How to point your domain to GHost Cloud

After purchasing a hosting plan from GHost Cloud, you might notice that your domain still resolves to its old location. This is because your domain's nameservers need to be updated to point to GHost Cloud's servers. This guide will walk you through the process of changing your nameservers, ensuring your domain is correctly directed to your new hosting environment.

GHost Cloud nameservers

To point your domain to GHost Cloud, you need to update your domain's nameservers to the ones provided by GHost Cloud. The nameservers you should use are:

• ns1.geeklab.host
• ns2.geeklab.host

These nameservers will ensure that your domain is directed to GHost Cloud's servers, allowing your website to be accessible under your domain name. Nameservers act as a bridge between your domain name and the IP address of your website, translating human-friendly domain names into machine-readable IP addresses. By updating to GHost Cloud's nameservers, you ensure that any requests to your domain are routed to the correct server. This is crucial for maintaining uptime and ensuring that visitors can access your website without interruption. Remember to double-check the nameserver entries for accuracy, as even a small typo can prevent your site from resolving correctly.

How to change nameservers

Changing your domain's nameservers is essential to redirect traffic to your GHost Cloud hosting account. Follow these steps to update your nameservers:

1. Log in to your domain registrar's account. This is the company where you purchased your domain name. If you are unsure of your registrar, you can use a WHOIS lookup service to find out.
2. Locate the DNS or nameserver settings. This section is typically found under 'Domain Management' or 'DNS Settings'. The location of these settings can vary depending on the registrar, so refer to their support documentation if you have trouble finding them.
3. Replace the existing nameservers with: ns1.geeklab.host and ns2.geeklab.host. Ensure that you remove any previous nameservers to avoid conflicts.
4. Save the changes to update your domain's configuration. Note that some registrars may require confirmation via email or a secondary verification step to finalise the changes.

DNS propagation

After updating your nameservers, DNS propagation will occur. This process can take anywhere from 2 to 48 hours. During this time, some users may still see the old version of your site, while others will see the new version hosted on GHost Cloud. It's important to wait for this process to complete before assuming there is an issue with the setup. DNS propagation involves updating DNS records across the internet, which is why it can take some time. Factors such as the TTL (Time to Live) settings of your previous DNS records and the caching policies of ISPs can affect propagation time. To expedite the process, you can reduce the TTL value of your domain's DNS records before making the change, though this should be done well in advance. Patience is key, and it is advisable to inform your visitors of potential downtime during this transition period.

Verify the change

Once you believe DNS propagation has completed, you can verify the change using a couple of methods:

• Use the nslookup command in your command line interface to check which nameservers are currently associated with your domain. Open the command prompt on Windows or the terminal on macOS/Linux, type nslookup -type=NS yourdomain.com, and press Enter. This will display the current nameserver information.
• Visit dnschecker.org to verify your DNS records globally. Enter your domain and select 'NS' to see if the nameserver update has propagated worldwide. This tool allows you to see the status of your DNS records from multiple locations, providing a comprehensive view of the propagation process.

These verification steps are crucial to ensure that your domain is correctly pointing to GHost Cloud's servers. If discrepancies are found, re-check your registrar’s settings and ensure that the changes were saved properly.

Alternative: A records

If you prefer to keep your existing nameservers, you can update your domain's A records to point to GHost Cloud's server IP address. This method allows you to manage your DNS settings independently. You will need to update the A record for your root domain and create a CNAME record for the 'www' subdomain. To do this, log in to your DNS management portal, locate the A record for your domain, and update the IP address to match GHost Cloud's server IP. Next, ensure that the 'www' CNAME record points to your root domain. This setup maintains your current DNS provider while directing traffic to your new hosting environment. Be aware that managing DNS records manually requires a good understanding of DNS settings, as incorrect entries can lead to website downtime or misdirection of traffic. Always double-check entries for accuracy and consult support resources if needed.

Troubleshooting

If your site is not loading after 48 hours, consider these troubleshooting steps:

• Clear your browser's DNS cache. Browsers often store DNS information, which can cause delays in reflecting changes. On Windows, open the command prompt and type ipconfig /flushdns to clear the DNS cache. On macOS, use the terminal and type sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder.
• Ensure that your nameserver changes were saved correctly in your registrar's dashboard. Log back into your registrar account and confirm that the correct nameservers are listed.
• If you see a default page, confirm that your website files are correctly uploaded to your GHost Cloud hosting account. Access your hosting control panel and verify that your website files are in the public_html directory or the designated root folder.
• Check for any typos in the nameserver entries. Even a single character mistake can prevent proper resolution.
• Contact your hosting provider's support for further assistance if the issue persists. They may be able to identify server-side issues affecting your site.

Related guides

• Getting Started with Your GHost Cloud Hosting Account
• How to Install and Manage SSL Certificates
• How to Manage DNS Records in cPanel