How to Point Your Domain Name to Your New Hosting (Nameservers Explained)

You have signed up for a new hosting account, uploaded your website, and everything looks ready. But when you visit your domain, you still see your old site, or nothing at all. The most common reason for this is that your domain has not yet been pointed to your new hosting.

This guide explains exactly what “pointing your domain” means, the two main ways to do it (changing nameservers or updating individual DNS records), where to find these settings at common UK registrars, and how to troubleshoot the most frequent issues people run into.

What Does “Pointing Your Domain” Actually Mean?

Your domain name (such as yourbusiness.co.uk) and your web hosting (the server space where your website files actually live) are often two separate things, sometimes from two separate companies. Your domain needs to be told where to find your hosting, and that connection is made through DNS.

There are two main ways to make this connection:

• Changing nameservers – telling your domain to use a completely different “phonebook” of DNS records, usually provided by your new host
• Updating DNS records directly – keeping your existing nameservers, but editing specific records (typically the A record) to point to your new hosting’s server

Most hosting providers will tell you which method they recommend, often depending on whether they want to manage your full DNS setup (nameserver change) or just need your website traffic pointed to them (A record change).

Method 1: Changing Nameservers

This is the more common approach when moving your website (and often email) to a new host, because it hands over full control of your DNS to the new provider, who can then manage all the necessary records on your behalf.

How it works

1. Your new hosting provider gives you a set of nameserver addresses (typically two or more, looking something like ns1.example.com and ns2.example.com)
2. You log into your domain registrar’s control panel and find the nameserver settings for your domain
3. You replace the existing nameservers with the ones provided by your new host
4. Your new host then configures all the necessary DNS records (A records for your website, MX records for email, and so on) within their own system

What to be aware of

Once you change nameservers, your new host becomes responsible for all DNS records for your domain, including email. If your email is currently working through your old setup, make sure your new host has the correct MX records configured before, or immediately after, you make the change, to avoid an interruption to incoming email.

Method 2: Updating DNS Records Directly (A Record Change)

This approach keeps your existing nameservers (and therefore your existing DNS records for email and anything else) in place, but updates just the record that controls where your website itself is served from.

How it works

1. Your new hosting provider gives you an IP address for your new hosting account
2. You log into wherever your DNS is currently managed (this might be your registrar, or a separate DNS provider if you have one)
3. You find the A record for your domain (and often for the www subdomain too) and update the value to the new IP address
4. Everything else (MX records, TXT records, and so on) remains unchanged

What to be aware of

This method is useful when you only want to move your website, without affecting email or other services that are working fine where they are. It requires slightly more precision, as you need to update the correct records without disturbing anything else in the same DNS zone.

On Switchweb, to take advantage of the free SSL certificate, you need to use method 1, this is because our security system only issues Lets Encrypt certificates when it detects that the nameservers are set to Switchwebs. You can use method 2 however you would need to purchase an SSL certificate through the control panel. This is unless you use Cloudflare as your nameservers, in which case you can enable the Cloudflare Proxy and use the SSL certificate generated on here.

Where to Find DNS and Nameserver Settings at Common UK Registrars

While every registrar’s interface looks slightly different, the settings you need are usually found in similar places. Look for sections named something like “Domain Management”, “DNS Management”, “Nameservers”, or “Advanced DNS”.

General steps that apply across most registrars

1. Log into your registrar account (the company where your domain is registered, which may or may not be the same as your hosting provider)
2. Find the list of domains in your account and select the relevant one
3. Look for a tab or section related to DNS, nameservers, or domain settings
4. For a nameserver change, look for an option to use “custom nameservers” or “change nameservers”, as opposed to the registrar’s own default nameservers
5. For a record change, look for a DNS zone editor, where individual records (A, CNAME, MX, TXT) are listed and can be edited

If you are unsure which company is your registrar versus your host, a domain lookup tool can often show you which nameservers a domain is currently using, which can help identify where changes need to be made.

How Long Does It Take to See the Change?

This is where DNS propagation comes in. After making a nameserver or DNS record change, it typically takes anywhere from a few minutes to up to 24 to 48 hours for the change to be visible everywhere, as different networks and devices update their cached information.

During this period, it is normal and expected that:

• Some people may see your new site, while others briefly still see the old one
• Your own device might show the old site even after others see the new one, particularly if you have visited the site recently (your browser or device may have cached the old information)

Tips for checking progress

• Try viewing your site in a private or incognito browser window, which is less likely to use cached information
• Use an online DNS lookup tool to check the current value of your A record or nameservers from multiple locations
• If using a nameserver change, be aware that nameserver changes can sometimes take longer to propagate fully than individual record changes

Common Issues and How to Troubleshoot Them

“My website still shows the old site”

This is almost always a propagation issue. Wait a few hours and try again, ideally from a different device or network, or using a private browser window.

“My email has stopped working since I changed my domain settings”

This usually means MX records were lost or not configured correctly during a nameserver change. Check that your new host (or wherever your email is hosted) has the correct MX records in place, matching what your email provider requires.

“My website shows an error or ‘connection refused’ message”

This can indicate that the DNS change has propagated, but the new hosting account is not yet fully set up to receive the domain, for example if the domain has not been added within the hosting control panel itself. Check with your new host that the domain has been correctly added to your hosting account, in addition to the DNS pointing to it.

“www works but the non-www version doesn’t (or vice versa)”

Both yourbusiness.co.uk and www.yourbusiness.co.uk need their own DNS records (or a redirect set up between them). If only one has been updated, the other may still point to the old location.

Best Practices for a Smooth DNS Change

• Plan ahead – if possible, make the change when you can monitor things over the following day or two, rather than just before going away
• Lower your TTL in advance – if you have access to your current DNS settings, reducing the TTL (Time To Live) value a day or two before making the change can speed up propagation when the change happens
• Keep the old hosting active briefly – do not cancel your old hosting account immediately, in case you need to make further adjustments while propagation completes
• Double-check email separately – website and email often rely on different DNS records, so confirm both are working correctly after the change, not just the website

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to change my nameservers when moving hosts?

Not always. If your new host only needs to receive website traffic and your email or other services are working fine elsewhere, updating just the relevant DNS records (such as the A record) may be enough, avoiding the need for a full nameserver change.

Will changing my domain’s DNS affect my email?

It can, particularly if you change nameservers, since this hands over control of all DNS records, including MX records for email, to wherever the new nameservers point. Always confirm email-related records are correctly configured as part of any DNS change.

How do I find out who my current host is?

A domain or IP lookup tool can often identify which provider’s servers your domain is currently pointing to, based on its current DNS records, which can help if you are unsure where your site is currently hosted versus where your domain is registered.

Is it risky to change DNS myself?

Making DNS changes carries some risk of temporary downtime if records are entered incorrectly, but the changes themselves are not permanent and can be corrected. Taking a note of your existing settings before making changes, so you can revert if needed, is good practice.

Need Help Pointing Your Domain to Switchweb?

If you are moving your website to Switchweb, our team can guide you through pointing your domain correctly, whether that means a nameserver change or updating specific DNS records, and we will make sure your email continues working throughout the process.

Take a look at our web hosting plans, or get in touch via our contact page if you would like help with your specific setup.

Explore more

Keeping your domain registration and your hosting with the same provider removes most of the steps above, since the nameservers are set correctly from the start.

For everything else about domains, including extensions, pricing, transfers and expiry, see our complete guide to UK domain names.