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How to edit or add a CNAME DNS record to go live with your site

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June 25, 2021

In order for your site to go live on your plan, you will need to first either use the Nexcess nameservers — meaning you could then edit the DNS entries directly in the portal which also comes with other benefits — or you will need to edit the CNAME record for your site domain. 

 

If you log in to the portal of your site you will be able to find the “CNAME Target” that your site is being hosted on. The displayed hostname will be the record value that you will need to update in the CNAME record of your domain.

While a more traditional approach is to statically set your domain to a specific IP address with an A record, the CNAME approach affords your site specific benefits when hosting with Nexcess.  We recommend using the CNAME Target hostname in virtually every situation where you otherwise might use an IP address.

Note that if you are using Nexcess Global DNS, you inherently gain these benefits and will not need to make use of the CNAME Target with your site.

Where your site domain is registered will depend on how you registered the domain.  The record type used to define an alias record may vary for each registrar.  You may see these alias records referred to as CNAME, ANAME, Apex, CNAME Flattening, or other similar terms.

We have provided links to a few common domain registrar's DNS guides below:

Copy the CNAME Target hostname into the CNAME or alias record type defined in your domain manager for your site domain and then you will need to wait for the DNS record change to propagate. DNS propagation can take 5 mins or it might take as long as over an hour. It all depends on what the time to live (TTL) is set as on the domain.

For 24-hour assistance any day of the year, contact our support team by email or through your Client Portal.

Luke Cavanagh
Luke Cavanagh

Luke Cavanagh, Strategic Support & Accelerant at Liquid Web, brings a decade of experience working with WordPress and WooCommerce to our product team. His GitHub page offers a glimpse into his multiple areas of subject matter expertise.

"Ninja stuff with WordPress and WooCommerce," is an apropos way to describe Luke's savviness with these platforms — and his way of influencing our organization for improving to them.

Coming out of the University of Brighton with a Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) Higher National Diploma (HND) in 2D & 3D Design, Luke's credentials prepared him well for his current role that blends both web development and design. His HND credential leveraged his foundational learning at West Kent College, where he received a National Diploma (ND) in Graphic Design.

In his personal life, Luke is a devoted husband and teen wrangler. He considers himself a Synthwave enthusiast, Jerry Goldsmith fan, and Doctor Who aficionado. He is happy to introduce his friends and teammates to essential vocabulary for life found only in British English, such as "gubbins" and similar terms.

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