Manage an external domain with external nameservers

Use this setup when your domain is registered with another provider and you want to keep DNS at that provider, such as Cloudflare, your registrar, or another DNS host. HostRight will still host your website, databases, and mailboxes; the external provider will answer DNS queries for the domain.

Important: Changing nameservers changes the authoritative DNS provider for the whole domain. Before you switch, copy every existing DNS record, especially records for email, verification services, and subdomains.

What you need first

• Access to the domain registrar, where nameservers are changed
• Access to the external DNS provider, where records are created
• The domain or subdomain already added in HostRight → Domains
• The complete record list shown in HostRight → DNS Management

1. Add the domain in HostRight

Add the domain to your HostRight account and confirm the website or application is connected to the correct domain home. If you also use HostRight email, create the mailboxes before changing DNS so you can test delivery as soon as the records resolve.

2. Find the exact HostRight DNS values

In the HostRight control panel, open Account Manager → DNS Management and select the domain. Copy the values exactly as shown. Use the edit controls to inspect long TXT values, and keep quotation marks only when the DNS provider's editor expects them.

HostRight DNS Management shows the website, mail, MX, SPF, and DKIM values to reproduce at the external DNS provider.

The list normally includes records similar to these:

Purpose	Record types to copy	What to check
Website	A for the root domain and www	Copy the HostRight IP address exactly. Do not guess an IP.
HostRight services	A records such as ftp, mail, pop, and smtp	Keep these records if you use the corresponding service.
Email delivery	MX	Copy the priority and the complete mail hostname.
Sender policy	TXT at the root	Copy the complete SPF value as one record.
DKIM signing	TXT at the selector, often x._domainkey	Copy the entire long key without changing, wrapping, or truncating it.
Other services	TXT, CNAME, or verification records	Re-create any records used by Google, Microsoft, payment providers, analytics, or subdomains.

Do not copy the old NS records into the new DNS zone as ordinary records. The registrar's nameserver fields control delegation; the DNS provider will publish its own authoritative nameservers.

3. Change nameservers at the registrar

Open the domain's Nameservers or DNS delegation page at the registrar. Replace the current nameservers with the nameservers supplied by your external DNS provider, then save.

Do this only after the external DNS zone contains the records you need. Nameserver changes can take time to propagate, and during the transition different resolvers may use the old or new DNS provider.

4. Re-create the records at the external DNS provider

Open the external provider's DNS records page and add each required record from HostRight → DNS Management.

Use the provider's format for the Name field:

• The root domain may be shown as @, the full domain, or an empty name.
• A HostRight name such as www is usually entered as www.
• A DKIM name such as x._domainkey must remain x._domainkey; do not remove the selector.
• If the provider automatically appends the domain, do not paste the full domain twice.

For the website's A records, use DNS only while validating the direct HostRight connection. If you are using Cloudflare and want its CDN, proxy only the web hostnames after the origin certificate and SSL settings are ready. Never proxy mail records such as MX, mail, smtp, pop, or ftp unless the provider explicitly supports that service.

Copy email records carefully

Email problems are usually caused by an incomplete DNS migration. Make sure you copy all of the following when they are present in HostRight DNS Management:

1. The MX record, including its priority and trailing mail hostname.
2. The root-domain SPF TXT record, including every include: value.
3. The complete DKIM TXT record and selector, usually under x._domainkey.
4. Any additional TXT records used for DMARC or provider verification.
5. The A record for mail and any pop or smtp records used by your mail client.

Do not create a second SPF record. Merge authorized senders into one SPF record if your existing DNS provider already has one. Two SPF records can cause SPF validation to fail.

5. Verify the migration

After saving the records, verify each hostname from outside the registrar's dashboard:

• Open the website at both the root domain and www.
• Confirm the MX lookup returns the HostRight mail hostname.
• Send a test message to a HostRight mailbox and reply from it.
• Check that SPF and DKIM pass in the headers of a received message.
• Test FTP or another service only if you use it.

DNS caches may keep old answers for the previous TTL. Do not delete the old DNS zone or cancel the old DNS service until the website and email have worked through the transition window.

Troubleshooting

• The website does not open: check the root and www A records, then confirm the domain is added to HostRight.
• Mail is not delivered: check the MX hostname and priority first. An A record for mail does not replace an MX record.
• DKIM fails: re-copy the selector and the complete TXT value. Do not paste the public key into the wrong selector or split it into multiple records unless the DNS provider documents that format.
• Cloudflare shows a certificate error: use the Cloudflare SSL and CDN guide and set the correct SSL mode after installing the origin certificate.

For a domain whose nameservers remain at HostRight, use connect a domain to your service instead.