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Point your domain at Rack1

To host your site with us, your domain needs to use our nameservers. Nameservers control the whole domain: where the website lives, where email is delivered, and every other DNS record.

Our nameservers

Set all four. Most registrars ask for at least two, but using all four gives your domain the most resilience if one is ever unreachable.

ns1.rack1dns.com
ns2.rack1dns.com
ns3.rack1dns.com
ns4.rack1dns.com
Nameserver Purpose
ns1.rack1dns.com Primary
ns2.rack1dns.com Secondary
ns3.rack1dns.com Tertiary
ns4.rack1dns.com Quaternary

Add your domain to your account first

Add the domain in your Rack1 control panel before you change the nameservers. That way the DNS records exist when the change takes effect, and your site answers immediately rather than after a gap.

Before you change anything

Changing nameservers moves your email too

Nameservers control your whole domain, not just the website. If your email is with a third party such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, copy your MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records into Rack1 DNS before you switch, or mail will stop arriving.

If you are unsure what records you have, send us the domain and we will check them before you change anything.

A sensible order of operations:

  1. Add the domain to your Rack1 account and let the DNS records be created.
  2. Copy across any records you rely on, especially email.
  3. Check the site loads on its temporary address.
  4. Change the nameservers at your registrar.
  5. Leave the old hosting running for a week, just in case.

How to change them at your registrar

The wording differs by registrar. In each case: find the nameserver setting, switch from the registrar's default to custom, and enter all four.

  1. Sign in and open My Products.
  2. Next to your domain, select DNS, then Nameservers.
  3. Select Change Nameservers, then I'll use my own nameservers.
  4. Enter all four Rack1 nameservers and Save.
  1. Sign in and open Domain List, then Manage next to your domain.
  2. On the Domain tab, find the Nameservers section.
  3. Change the dropdown from Namecheap BasicDNS to Custom DNS.
  4. Enter all four Rack1 nameservers and select the green tick to save.

Cloudflare Registrar requires Cloudflare's own nameservers, so you cannot point the domain at us while it is registered there and using Cloudflare DNS. You have two options:

  • Keep the domain at Cloudflare and instead create DNS records in Cloudflare pointing at your Rack1 site, rather than changing nameservers. Ask us for the values.
  • Transfer the domain to a registrar that allows custom nameservers.

Google Domains customers were migrated to Squarespace Domains.

  1. Sign in to Squarespace and open Domains, then your domain.
  2. Select DNS, then DNS Settings.
  3. Under Nameservers, choose Use custom nameservers.
  4. Enter all four Rack1 nameservers and Save.
  1. Sign in and open your Control Panel, then Manage Domains.
  2. Select the domain, then Change Nameservers (sometimes under Advanced Settings).
  3. Choose the option to use your own nameservers.
  4. Enter all four Rack1 nameservers and Update.
  1. Sign in and open Domains & SSL.
  2. Select the gear icon beside your domain, then Nameserver.
  3. Choose Use own nameserver.
  4. Enter all four Rack1 nameservers and Save.
  1. Sign in and open Your Domains, then select the domain.
  2. Open the Nameservers tab and select Edit.
  3. Remove the existing entries and add all four Rack1 nameservers.
  4. Select Save Nameservers.
  1. Sign in and open Account, then Domain Management.
  2. Select Details beside the domain.
  3. Find Authoritative Nameservers and select Edit.
  4. Replace the existing entries with all four Rack1 nameservers and Submit.
  1. Sign in and open My Domains, then select the domain.
  2. Select Nameservers in the left menu.
  3. Remove the existing entries and add all four Rack1 nameservers.
  4. Select Apply Changes.
  1. Sign in and open My Domains, then Manage Domains.
  2. Tick the domain and select Action, then Nameservers.
  3. Choose Custom Nameservers (sometimes Use Your Own).
  4. Enter all four Rack1 nameservers and Save Nameservers.
  1. Sign in and open My Account, then Manage Domain Names.
  2. Select the domain, then Change Where Domain Points, then Domain Name Server (DNS).
  3. Enter all four Rack1 nameservers and Save.

Look for a menu item called Nameservers, DNS, Name Servers or Delegation. You want the option that lets you supply your own, sometimes called custom, external or third-party nameservers, then enter our four and save.

If you cannot find it, send us your registrar's name and we will point you at the right screen.

How long it takes

Nameserver changes are not instant. The old answer is cached around the internet and has to expire before everyone sees the new one.

What Typical time
Registrar accepts the change A few minutes
Most visitors see the new nameservers 1 to 4 hours
Full worldwide propagation Up to 48 hours

During that window some visitors reach the old host and some the new one. This is why the old hosting should stay running for a week.

Checking it worked

From a terminal:

# macOS and Linux
dig NS example.com +short

# Windows
nslookup -type=NS example.com

The answer should list all four rack1dns.com nameservers. If the old ones still appear, the change has not reached your resolver yet. Wait and check again.

Still stuck?

If it has been more than 48 hours and your domain is still not resolving to us, get in touch with the domain name and we will trace where it is pointing.