How to point a domain to a server or IP address

Last changed 2026-11-02. CortexHosting is not open yet, so you can’t order a server today.

To point a domain to a server, add an A record where you bought the domain. Give it your server's IPv4 address. Most domains then work within minutes, though some take a day or two.

What you need

A domain, such as myshop.com.
A sign-in at the place you bought it, or at the company that runs its DNS.
Your server's IPv4 address. It looks like 203.0.113.10.

Add the record

Sign in where you bought the domain and find its DNS settings.
Add a new record with these values:

Field What to enter
Type A
Name or host @ for myshop.com itself, or a word such as shop for shop.myshop.com
Value or points to Your server's IPv4 address
TTL Leave the default
Want www.myshop.com to work too? Add a second A record with www as the name.
Delete any older A record with the same name. If two records share a name, visitors can land on the wrong server.
Save.

Field	What to enter
Type	`A`
Name or host	`@` for `myshop.com` itself, or a word such as `shop` for `shop.myshop.com`
Value or points to	Your server's IPv4 address
TTL	Leave the default

Check that it worked

Run this on your computer. It works in Windows, macOS and Linux:

nslookup myshop.com 1.1.1.1

When the answer shows your server's address, the record is live. If you still see an old address, wait a little and try again. Your own computer may remember the old answer for a while.

If a Linux computer doesn't have nslookup, install dnsutils on Ubuntu or Debian, or bind-utils on Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux or RHEL.

When it does not work

What you see	What to do
The answer shows an old address	Delete the old A record, then wait
The answer shows two addresses	Delete the one that is not your server
You use Cloudflare, and the answer shows Cloudflare's addresses	That is its proxy, the orange cloud. Some servers need it off to get a certificate. Set the record to DNS only
You changed the record, but nothing else changes	Check the domain's nameservers. Only the company they name can change your records
The address works but the browser says "not secure"	The domain is pointed. Your server still needs a certificate
You see an error from your server, such as 502	The domain is pointed. See how to fix a 502

A record or nameservers?

An A record points one name at one server. You keep your DNS where it is, and your email keeps working.

Changing nameservers hands all of your domain's DNS to another company. Do this only if you want that company to run all your records. Copy your email records first, or your mail can stop.

Doing this on CortexHosting

Open your server and go to Domains.
Press Attach a domain, then type the name. Tick Also attach www if you want that too.
Add the A record with your server's address. How to make the record, step by step at the bottom of the page has help for Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy and Squarespace.
Wait for the badge to change. We check every 30 seconds at first, then every 5 minutes. Press Check now if you don't want to wait.

If your server runs Caddy, we get a free certificate for you, so your site opens with HTTPS. If you use Cloudflare, keep its proxy off (DNS only) for as long as the domain is attached.

No domain yet? Get a free web address gives your server a name that works right away.