Pointing a Domain to Another Host Print

Keep Your Domain with Us, Host Your Site Elsewhere

You can register or keep your domain with YourCheapHost but have your website hosted somewhere else - like Shopify, WordPress.com, Cloudflare Pages, or any other provider. No need to transfer the domain away.

Two Ways to Do It

Choose whichever fits your setup better.

Option 1: Change Your Nameservers (Easiest)

If your host gives you nameserver addresses (usually look like ns1.theirhost.com and ns2.theirhost.com), this is the way to go.

1. Log into your YourCheapHost client area.
2. Go to Domains > My Domains and click on the domain you want.
3. Look for Nameservers and select Custom Nameservers.
4. Enter the nameservers your new host provided (usually 2 or more).
5. Save the changes.

That's it. The new host now controls all DNS - they handle where your website, email, and everything else points. Propagation takes anywhere from a few minutes to 24 - 48 hours.

Option 2: Update Individual DNS Records (More Control)

If you want to keep using our DNS management but just point your website to a different IP or service, update the records yourself.

1. Log into your client area.
2. Go to Domains > DNS Management (or cPanel > Zone Editor if you have hosting with us too).
3. Find the A record for your domain (usually @ or yourdomain.com).
4. Change the Points To value to the IP address your new host gave you.
5. If you also need to point www somewhere else, update or add a CNAME record for www.
6. Save the changes.

What About Email?

If you change nameservers (Option 1), your email will stop working unless the new host also handles your email or you've set up mail forwarding elsewhere.

If you use Option 2 (updating records manually), you can keep your email with us - just leave your MX records alone and only update the A / CNAME records for the website part.

Things to Watch Out For

• DNS propagation takes time. Changes aren't instant worldwide. Give it up to 48 hours if visitors still see the old site.
• Don't cancel your domain registration. You still need to renew the domain with us - we just handle the registration, not the hosting.
• Existing services (subdomains, email) may break. Review what DNS records you currently have before making changes. Screenshot them first so you can revert if needed.

Need help? Drop us a ticket - we're happy to double-check your DNS settings before you flip the switch.