Posted inUncategorized

Pointing Name Servers to your website

Pointing Name Servers to your website

Connecting name servers to domain :

Pointing name servers to a website involves updating the DNS (Domain Name System) records for your domain so that they direct traffic to your web hosting provider. This process allows your domain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com) to be associated with the server where your website files are hosted.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to point name server to your website:

1. Obtain Name Servers from Your Hosting Provider

  • After purchasing a web hosting plan, your hosting provider will provide you with name server details (typically in an email or in your hosting dashboard).
  • The name server will look something like this:
    • ns1.yourhostingprovider.com
    • ns2.yourhostingprovider.com

2. Log in to Your Domain Registrar

  • Go to the website of the company where you registered your domain
  • Sign in to your account.

3. Access DNS or Name Server Settings

  • Find the section in your registrar’s dashboard that manages DNS settings or Name Server settings. This is usually located in the Domain Management or DNS Management section.

4. Update Name Servers

  • In the name server section, you will see an option to update or change the current name server.
  • Replace the current name server (default or previous ones) with the name server provided by your web hosting company.
  • Example:
    • NS1: ns1.yourhostingprovider.com
    • NS2: ns2.yourhostingprovider.com
  • Some registrars may allow you to add more than two name server. If your hosting provider gave more than two, add all the name server listed.

5. Save Changes

  • After entering the new name server, save the changes.

6. Wait for DNS Propagation

  • It can take up to 24 to 48 hours for DNS changes to propagate globally, though it often happens much faster.
  • During this time, your domain will begin to point to your hosting provider’s server, and your website will become accessible at your domain.

7. Verify the Change

  • After DNS propagation is complete, visit your domain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com) to verify that it is now pointing to your new website hosting.
  • You can also use tools like DNSChecker.org or WhatsMyDNS.net to check the status of DNS propagation across different regions.

Additional Considerations:

  • Default Name Server: Some domain registrars will have default name server. Make sure to replace these with the correct ones provided by your hosting company.
  • TTL (Time to Live): This setting determines how frequently DNS records are updated. Lower TTL settings can speed up propagation but may add load to the server. You generally don’t need to change this unless instructed.
  • Custom DNS Records: If you need to manage custom DNS records (e.g., A records, MX records for email), you will need to do this within the DNS settings of your hosting provider after pointing the name server.

By following these steps, you will successfully point your domain to your website hosted on your hosting provider’s server.

Drawbacks due to not connecting name server

If you do not update your name server correctly or fail to update them when required, several negative effects can occur:

1. Website Inaccessibility:

  • If name server are not pointed to the correct web host, visitors will not be able to access your website. Instead, they might see an error message such as “Server not found” or “DNS address could not be found.”

2. Email Issues:

  • Many businesses use email services linked to their domain (e.g., info@yourdomain.com). If name server are incorrect, email services could stop working, resulting in the inability to send or receive emails associated with that domain.

3. Prolonged Downtime:

  • When migrating to a new hosting provider or server, not updating name server means the domain will still point to the old server. If the old server is decommissioned, this will result in website downtime until the name server are updated.

4. DNS Resolution Failure:

  • The Domain Name System (DNS) is responsible for translating domain names into IP addresses. If name server are incorrect or outdated, DNS resolution will fail, causing the domain not to link with the proper server, and users will not reach your site.

5. SEO Impact:

  • Prolonged downtime or inaccessibility can hurt your website’s SEO rankings. Search engines may perceive the website as unreliable, potentially leading to lower rankings in search results and decreased traffic.

6. User Trust and Business Reputation:

  • Regular visitors, customers, or clients who cannot access your website may lose trust in your business or service. If emails bounce or the site remains down for an extended period, it may result in a damaged reputation.

7. Security Risks:

  • If name servers are not updated to secure, trusted hosting providers, there may be a risk of DNS hijacking, where malicious entities redirect traffic to a compromised site, potentially exposing users to phishing attacks or other threats.

8. Miscommunication:

  • If your email services fail due to incorrect name server configuration, communication breakdowns may occur, especially if you rely on email for client correspondence, order confirmations, or business inquiries.

9. Domain Parking Pages:

  • Some registrars display a default domain parking page (advertisements or placeholder content) if the name servers are not updated. This means your actual website content won’t appear until the correct name servers are configured.

10. Limited Custom DNS Settings:

  • Without pointing to the correct name servers, you won’t be able to set up custom DNS records such as MX records for email, A records for subdomains, or CNAME records for services like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.

In summary, not updating name servers can lead to website and email outages, SEO damage, user trust issues, and the inability to manage important DNS settings. To avoid these consequences, it is important to ensure that name servers are correctly updated and configured.

Importance of name servers

Name servers are a crucial part of the Domain Name System (DNS) that translate domain names (like www.example.com) into IP addresses, allowing users to access websites and services online. Their importance lies in the following aspects:

1. Facilitating Domain-to-IP Translation:

  • Name servers are responsible for translating user-friendly domain names into machine-readable IP addresses. Without name servers, users would have to remember long, complex IP addresses (like 192.0.2.1) instead of simple domain names.
  • They enable efficient navigation on the web by linking human-readable domain names to their corresponding servers.

2. Ensuring Website Accessibility:

  • When the name servers are correctly configured, they direct users to the web hosting server where your website resides. If name servers are incorrect, users will not be able to access your site, leading to errors like “Domain not found.”

3. Managing DNS Records:

  • Name servers store and manage the various DNS records for a domain, such as:
    • A Records: Link domain names to IP addresses.
    • MX Records: Direct emails to mail servers.
    • CNAME Records: Alias one domain name to another.
  • These records are essential for directing traffic to the correct server, ensuring that web pages, emails, and other services are accessible.

4. Allowing Multi-Server Hosting:

  • Name servers allow you to point different services (like your website, email, or subdomains) to different servers. For example, your website can be hosted on one server while your email service can be hosted on another.

5. Enhancing Website Performance:

  • Well-configured name servers ensure that DNS requests are resolved quickly and efficiently, reducing website load times. Faster DNS resolution leads to quicker connections to websites, enhancing user experience.
  • Some hosting providers offer redundant name servers (multiple name servers for failover), ensuring that if one fails, another can take over and keep the website accessible.

6. Enabling Email Services:

  • Name servers play a key role in ensuring that email systems (via MX records) direct incoming emails to the correct mail server. Without properly configured name servers, email services could be interrupted, resulting in communication issues.

7. Supporting Domain Management:

  • Name servers allow domain owners to change hosting providers or services without changing their domain name. By updating the name servers, you can redirect a domain to different servers, making it easier to migrate websites, email services, or cloud applications without affecting the domain name.

8. Ensuring Global DNS Propagation:

  • Name servers propagate DNS changes (such as new IP addresses) globally, ensuring that users anywhere in the world can access the website. This global propagation ensures that domain information is consistently available across the internet.

9. Improving Security:

  • Name servers can be configured to enhance security. For example:
    • DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions): Adds an additional layer of security to DNS records, preventing DNS spoofing and other attacks.
    • Redundant Name Servers: Helps prevent downtime if one name server goes offline, providing reliability and security for the website and associated services.

10. Scalability:

  • Name servers allow websites and services to scale without changing domain names. For example, if you move from shared hosting to a dedicated server or cloud infrastructure, you can easily update the name servers to point to the new hosting environment without disrupting the domain’s operation.

11. User Experience and Branding:

  • By pointing the correct name servers to a hosting provider, you ensure your website and services are accessible through your domain name, providing a consistent user experience. Your domain name is often tied to your brand identity, so having a reliable, properly configured name server setup ensures uninterrupted access to your online present.