Last Updated on November 3, 2021 by Kelly Thoreson
If you’re a brand new blogger, you may need to change your nameservers for a variety of reasons.
I know that sounds super intimidating, but don’t worry, I got your back!
It’s actually pretty easy when we remove all the tech-jargon.
The HostGator tutorial below is going to show you step by step how to change your nameservers for HostGator! Let’s go!
Why Would I Need to Change Nameservers?
Nameservers, also called name servers or name-servers, play an important role in people being able to find your website.
The most common reason for changing nameservers for bloggers, especially new bloggers, is that you either purchased your domain from someone other than your host OR purchased your domain from the same company you’ve decided to host with but at different times.
This tutorial is going to focus on HostGator.
So, if you’re hosting with HostGator you’re in the right place. Let’s look at how to update your nameservers with HostGator, step by step!
Note: if you registered your domain AND signed up for HostGator in the same transaction – you can skip this step and go straight to:
How to Install WordPress on HostGator
Watch This Tutorial on Video
No time to read? No problem! Check out this HostGator tutorial on YouTube:
1. Locate Your Nameservers
Each domain gets two nameservers and they look like this:
ns1.yournameserver.com
ns2.yournameserver.com
If you bought your domain with HostGator, your nameservers are available in the account information email you received from HostGator at the time of registration.
The email you’re looking for has the keywords, “Your Account Info” in the subject line. Observe:
Copy and paste those suckers into a word document, we’ll use them in a bit!
2. Login to HostGator’s Customer Portal
Go to https://portal.hostgator.com/ to login to HostGator’s customer portal.
3. Click on Domains
After signing in, click on Domains on the left-hand side of the screen.
4. Click on More
In the middle of the screen will be a list of the domains you own, click the more icon to the right of the domain you wish to modify.
5. Under Nameservers, Click Change
A drop-down box will appear and on the right-hand side, there will be a Nameservers heading. Under that heading, click Change.
6. Paste Your Nameservers
Now it’s time to go back to the document you pasted your nameservers in. Copy them one by one and paste them into the text boxes provided on the customer portal:
7. Click Save Name Servers
Click save name servers and you’re done! … almost …
8. Let it Propagate
Like seeds and ideas, nameservers have to propagate.
PROP-A-WHAT?
I know, I know, I know!
Before I lose you to the web-jargon monster … let me dispel your panic.
When you change your nameserver, you are updating your site’s location in all of the caches of all of the world, the time it takes to do all this updating is called nameserver propagation.
As such, nameserver propagation takes 24 – 72 hours.
Watch this super simple and short (under 2 minutes) video to better understand nameserver propagation from DNSpropagation.net:
The downside here is that during the propagation period, you will not be able to move on with the creation of your website. That doesn’t mean you have to stop working on your blog!
There’s plenty to do like keyword research, post topic brainstorming, and even diving into the rough draft of your first post!
All tasks that can be accomplished without your website.
Related reading: Your First Blog Post: 7 Tips You Must Know
You can use sites like DNSpropagation.net or DNSchecker.org to see if your nameservers have propagated yet.
It’s easy (just type in your URL) and free!
Conclusion
Updating your nameservers sounds intimidating but you can do it!
Have questions about this tutorial? Leave them in the comments below and I’ll help you out!
Next Step: How to Install WordPress on HostGator