How to Change DNS Records

DNS records are essential in connecting your domain to your hosting server and getting your emails and website live for the world to see. There are many types of DNS records, each with its own functions. Please check out the Basics of DNS Records article to learn more about the different types of DNS records and their appearance.

The first thing you need to do to connect your domain to your web hosting account is to set up your name servers. Although you can use other providers' name servers, we strongly recommend using your HostGator name servers so you can easily manage your DNS settings in your HostGator control panel. For more information about name servers, please check our article, How Do I Change My DNS or Name Servers?

This article will provide a list of articles to guide you in setting up and managing your DNS records within different platforms (Customer Portal, cPanel, WHM, or Plesk), depending on your hosting server.

Before You Can Set Up Your DNS Records

If you have not set your name servers yet, please see the following article first:

• Changing Name Servers

Remember that it takes about 24 to 48 hours for your domain name to update the web due to propagation. You can find your name servers in your Customer Portal and Order Confirmation Email. Please visit the following article for more information on where to find your name servers.

• What are my Name Servers?

Managing DNS Records in the Customer Portal

If your domain was registered with us, it is automatically added to your Customer Portal's Domains section. This is where you can manage the WHOIS information, name servers, and other domain functionalities for HostGator domains. To learn more about managing the DNS records of domains registered with HostGator, please refer to the following article.

• Making DNS Changes to the Domain Bought from HostGator

For more information about the functionalities you can do with the domain registered with us, here is an article to guide you.

• Domain How-To's

If you're hosting your website using a domain not registered with us, you need to add it to your control panel as an "addon domain" and then to the Customer Portal as an "external domain."

• How do I Create and Remove an Addon Domain

Managing DNS Records in cPanel

If you use HostGator's name servers with a cPanel-based account (Linux Shared hosting), you can update your DNS records directly in cPanel.

• How to change DNS zones (MX, CNAME, and A records)

Managing DNS Records in WHM

If you use HostGator's name servers and have access to WHM (Reseller, VPS, or Dedicated hosting), you can change your DNS records directly in WHM and change them in cPanel.

• Manage DNS Zones
• Edit Reseller DNS Zone Template

Managing DNS Records in Plesk

If you use HostGator's name servers and have a Windows hosting account, you can change your DNS records within Plesk.

• Changing MX, A, and CNAME records in Plesk
• How to manage your domains' DNS Zones in Plesk
• Changing MX records - Windows

Using Other Name Servers

You don't have to use HostGator's name servers. However, as stated earlier, this means manually maintaining the related DNS records. The following article will give you an overview of how to do this.

• How to Point My Domain to HostGator when Using DNS Elsewhere
• Mail Exchange Record, what to put for your MX record

Email Troubleshooting

If you need help troubleshooting emails related to DNS issues, please check the following articles:

• Understanding email spoofing
• DMARC - Rejection Emails

Troubleshooting Tools

The Traceroute, Whois, Ping, and Dig article provides information on the use of the following:

• Dig may be used to check a domain's DNS records;
• WHOIS is used to check the name servers and
• ping can check your connection to the server when all your settings are correct.