How to point your domain to GHost Cloud

Your domain needs to point to GHost Cloud before your website and email work on our servers. The simplest way is to change your domain's nameservers. This guide explains how, and how to check that it worked.

Which nameservers to use

Use the nameservers in your welcome email. Enter them exactly as written, and remove any other nameservers your domain has.

How to change your nameservers

1. Log in to the company where you registered your domain (your registrar).
2. Find the nameserver or DNS settings for your domain. Registrars call this different things, such as Nameservers, DNS or Manage domain.
3. Replace the existing nameservers with the ones in your welcome email.
4. Save the change.

If you registered the domain with us, go to Domains in your account, choose the domain and open Nameservers.

How long it takes

Nameserver changes usually reach most networks within a few hours, but can take up to 48 hours. Until then, some visitors may see your old site and others the new one. Email can also arrive at either place, so keep your old mailboxes until the change is complete.

Check that it worked

• Use a DNS checker such as dnschecker.org. Enter your domain, choose NS and check that the results show our nameservers.
• Or run this on a computer:

nslookup -type=ns yourdomain.co.za

The answer should list the nameservers from your welcome email.

Keeping your current nameservers

If your DNS has to stay where it is, for example because other services depend on it, you can point your domain with records instead:

• an A record for your domain and for www, pointing to the server IP address in your welcome email
• MX records for your mail, if your email is with us

Keep a copy of your old records before you change anything. See How to manage DNS records in cPanel.

If your site still doesn't load after 48 hours

• Check the nameservers at your registrar again for typos.
• Clear your browser's cache, or try a private window or another device.
• If you see a default page, your files may not be in public_html yet.
• Still stuck? Open a ticket and tell us your domain name.

Related guides

• Getting started with your GHost Cloud hosting account
• How to manage DNS records in cPanel
• How to install and manage SSL certificates
• How to move your website to GHost Cloud