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Point a Domain to SiteGround Servers

Point a Domain to SiteGround Servers

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How to Point my New Domain to SiteGround – Video Guide

If you registered a new domain name when creating your SiteGround account, it will be pointed automatically and no action is required on your end.

If you want to use a domain name that is NOT registered with SiteGround, you will need to follow the instructions below:

  • step 1. Transfer the website’s content to SiteGround

    If your website already exists at another host, you need to first transfer its content to SiteGround and point your domain ONLY AFTER the transfer is completed in order to avoid downtime. If you want to point your domain to a new project, you can skip this step.

  • step 2. Update your DNS settings at your current domain registrar

    The SiteGround name servers that you should use to point your domain to us are:

    • ns1.siteground.net
    • ns2.siteground.net

    By using these servers you will have the best experience with our platform: you will start using our super fast central DNS service; you will be able to easily manage all your DNS records (A record, MX records, CNAME record, etc.) through your Site Tools; you will be able to use email services with this domain on our servers. If you use email with this domain, it will be handled by our servers with no additional DNS records pointing.

    If you have Private DNS activated you can find your DNS information in your User Area > Services > Domains > Settings (for the associated domain) > Extras.

    Go to your domain Registrar’s management panel (this might be your previous hosting provider or else) and find the corresponding domain management forms to update the name servers. See how you can do that with Bluehost, GoDaddy, HostGator, DreamHost, Namecheap, and Google Domains.

    • NOTE: If you have any custom DNS records with your old registrar that you need to keep, you can use the DNS Zone Editor in Site Tools to set them before you change the name servers.

    As an alternative to pointing your domain to our service by changing its name servers, you can update only the domain’s A record to point to your hosting account’s IP address (find your site IP address). Thus your domain will open your website on our server, but you will not be using our DNS service and will miss on the speed and management benefits mentioned above. Also if you use email with this domain it will not be pointed to our servers.

  • step 3. Wait 72 hours for the propagation

    It takes roughly 72 hours until the changes in your domain’s records propagate. We strongly recommend that you do not discontinue your previous hosting service until this period is over. During these 72 hours, some of your visitors will access your site on the old server and some on the new so you need them both up and running.

    • In the meantime, you can check the Site Tools dashboard checker for DNS to see if the updates are set up correctly.

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