GuideHow to point domain to hosting at MariHost, step by step

Last updated: 25 October 2026

Your website is ready on MariHost, but visitors can't reach it until your domain points to it. That's a small change at the company where you registered the domain, and it takes about 10 minutes. After that, the internet needs a few hours to catch up. You'll need the login for your registrar (the company you pay for your domain each year).

Two ways to point domain to MariHost

Every domain has DNS records: entries that tell browsers and email servers where to go. You can point your domain to MariHost in one of two ways.

• Change your nameservers. Nameservers are the servers that hold your domain's DNS records. Switch them to ours, and your DNS is managed in your MariHost control panel, next to your website.
• Add DNS records. Keep your DNS where it is, and change only the records for your website, so they point to your site on MariHost.

Which should I use? Change your nameservers if the domain is new, if only your website uses it, or if you'll use MariHost email. It keeps everything in one place. Add DNS records instead if your email or other services (for example Google Workspace or Microsoft 365) are already set up at your current DNS provider and you'd rather not move them, or if you use Cloudflare.

Way 1: change your nameservers

1. Copy any records you still need

When you switch nameservers, the records at your old DNS provider stop being used. If your domain has email somewhere else, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, note its MX and TXT records first, and any other records you rely on. Add them to your domain's DNS settings in the control panel before you switch, or ask us to.

2. Log in to your registrar

Find the domain in your account, then its Nameservers or DNS settings. The name varies between registrars, and some call it "custom nameservers".

3. Enter our nameservers

Replace the current nameservers with these two, exactly as written:

• ns1.maridns.com
• ns2.maridns.com

Remove any others, so only our two are left. Then save.

4. Wait, then check

The change usually shows within a few hours. See "How long it takes" and "Check it's working" below.

Way 2: add DNS records

1. Find your website's IP address

Your website has an IP address on our servers: the number your domain will point to. You'll find it in the control panel, with your website's details.

2. Open your DNS settings

Log in where your DNS is managed. That's usually your registrar, or Cloudflare if you use it. Find the DNS records for your domain.

3. Point the domain and www to MariHost

Set up two A records, both pointing to your website's IP address:

If there's already an A record for @ or www, edit it rather than adding a second one. If www is a CNAME record, either point it to your domain or replace it with the A record above. Delete any AAAA records (IPv6 addresses) for @ or www: our servers don't use IPv6, so those records can only send visitors somewhere else.

4. Leave the rest alone

Don't change your MX records or other email records. Your email keeps working where it is.

Notes for .my domains, Cloudflare and domains with us

.my and .com.my domains. You change the nameservers through your registrar, which updates MYNIC, the registry for .my. Some Malaysian registrars do this in their client area, and others ask you to email or open a ticket. If you can't find the setting, ask your registrar how they handle MYNIC nameserver changes.

Using Cloudflare? Keep Cloudflare's nameservers and use Way 2: add the two A records in Cloudflare.

1. Add them as DNS only (grey cloud) at first, so our server can set up HTTPS for your site.
2. Once your site opens over HTTPS, switch both records to Proxied (orange cloud).
3. In Cloudflare, under SSL/TLS, choose Full (strict). Your site on MariHost has a valid certificate, and this mode checks it, so the connection is encrypted all the way.

Registered your domain with us? It already uses our nameservers, so it points to MariHost without any changes. If you ever need different nameservers, change them yourself in your client area at billing.marihost.com.

How long it takes

Most changes show within a few hours. It can take up to 48 hours to reach every network, though it's often much quicker.

The delay comes from caching. Each DNS record has a TTL (time to live): how long other networks keep a copy before asking again. Until their copy expires, some visitors still go to your old host. If you plan a move, lower the TTL of the records you'll change to 300 seconds (5 minutes) a day ahead, and the switch is faster. Nameserver changes also depend on the registry, and some registrars take up to a day to send them through.

Keep your old hosting running until the change has gone through everywhere, so nobody lands on an empty page.

Check it's working

• Look it up. Google's free Dig tool shows your domain's records: choose NS to see the nameservers, or A to see the IP address. whatsmydns.net shows what networks around the world see.
• Visit your site on your phone with Wi-Fi off. Your computer and your home network may still remember the old address.
• Look for the padlock. Once your domain points to MariHost, HTTPS is set up for it automatically, and renewed for you. If your site still shows a security warning a few hours after the domain points to us, open a ticket.

If something's not right

• The old site still appears. Check for a second A record left from your old host, and delete it. Also delete any AAAA records (IPv6 addresses): our servers don't use IPv6, so an AAAA record can only point to your old host.
• www works but the bare domain doesn't, or the other way round. You need records for both @ and www.
• The nameservers didn't change. Check the spelling: ns1.maridns.com and ns2.maridns.com, with no old nameservers left alongside.
• The site stopped loading after a nameserver change, and DNSSEC was on. DNSSEC adds signatures to your DNS, and your registrar holds a matching DS record. If it's on at your old DNS provider, remove the DS record at your registrar before you change nameservers, and wait for it to clear (it can take up to a day). If you've already switched, remove it now.
• Email stopped arriving. The MX records weren't copied before the nameserver change. Add them in the control panel, or ask us.

Next steps

Your domain points to MariHost. Now set up your site: Start a WordPress website. Moving an existing site? Read Move your site to MariHost. Need a domain? See our domain prices.