Domain Setup
How to Change Nameservers Without Losing Email or Access
The setting itself only takes a minute to change — the part people get wrong is where to find it, what to type, and how to confirm it actually saved.
2
Nameservers required at minimum
24-48h
Typical time to fully propagate
Free
SSL reissues automatically once live
24/7
Support if a save fails or won't stick
In short
To change nameservers, log in to the account where your domain is registered, find the DNS or nameservers section, switch from the default option to custom nameservers, and enter your new host's values exactly as given — typically two. Save the change, then allow up to 24-48 hours for it to take effect everywhere, and verify with a WHOIS lookup or a dig NS query.
If you're rebranding hosting under your own name, you'll need child (glue) nameservers registered on your own domain instead of your host's standard ones.
Nameservers decide which set of DNS records actually answers for a domain, which makes changing them one of the most consequential single settings in web hosting — and also one of the most confusing to find, since it lives at your registrar rather than your hosting account. Every registrar buries it slightly differently, defaults back to its own nameservers unless you actively opt out, and rarely explains what happens if you leave an old entry sitting alongside a new one.
Hosting Cheap sends the exact nameservers to use the moment your account is created, so there's no guessing which values belong in that field. For reseller hosting customers who want clients to see their own brand rather than an upstream host's name in a WHOIS lookup, child nameserver registration is available with support's help.
Finding the Nameserver Setting at Your Registrar
The exact wording varies by registrar, but look for a section called "Nameservers," "DNS Management" or "Name Server Management" inside the domain's settings — not your hosting control panel, which is a separate login entirely. Most registrars default to "Use registrar's default nameservers" until you actively switch that option to something like "Custom" or "Use custom nameservers."
Once that toggle is switched, a form appears for entering nameserver hostnames one by one, usually with room for at least two and sometimes up to four or more for redundancy.
Entering Nameservers Correctly
Type each nameserver exactly as your host provided it — no http://, no trailing dot, and no typos in the hostname, since even a single wrong character will point the domain nowhere useful. Remove the old nameserver entries rather than adding the new ones alongside them; leaving both in place creates a domain that answers inconsistently depending on which nameserver a resolver happens to query.
Most hosts provide exactly two nameservers as the minimum working set. If more are listed, adding them is optional redundancy, not a requirement for the domain to resolve correctly.
Custom (Vanity) vs Child Nameservers: What's the Difference
Custom, or vanity, nameservers use your host's own domain — something like ns1.hostingcheap.com — and need nothing beyond typing them into the registrar's field. This covers the overwhelming majority of hosting accounts and is what most people mean by "changing nameservers."
Child nameservers, sometimes called glue records, are different: they use your own domain as the nameserver hostname, such as ns1.youragency.com, which creates a circular problem the registry has to solve by storing the actual IP address directly against that hostname. This extra registration step is what reseller hosting customers use to present a fully branded nameserver to their own clients instead of the upstream host's name.
Confirming the Change Took Effect
A WHOIS lookup on your domain shows the updated nameservers almost immediately at the registry level, even though individual resolvers around the world may still be serving cached results from before the change. Running a dig NS or nslookup command against your domain gives the same confirmation from the command line.
If a site still shows the old host after a save, that's overwhelmingly a caching issue on a specific device or network, not a failed change — check WHOIS first before assuming anything is broken. It's only worth troubleshooting further if 48-72 hours pass with WHOIS itself still showing the old nameservers.
Building Your Own Branded Nameservers
For resellers or agencies who'd rather clients see ns1.youragency.com than a generic host name when they check WHOIS, child nameservers make that possible without misrepresenting who's actually running the infrastructure underneath.
The registry-side registration takes one extra step — linking each child nameserver hostname to an IP address — but only needs doing once per domain used this way, and support can walk through it directly rather than leaving you to figure out an unfamiliar registrar screen alone.
- Vanity nameservers use your host's domain, no extra registration needed
- Child nameservers use your own domain and need glue records at the registry
- Both types resolve within the same 24-48 hour propagation window
- Reseller hosting accounts can set up branded child nameservers with support's help
Why Hosting Cheap
What you get
Nameservers ready to copy
Your exact nameserver values are in your welcome email, ready to paste into your registrar.
Support for branded nameservers
Reseller hosting accounts can register child nameservers under their own brand domain.
24/7 human support
A real person can check a save that isn't sticking or a WHOIS record that isn't updating.
Free SSL once it's live
Once the new nameservers resolve, a certificate issues automatically.
cPanel-style DNS control
Manage A, CNAME, MX and TXT records yourself once nameservers point here.
Free migration alongside the switch
Your site and database move over first, so it's ready the moment nameservers propagate.
How It Works
Get set up in a few steps
Log in at your registrar
Not your hosting account — the site where the domain itself is registered.
Replace the existing nameservers
Switch to custom nameservers and enter the new ones exactly, removing the old entries.
Verify with WHOIS or a DNS lookup
Confirm the registry shows the new nameservers, then wait out propagation before troubleshooting.
Included
Everything you need, on every plan
- Log in to the registrar account, not the hosting account
- Switch from default to custom nameservers before entering new values
- Enter nameservers exactly as provided, without http:// or trailing dots
- Remove old nameserver entries rather than stacking new ones alongside
- Register child nameservers or glue records if using your own domain as the nameserver
- Confirm the update via a WHOIS lookup
- Allow 24-48 hours before assuming the change failed
- Check MX records separately if email is hosted elsewhere
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my registrar uses 'custom nameservers'?
Look in the domain's DNS or nameserver settings for an option like "Use custom nameservers" or "Change nameservers" — most registrars default to their own until you actively switch that option and enter new values. If you can't find it, the registrar's help search for "nameservers" usually points straight to it.
What's the difference between custom and child nameservers?
Custom (vanity) nameservers use your host's own domain, such as ns1.hostingcheap.com, and need nothing beyond entering them at your registrar. Child nameservers use your own domain, like ns1.youragency.com, and require an extra registration step at the registry so it knows which IP address that hostname resolves to.
How long after changing nameservers until my site shows up?
Typically a few hours, though it can take up to 24-48 hours for the change to be visible everywhere. The registry itself updates almost immediately, so a WHOIS lookup will confirm the new nameservers well before every resolver has caught up.
Can I check whether my nameserver change actually saved?
Yes, run a WHOIS lookup on your domain or a dig NS command and compare the results to the nameservers you entered. If they match, the change saved correctly and you're just waiting on propagation, not troubleshooting a failed save.
Do I need child nameservers for a normal hosting account?
No, a standard hosting account only needs the custom nameservers provided in your welcome email. Child nameservers are only necessary if you're branding your own nameserver hostnames, which is mostly relevant to reseller hosting setups.
What happens to my email when I change nameservers?
Nameservers control every DNS record for the domain, so MX records move along with everything else. If your host's default setup includes email hosting, mail should keep working automatically; if it's hosted separately, recreate those MX records on the new nameservers.
Get Your Nameservers and Update Them Today
Your exact nameserver values are ready the moment you sign up, from $2.09/mo with free migration.
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