Overview

DNS, or Domain Name System, is a database of names and numbers that may be searched up to determine the location of a website and its services. Your website, for example, has a unique name, but DNS converts it to a number. When you access your website in a browser, DNS uses this numerical value to direct you to the correct server.

For the many services that your site uses, you have a variety of DNS records. Consider the following scenario:

IP addresses for websites and mail records
ftp records MySQL records

Where are my DNS records controlled?

The firm to whom your site’s Nameservers are pointed manages all of your site’s DNS records. This is the result of combining two factors.

The firm where you purchased your domain (the Registrar)
The organization to which your Nameservers are pointing (the hosting company)
The Registrar is a person who is in charge of keeping track
The name of your website is determined by the domain registration. The Registrar is the firm from which you purchased this. To make changes to your Nameservers or any other DNS records on your site, you must first log into your account with this company.

The hosting provider
The Nameservers of your website are managed by the Registrar. ALL of your site’s DNS records are controlled by the company to which the Nameservers are pointing.

This manner, you can have the domain registered with one firm and the DNS hosted by another.

Where is my site hosted?

For more information on determining where your site is now hosted, see the following article.

What is the location of my website’s hosting?

Where do I point my site if my DNS is not hosted at GreggHost?

For more information on determining where your site is now hosted, see the following article.

What GreggHost DNS records should I use for my website?
Changing your GreggHost nameservers

Viewing your GreggHost DNS records

How to view your GreggHost DNS settings can be found in the following article.

Viewing the DNS records for your GreggHost domain
If your Nameservers are linked to GreggHost, these are the records for your site.

These are the individual records you can point to from the firm where your Nameservers are pointed if your Nameservers are not pointed to GreggHost.

Using a domain managed by a third-party registrar

If your domain is registered with a different provider, you can still host it with GreggHost. However, in order for it to work, you’ll need to point your DNS to GreggHost. After you’ve set up your domain in the Panel, refer to the following article for instructions on how to change your DNS to point to GreggHost.

If your domain is registered with another firm, how do you host it with GreggHost?

Customizing DNS records

Your domain’s Nameservers can point to GreggHost, but your domain’s A records can point to another web host, allowing the site to be hosted elsewhere. On the ‘DNS’ page for your domain, you may also add custom DNS entries. For additional details on establishing Custom DNS records, see the following article.

Customizing DNS records

Non-editable DNS records

Many of your GreggHost DNS records are set as Non-editable DNS records, which you may discover while browsing them. Set your domain to ‘DNS Only’ to get rid of these. For more information, see the following article.

DNS records that can’t be changed

MX records (mail records)

View the following article for details about GreggHost’s MX mail records:

What is an MX record, and what does it mean?
Finding the DNS records for your GreggHost email
Viewing the DNS records for your GreggHost domain