How do I point my domain to my hosting?

Your domain needs to know where your website lives. There are two ways to tell it.

Option 1: change the nameservers (easiest)

1. Open the welcome email you got when your hosting was set up. It lists our nameservers.
2. Log in wherever your domain is registered and find Nameservers or DNS settings.
3. Replace the existing nameservers with ours and save.

If you registered the domain with Hostnali together with your hosting, this is already done. Not sure what nameservers are? See what nameservers are.

Option 2: add DNS records

Keep your current DNS provider and add:

• An A record for @ (the bare domain) pointing to your hosting’s IP address, from the welcome email or cPanel.
• An A record or CNAME for www pointing to the same place.
• MX records for email, if your email is hosted with us as well.

How long does it take?

Domains such as .com, .africa, .org and .net usually update within a few hours, although it can take 24–48 hours for every network to see the change. A .co.zw works the same way once it’s registered (it needs an application to the Zimbabwean registry first; ask our team and we’ll help). Until the change has spread, some visitors may still see the old website. More in DNS propagation.

Check that it worked

Open your domain in a private browser window. If you see your new website (or the default hosting page), it’s pointing correctly. Free SSL installs itself once the domain points to us.

Stuck? Our team will set it up for you: contact us or start a live chat.