Overview
There are many reasons for changing nameservers – you may need to host a domain elsewhere, or perhaps you want to run your DNS through a CDN (content delivery network) like Cloudflare.
This article explains how to update the nameservers for domains that are registered with DreamHost. If you own the registration elsewhere, you must make the nameserver change with the current registrar.
You can update the nameservers through two different pages on the DreamHost panel.
When you change your nameservers, all of your DNS points to the new hosting company.
If you want to host email at a different company than where your nameservers are pointed, make sure to update your email DNS records.
Using the Manage Websites page
- Navigate to the Manage Websites page.
- Open the DNS Settings page:
- Scroll down to the Nameservers section.
- Click the Change button.
- Enter your new nameservers after clicking the 'I'll use my own nameservers' option.
- Click the Save button when finished.
After saving, the new nameservers will take several hours to propagate online. You can track the update status of the records here:
Using the Manage Registrations page
Any change you make to your domain registration occurs immediately, including edits to WHOIS, nameserver(s), and registrant information.
You can also edit the nameservers on the Manage Registrations page. If your domain is listed on this page, it is registered with DreamHost and the nameservers can be edited.
The only exception is *.uk domain names. If you attempt to change the WHOIS info in the panel, you'll see the following message:
- WHOIS for .uk domains must be changed through Nominet.
Clicking the link takes you to 'secure.nominet.org.uk' where you can then change your WHOIS information there.
- Click the Whois Info button located next to your domain registration (or, if you have multiple registrations, check the box under the Modify Whois? column next to the domain you want to modify.
- Click the Modify Whois! button.
- On the next page, click the Nameservers tab and select the 'Use another host's nameservers' option to change your nameservers to another host (or, you can set DreamHost's nameservers automatically by clicking the radio button for 'Use DreamHost’s nameservers').
- If you set your DNS to point to another host’s nameservers instead of using DreamHost’s, new fields appear on the Nameservers page.
- In the fields provided, enter the nameservers for the other hosting company.
