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2 years ago if you’d said to me “What’s a nameserver?” I’d have said “Ummm… someone who hands out names?”

Today, things are a little more clear to me.  Now you don’t need to know all the technology about all the cool things the internet can do.  In fact, I think sometimes it helps to just imagine it’s some kind of special magic!  This is where the nameservers come in.  It’s kind of like a bit of magic that tells your visitors where to find the site data.

Don’t worry, it’s important to do it, but not hard to do.  Most domain registrars will have an option just after (or before) registration to adjust your nameserver / DNS settings.  So keep your eyes open for an opportunity to do so.

Here’s how it works:

Website Visitor —-> Domain Name —-> Domain registrar —-> DNS / Nameservers —-> Web Host —-> Website Files —-> Website Visitor (views page)

Explaining this in words: The website visitor types your domain name in to the address bar… The place where you registered the domain gets the request for the website and tells the visitors browser where to go (ie, your web host)… The web host serves up the website files and the visitor is now looking at your page.

Sometimes your nameservers need not change from their default. This is the case when you’re using a hosting account provided by the domain registrar.  Their default will be to use their DNS server.

WARNING: Any changes you make to your DNS / Nameserver settings can cause an interuption to our service.  ie, your website might not be available for a time. (usually less than 24 hours)

I’ve often found that my service is back up and running within 5 minutes when I’ve changed the nameservers over to a new hosting account.  It’s usually not very long unless you do something wrong.

So how’s it done?

  • First, you’ll need to log into your domain registration account.  I’ll use Godaddy.com for my example.
  • In Godaddy.com there’s a link called “Show all my products” Click it ( in other providers you might find these details in “my account” or similar.
  • You’ll see a list of all your registered domain names.  Click the domain you’re looking to adjust settings for.
  • On this site you’ll see the Nameservers information and often there’s a link to make changes to these details.  On Godaddy.com it says “manage” nameservers. Click it!

Here’s the trick… you’ve got to know the nameservers to change it to!  Soooo…

  • Log into your HOSTING account now and grab the nameserver details (These are probably included in the email you got from your domain provider when you signed up for a web hosting service)
  • They’ll look something like this: “ns1.jumba.com.au” “ns2.jumba.com.au”  – Obviously they’ll be different if you’re hosting them with someone other than Jumba!  :)
  • Go back to your domain registrars site, and enter the details.  Click OK, and load up your website.  You’ll sometimes have to wait up to 24 hours for the services to propagate across the network, but in my experience it’s much less than that.  Easily 5 minutes and sometimes instantly. (especially if it’s a new domain)

You’ll find the raw file structure on the site and it’ll probably look a bit plain, but that’s all you need to get started!  Go now and check out how to Install a Wordpress Blog and you’ll be ready to start working online in no time!

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Filed under: DNS Settings • Domain Hosting • Domain Registration • Godaddy.com • Hosting Account • Jumba.com • Nameservers • Web Page Setup

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