domain. If DNS is the address book of the internet, nameservers are the pages that actually hold your domain's address details. This page explains what they are and when you'll need to think about them.

What nameservers are

When you register a domain, you assign it nameservers — the DNS servers that are "authoritative" for it. When someone looks up your domain, the internet asks your nameservers, and they give the answer (your A record, MX record, and so on).

Think of nameservers as the phone book for your domain. They store the records that point your website and email to the right places.

Why you might need to change them

Most of the time, you don't touch nameservers. But there are a couple of common situations:

1. You're using a third-party DNS service. Some people manage their DNS at a provider (like Cloudflare) rather than at their registrar or hosting company. You'd point your nameservers at that provider.
2. You move your domain's hosting. If you change where your domain's DNS is managed, you update the nameservers.

How to change nameservers

You change nameservers where you registered the domain — usually your registrar, or your control panel if we manage it. See Manage DNS records and Point your domain.

Nameservers vs. DNS records

These are related but different:

• Nameservers — where your domain's DNS is answered (the phone book itself).
• DNS records — what those answers say (the A, MX, TXT records inside).

You set nameservers once; you manage records more often. See The complete guide to DNS records.

When you don't need to worry

If you registered your domain with us (or are hosting with us) and we manage your DNS, you usually don't need to change nameservers — we handle it. Just point your domain and manage records. See Register a domain.

Got a question about nameservers? Contact support — it's a quick thing to sort out, and we can point you the right way.