Domain DNS: how to point your domain to a new website?
To make your domain show the new website, you change its DNS settings. You can do it yourself or ask the person who has access to the domain.
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How do you want to do it?
You know the login to the panel of the company where the domain is registered and can change DNS yourself.
You will find out where the domain is and send a ready email to the person who has access to it.
1What is DNS?
DNS is the list of settings of your domain.
- It tells the internet where your website is and where email should go.
- It works like an address book: the domain name leads to a specific server.
- We change only the website records; email on the domain keeps working as before.
2Sign in to your domain panel
Sign in to the panel of the company where your domain is registered and open its DNS records.
- GoDaddy - “Domain Portfolio” → your domain → “DNS”. Check the source: GoDaddy help on DNS records, as of October 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Namecheap - “Domain List” → “Manage” → “Advanced DNS”. Check the source: Namecheap help on host records, as of October 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Cloudflare - your domain → “DNS Records”. Check the source: Cloudflare help on DNS records, as of October 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Squarespace Domains - your domain → “DNS” → “DNS Settings”. Check the source: Squarespace help on DNS records, as of October 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Porkbun, Network Solutions, IONOS and others - look for “DNS”, “DNS Records” or “Manage DNS” next to your domain.
These labels come from each company’s help pages and may look slightly different in your panel. If the domain uses another company’s nameservers, change the records there.
3What does it look like?
It is usually a table with columns for type, name and value. Example (made-up data):
Type Name Value What it means A @ 192.0.2.10 where the website is CNAME www yourcompany.com the address with “www” MX @ 10 mx.mail-example.com email (we don’t change it) TXT @ v=spf1 include:mail-example.com ~all email protection 4Ask us for the records
Fill in the fields and click “Send email”.
- We will reply with 2-3 records for your website.
- Don’t send us any passwords.
Don’t know where your email is?
Enter a domain or an email address. We will check which company runs email for this domain, and you can add the result to the email below.
Email on the domainSubject: DNS records for [domain name] Hi, I’ll set up the DNS for [domain name] myself. Could you send me the records to add? - The domain is registered with: [company name, e.g. GoDaddy] - Email on the domain: not sure Thanks, [name, company]
You send the email from your own mailbox, and we get a copy of the text and the details you entered as soon as you click. Privacy policy
5Change the website records
When you get the records from us, change only the website records in the table.
- Usually that is an A record for the domain itself (@) and a CNAME for “www”.
- Don’t change or delete MX and TXT records, because your email depends on them.
- Most companies write the domain itself as “@”; Porkbun leaves the name empty. Check the source: Porkbun help on DNS records, as of October 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)Check the source: IONOS help on A records, as of October 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Example (made-up data):
Type Name Before After A @ 203.0.113.5 192.0.2.10 CNAME www old-site-example.com yourcompany.com Company Name field for the domain itself GoDaddy @ Namecheap @ Cloudflare @ Squarespace Domains @ Network Solutions @ (in “Refers to”) IONOS @ or empty Porkbun empty “Host” 6Save the changes
Click “Save” (some panels say “Add” or “Save All Changes”). New records usually work within an hour; sometimes it takes up to 48 hours.
1Where is your domain?
Check it with the tool below, look the domain up in ICANN Lookup (opens in a new tab) or check your domain invoice.
- ICANN Lookup shows the “Registrar” of domains such as .com, .net or .org.
- For country domains such as .uk or .de, check that country’s registry or your invoice.
Check the source: ICANN Lookup, as of October 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)Check the source: ICANN FAQ on country-code domains, as of October 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Don’t know where your domain is?
Enter your domain name. We’ll check the official domain registry to see which company it’s registered with.
Don’t know where your email is?
Enter a domain or an email address. We will check which company runs email for this domain. Changing the website DNS does not move your email: it stays where it is.
2Do you have access to the domain panel?
Check whether you know the login to the panel of the company where the domain is registered.
- You know it - you can change DNS yourself.
- Someone else has access, for example your previous agency, IT person or business partner - go to step 3.
3Send us the contact of the person in charge of the domain
Fill in the fields and click “Send email”.
- The domain and company fill in by themselves after you check the domain in step 1.
- The person’s details also go into the email in step 4.
Subject: Domain contact for [domain name] Hi, Here is the contact of the person who has access to [domain name]. - The domain is registered with: [company name, e.g. GoDaddy] - Person in charge of the domain: [full name] - Email: [email] - Phone: [phone] Thanks, [name, company]
You send the email from your own mailbox, and we get a copy of the text and the details you entered as soon as you click. Privacy policy
4Ask them to point the domain to the new website
Send this email to the person who has access to the domain.
- We are in copy, so we will send them the exact records and answer their questions.
- The records in the template are sample data.
Subject: Pointing [domain name] to new hosting Hi, We’re moving the [domain name] website to new hosting. Could you please change the domain’s DNS records at [company name, e.g. GoDaddy]: - A record, name @, value 192.0.2.10 (example) - CNAME record, name www, value [domain name] (example) PerfoState (in copy) will send you the exact values. Please don’t change the email records (MX and TXT). How PerfoState handles your contact details: https://perfostate.com/legal/privacy-policy/ Thanks, [name, company]
You send the email from your own mailbox, and we get a copy of the text and the details you entered as soon as you click. Privacy policy
Have the new DNS records been saved yet?Has the DNS change request been sent yet?
No rush. Go back to the list of steps or email us: we’ll go through it together.
Done. Reply to our email with the records to let us know, and we will check that the domain shows the new website. Email on the domain keeps working as before.Done. We are in copy: we will send the person the exact records and check that the domain shows the new website. Email on the domain keeps working as before.