Pointing an Existing Domain to Your XSite
Revised 10/19/2007 LD1


In order to switch your domain hosting to our servers, you must contact your domain registrar and give them the information for our servers instead of those of your old website provider.

When you host a previously purchased domain on our XSite servers, you're still in control of that domain and renewing it through your domain provider.  This document just describes how to make that domain point to an XSite instead of your previous provider.

Realize it can take 24 to 72 hours for ALL servers across the web to recognize that you've moved your domain hosting.  This delay is a natural occurrence anytime a website moves to another server.

 

Before you can point a domain to your XSite you must first gain access to your domain settings. If you purchased your domain directly through a registrar like GoDaddy.com, you already have what you need. If your previous website provider gave you a domain (like we do XSites) you may need to contact them first to gain access to your domain.

Once you're able to access your domain settings, you have essentially two ways to point the domain your XSite.

  1. Enter DNS server names (The easy way) - Points everything including your website AND e-mail services, over to our servers with one simple change.
  2. Enter records individually (Harder, but with more control) - Allows advanced domain management like switching over only web services, but leaving e-mail where it is (to eliminate even any interruption in service during the transition).  

Select your preferred option and your domain registrar and steps for your selection will appear below. Note that some registrars may not support both options.

1. How you'll point your domain2. Who's your registrar?
 

 

What's a Registrar/Domain Provider/Domain Vendor?

A registrar is a company that sells and/or registers domain name (website address) purchases on the Internet. Typically they also adminstrate everything about that domain on your behalf as well - acting as the Technical Contact for your domain. You might think of a registrar as a domain name manufacturer. They manufacture and sell domains names. As a manufacturer, they often work with resellers who sell and aid in the administration of your domain name. As with any product, ultimately, the registrar is the source for all major service requests. The terms "domain provider" and "domain vendor" are often used interchangeably with the term "registrar," but they are one and the same thing.

I Don't Know Who my Domain Provider is. How Do I Find Out?

First, you'll need to know if your registrar is ENOM or one of ENOM's resellers. To determine if this is the case...

  1. Go to http://www.ENOMCentral.com/help/ and type your domain name (website address) into the Reseller Information Retrieval box.

  2. Click Submit to lookup your domain.
  3. If your registrar is ENOM or one of ENOM's resellers, the results will display the name of the originating reseller and their contact information.

  4. If your registrar is not ENOM or one of their resellers, a "Domain Does Not Exist in our System" message will be returned.

If your registrar is not ENOM or one of their resellers, you'll need to use a different tool to lookup your domain registrar. To determine your non-ENOM registrar...

  1. Go to http://www.internic.com/whois.html and type your domain name into the available text box.
  2. Click Submit to lookup your domain.
  3. When the lookup is complete, both your registrar and their contact information will appear.

The name of your Registrar and the Referral URL are the key pieces of information you need from these results. If you need more information about your registrar or how to contact them, visit their website by typing the Referral URL you see listed into your web browser's address bar.

What's with the Temporary Downtime when I Transfer my Domain?

Many XSite customers are concerned about the 24-72 hour blackout that occurs on the website or e-mail address that's hooked to their current XSite when you transfer the domain to your XSite. While this is understandly a point of concern, it's entirely beyond the control of a la mode. In a nutshell, whenever you change your name servers, those settings take time to "propagate" to all the servers across the world. It's during this "propagation" time while your new settings are taking effect that you will experience a blackout on your existing website or e-mail. This is true regardless of whether you transfer your domain to an XSite or any other website. Ultimately, this downtime depends on your domain provider. Some are faster at "propagating" the changes than others and, in some cases, you may find that the downtime has ended in certain parts of the country before it has ended for you. If this downtime is a concern for you, you might consider initiating this process prior to a time when you know the downtime will not impact your business as much. For instance, many customers initiate the name server changes on Friday afternoon so that the changes can propagate over the weekened. As an alternative, you might also consider changing your A and MX records as described in the question above.