Change nameservers: How to manage your domain's DNS settings #
If you want to connect a domain registered with CURIAWEB to external hosting, a website builder, an online shop, or another service, changing the Nameserver to be required.
Nameservers determine which DNS zone is responsible for your domain. Simply put, they determine, where the technical DNS settings of your domain are managed. This includes, for example, A and AAAA records, CNAME entries, MX records for email, and TXT entries for SPF, DKIM, DMARC, or the verification of external services.
Info Changing your nameservers does not automatically transfer your domain to another provider. The domain can remain registered with CURIAWEB. Only the responsibility for the DNS zone is transferred to the new nameservers.
What do name servers actually do? #
When someone visits your domain in a browser or sends an email to your domain, it must first be determined which servers are responsible for the respective task. That is precisely what the Domain Name System (DNS) is used for.
The nameservers indicate where the authoritative DNS zone of your domain can be found. This DNS zone, in turn, contains the individual records that determine, for example:
- which web server your domain points to,
- which server receives emails for your domain,
- which subdomains exist,
- which services are connected via CNAME records,
- what SPF, DKIM, or DMARC rules for email apply,
- or which TXT records are stored for external services.
A change of nameservers is therefore a fundamental DNS change and should not be confused with changing a single DNS record.
When should you change the nameservers? #
A name server change is particularly useful or necessary if another provider complete DNS management take over your domain.
This can be the case, for example, if you:
- run your website with another hosting provider,
- you are using an external website builder,
- connect an externally hosted online store with your domain,
- using a DNS or CDN service,
- run your own server,
- or an external provider explicitly requests that their nameservers be entered.
You will receive the required nameservers from the respective provider. These are often at least two addresses in the following format:
ns1.curiaweb.ch
ns2.curiaweb.chAlways take the nameservers exactly as they were provided to you by the respective provider.
Warning: Do not change nameservers on a hunch. Incorrectly entered nameservers or an incompletely configured DNS zone can cause your website and email addresses to become unreachable.
Changing nameservers or DNS records: What is the difference? #
This is an important distinction. The nameservers do not need to be changed for every connection to an external service.
For example, if only your website should point to another server, it is often sufficient to change a A-Records or CNAME Records. Your previous DNS zone remains intact, and only a single record is adjusted.
If, on the other hand, you change the nameservers, you transfer the complete DNS management to the provider of these nameservers. DNS records usually have to be managed there afterwards.
Therefore, if an external provider only gives you an A, CNAME, MX, or TXT record, you should not automatically change the nameservers.
How to change the nameservers in the CURIAWEB customer center #
You can change the nameservers of your domain registered with CURIAWEB directly via the domain management in the customer center. Have the complete nameserver addresses of the new DNS provider ready beforehand.
- Log in to CURIAWEB Customer Center a.
- Go to Domains → My Domains.
- Select the desired domain.
- Open the section in domain management Nameserver.
- Choose Use custom nameservers.
- Enter the nameservers you received from your external provider.
- Check the spelling carefully.
- Save the change.
You can reach the CURIAWEB customer center at my.curiaweb.ch.
Note: Even a typo in a nameserver address can cause your domain to no longer resolve correctly. Therefore, copy the details as directly as possible from your new DNS provider's documentation.
What happens after the change? #
After saving, the new nameservers for your domain will be set. However, the change is not necessarily visible everywhere on the internet immediately.
DNS information is cached by various resolvers and networks. Until this information has been updated, different systems may temporarily continue to use different DNS data. This process is called DNS Propagation referred to as.
A nameserver change can therefore take some time. In many cases, the new configuration is applied relatively quickly, but the complete switch can up to 24 hours take time.
Info During DNS propagation, it can happen that you already see the new website while another internet connection is still using the previous configuration. This is fundamentally possible during a DNS change.
Especially important: check email before making changes #
A nameserver change does not only affect your website. It affects the entire DNS zone of your domain and potentially your email configuration along with it.
If you use email addresses with your domain, you should therefore check before the change whether all necessary entries are available at the new DNS provider. These may include, among others:
- MX records for the responsible mail server,
- SPF records for authorized sending servers,
- DKIM records for signing outgoing messages,
- DMARC records for handling unauthenticated emails,
- Autodiscover or other CNAME records.
This is especially important if your website is hosted externally, but your emails should continue to run through CURIAWEB. In this case, the corresponding mail records must be present in the new DNS zone.
Warning: If the required MX, SPF, DKIM, or other mail records are not present with the new DNS provider after a nameserver change, email sending or receiving can be disrupted.
Changing nameservers is not a domain transfer #
Changing the nameservers and transferring a domain are two different processes.
If you change the nameservers, your domain can remain registered with CURIAWEB. Only the DNS management will then be handled by another provider.
At a Domain transfer on the other hand, the administration of the domain itself is transferred to another registrar. Depending on the domain extension, a transfer or auth code may be required for this.
We explain how you can obtain such a code in the article Request transfer code (Auth-Code) for a domain.
What should you back up before changing nameservers? #
For a domain in production use, you should document the previous configuration before making any changes. In particular, note down the previous nameservers and, as far as available, the currently used DNS records.
This makes troubleshooting much easier if, for example, the website or email no longer works as expected after the switch.
Also check before making changes:
- Are the new nameservers correct?
- Is the DNS zone already set up with the new provider?
- Does the website point to the correct server?
- Are all required MX records present?
- Are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC taken into account?
- Do required subdomains and CNAME entries exist?
What to do if the domain does not work after the change? #
First, check whether the new nameservers were entered completely and without typos. Then, check with the new DNS provider to see whether the required DNS records are actually present.
Also consider the potential DNS propagation. If you just made the change, a different result does not automatically indicate an error.
If the domain still does not work correctly after a reasonable waiting period, it must be checked whether the problem lies with the delegation of the nameservers or within the new DNS zone.
Summary #
Nameservers determine where your domain's DNS zone is managed. You can find the nameservers of a domain registered with CURIAWEB in the customer center under Domains → My Domains → Nameservers change.
Only use a nameserver change if the complete DNS management is to be transferred to another provider. If only a website or a single service is to be connected, changing individual DNS records is often sufficient.
The e-mail configuration is particularly important: after changing the nameserver, all required MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and other DNS records must be present at the new DNS provider. The domain itself remains registered with CURIAWEB in the event of a pure nameserver change.
