How to Change Your Domain Nameservers: A Simple Guide

If you've ever purchased a website, moved a website or changed hosting providers, you've likely heard the term "nameservers." Don't let the technical name intimidate you. Changing your nameservers is a straightforward process, and this guide will walk you through it step-by-step.

Think of nameservers as the internet's GPS for your domain. When someone types your domain name (like yourwebsite.com) into their browser, nameservers tell that browser exactly where to find your website on the internet. In most cases, your domain registrar (where you bought your domain) provides the default nameservers. However, if you use a different company for your web hosting, you need to update these nameservers to point to your new host.
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Why change them? In order for us to set your website live, we'll need to connect your domain to our servers 😄

Before you do anything, you need to know what you're changing your nameservers to. We'll provide you with the nameservers via email or contact us at convert@nicejob.com for your nameservers. They will come in pairs (e.g., ns1.examplehost.com and ns2.examplehost.com).

This is the company where you originally purchased your domain name (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains). Log in to your account and navigate to the domain management section. The steps may vary, but you're looking for a page that lists your domains and allows you to manage their settings.

Once you're in the management area for the specific domain you want to change, look for a section labelled "Nameservers," "DNS," or "Manage DNS."

You'll likely see a few options:

You want to select the "Use custom nameservers" or a similar option. This will unlock the fields where you can enter the new nameservers you were given in Step 1.

Carefully copy and paste your new nameservers into the provided fields. Make sure there are no typos! The registrar will typically give you at least two fields
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After you've entered all the nameservers, hit the Save or Update button. You'll likely see a warning about the changes taking time to take effect (24-48 hours). This is normal!

After you save the changes, it's a waiting game. This process is called "DNS propagation," and it's when the nameserver updates are sent across the internet to all the servers that manage DNS. It can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours, though it's usually much faster. During this time, your website and email may be temporarily unavailable or inconsistent, so let us know if there is a preferred time you would like to set the website live, and we'll provide some guidance.
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Common Mistake: Don't panic if your site doesn't load immediately. Just grab a cup of coffee and come back to it later.

Here are direct links to help articles from some of the most common domain registrars to make this process even easier:

And that's it! You've successfully pointed your domain to a new service. Congratulations! 🎉