When you move your website to a new host, your domain still needs to be told where to find it. This is done by updating your domain's nameservers at your domain registrar, not at your new host.
Find Your New Nameservers
Your new hosting provider will give you two or more nameserver addresses, usually looking like ns1.example.com and ns2.example.com. Keep these handy before you start.
Update Nameservers at Your Registrar
The exact steps vary slightly by registrar, but the general process is the same:
- Log in to your domain registrar's account (wherever you originally registered the domain).
- Find your domain in the dashboard and open its DNS or Nameservers settings.
- Choose Custom Nameservers (sometimes called "Use custom DNS").
- Enter the nameservers your new host provided, replacing any existing ones.
- Save your changes.
Nameserver changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 24-48 hours to fully propagate worldwide. Your site may briefly be reachable on both the old and new host during this window.
Confirm the Change
Once propagation completes, your domain will resolve to your new host automatically. You can check propagation status with any public DNS lookup tool by searching your domain's current nameservers.