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Point a domain to YorkHost

For the zone managed in DNS & rDNS to answer for your domain, the domain must use the YorkHost name servers:

Name server
ns1.yorkdns.com
ns2.yorkdns.com

Set exactly these two servers, and only these. A domain that mixes YorkHost and third-party servers gives inconsistent answers.

cPanel web hosting

If your domain is used on a YorkHost cPanel web hosting, do not prepare the zone in DNS & rDNS: add the domain in cPanel, its zone is created there and then copied automatically to YorkHost, read-only in DNS & rDNS. A zone prepared by hand in DNS & rDNS is not replaced by the cPanel one. Then change the name servers as described below. See Configure a domain name.

Step 1: prepare the zone​

Create the zone before changing the name servers and add your records (website, e-mail…): the domain keeps working without interruption during the switch.

  1. Open Manage → DNS & rDNS.
  2. On the domain row (state External DNS or Not delegated), click Prepare the zone. From Instructions, the button is called Prepare the zone now.
  3. The state becomes Zone ready — point the NS. Click Manage DNS and recreate your current records. If your current DNS provider can export the zone in BIND format, you can import it in one go.

As long as the domain does not point to YorkHost, a banner in the editor reminds you: "Zone ready: you can edit it now. Changes take effect once the domain uses the name servers…".

.fr domains: prepare the zone first

For a .fr domain, the registry (AFNIC) checks that the zone already answers on the new name servers before accepting the change. If the zone does not exist at YorkHost yet, the name server change is refused. Always prepare the zone (step 1) before step 2.

Step 2: change the name servers​

  • Domain registered with YorkHost: in Instructions, the Change name servers button opens the domain page. Replace the name servers with ns1.yorkdns.com and ns2.yorkdns.com.
  • Domain registered elsewhere: at your registrar (where you pay for the domain), Nameservers section, replace the existing servers with ns1.yorkdns.com and ns2.yorkdns.com.

Remove the old name servers: do not add the new ones next to them.

Step 3: wait​

Propagation usually takes a few hours, up to 24 to 48 hours. The domain then shows as Managed by YorkHost.

While you wait, the domain Instructions show two useful pieces of information:

  • Set at the registrar: what you saved;
  • Current name servers: what the public DNS actually returns. Until they are ns1.yorkdns.com and ns2.yorkdns.com, the switch is not finished.

Check​

Before the switch, check that the zone answers on the YorkHost servers:

dig @ns1.yorkdns.com example.com SOA +short
dig @ns1.yorkdns.com www.example.com A +short

After the switch, check the public delegation:

dig example.com NS +short

The expected answer contains only ns1.yorkdns.com. and ns2.yorkdns.com.. On Windows, nslookup -type=NS example.com gives the same information.

Special cases​

  • sub-yorkhost.fr subdomain: it is served directly by YorkHost, with no name server to configure. It shows as Managed by YorkHost with the Subdomain badge; click Enable to create its zone.
  • Domain already on the YorkHost servers but without a zone: it shows as Managed by YorkHost with the Enable button. "Enable DNS management" creates the zone; then add your records.
  • Keep your current DNS (Cloudflare…): possible, but the YorkHost zone will not be used. Records are then edited at your DNS provider. The reverse DNS of your IP addresses is managed at YorkHost in every case.

A problem? See FAQ and troubleshooting.