For your domain to work with your hosting account, it needs to use the correct nameservers. Nameservers tell the internet where to find the DNS records for your domain, which in turn direct traffic to the right server.
Please note: Screens and options may vary slightly depending on your cPanel version and hosting plan.
Finding Your Nameservers
Your hosting provider will have given you nameserver addresses, typically in a format like:
ns1.yourhostingprovider.comns2.yourhostingprovider.com
Check your welcome email or hosting control panel for the exact nameserver addresses. If you're unsure, contact your hosting provider's support team.
Updating Nameservers at Your Domain Registrar
The process varies depending on where you registered your domain, but the general steps are:
- Log in to your account at your domain registrar (e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, 123-reg, Ionos, etc.).
- Navigate to the domain management section.
- Find the Nameservers or DNS settings for the domain.
- Select Custom nameservers (or "Use custom DNS").
- Replace the existing nameservers with those provided by your hosting company.
- Save the changes.
Propagation Time
After updating nameservers, the change needs to propagate across the global DNS network. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours, though most changes are visible within 2–4 hours.
During propagation, some visitors may see the old site and some may see the new one — this is normal.
Verifying DNS Propagation
You can check the progress of DNS propagation using online tools such as:
- whatsmydns.net — Shows how your domain resolves from DNS servers around the world.
- dig or nslookup — Command-line tools for querying DNS. For example:
dig yourdomain.com NS
nslookup -type=NS yourdomain.com
Using External DNS (e.g. Cloudflare)
If you prefer to manage DNS through a third-party provider like Cloudflare, you'll point your nameservers to that provider instead. In that case, you'll need to create the necessary DNS records (A, MX, TXT, etc.) at the external DNS provider, matching the records shown in cPanel's Zone Editor.
Tips
- Always update nameservers rather than just adding them. Remove the old nameservers before adding new ones.
- If you're migrating from another host, consider lowering the TTL on your DNS records at the old host before switching nameservers. This reduces the time old records are cached.
- Some registrars lock domains by default. You may need to unlock the domain before making nameserver changes.
What Next?
- Managing DNS Records (Zone Editor) — Configure DNS records after setting nameservers.
- Adding a Domain to Your Account — Add the domain to your cPanel account.
