How to point an existing domain to Antihost

If your domain was purchased outside Antihost, you can still connect it to your Antihost WordPress hosting plan.

To do this, you need to update the domain settings at your current domain registrar. After the domain points to Antihost, the platform can connect it to your WordPress instance and apply SSL.

Good to know
This guide is for domains purchased from another registrar, not through Antihost.

Before you start

Check where your domain is managed

Your domain settings are managed by the company where you bought the domain.

This can be a domain registrar such as Namecheap, GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Google Domains / Squarespace Domains, or another provider.

You will need access to that registrar account to update domain settings.

Have your Antihost domain details ready

Before changing anything, make sure you have:

• the domain name you want to connect;
• access to your Antihost panel;
• access to your domain registrar account;
• Antihost nameservers;
• current email/DNS records, if you use email on this domain.

Important
If you use email on this domain, do not change nameservers before checking your email DNS records. Otherwise, your email may stop working.

Step 1: Add the domain in Antihost

Start domain connection in your Antihost panel

First, add the existing domain to your Antihost WordPress instance.

In your Antihost panel, open the WordPress instance you want to connect the domain to and start the domain connection process.

You will need to enter the domain name you already own.

After this, Antihost will prepare the domain connection on the hosting side.

What this means
Adding the domain in Antihost does not automatically change the domain at your registrar. You still need to update nameservers or DNS records where the domain is currently managed.

Step 2: Update nameservers at your registrar

Replace current nameservers with Antihost nameservers

The recommended way to point an existing domain to Antihost is to change the domain’s nameservers to Antihost nameservers.

In your registrar account, find the domain’s DNS or nameserver settings and replace the current nameservers with:

[ns1.antihost.com]
[ns2.antihost.com]

If Antihost uses more than two nameservers, add all nameservers shown in your Antihost panel or setup instructions.

Important
Use the exact nameservers provided by Antihost. Do not guess or edit them manually.

Save the changes

After replacing the nameservers, save the changes in your registrar account.

Your registrar may show a message that nameserver changes can take time to apply. This is normal.

Do you need to change A or CNAME records?

Usually, no — if you use Antihost nameservers

If you switch the domain to Antihost nameservers, you usually do not need to manually change A or CNAME records.

Antihost will manage the required DNS records on its side.

This is the cleaner option because the domain’s DNS zone is handled by Antihost after the nameserver switch.

Simple rule
If you use Antihost nameservers, Antihost manages the required website DNS records.

When A or CNAME records may be needed

Manual A or CNAME records may be needed only if you do not want to move DNS management to Antihost nameservers.

For example, you may want to keep DNS in Cloudflare or another external DNS provider.

In that case, you need the exact DNS records from Antihost.

These may include:

• A record for the root domain;
• CNAME record for www;
• additional records required for validation or routing.

Note
This setup depends on the DNS provider and Antihost configuration. Use manual A/CNAME records only if Antihost provides the exact values.

How to avoid breaking email on your domain

Check if your domain is used for email

Before changing nameservers, check whether you use email addresses on this domain.

For example:

hello@yourdomain.com
support@yourdomain.com
name@yourdomain.com

If yes, your domain likely has email-related DNS records.

Save existing email DNS records

Before switching nameservers, copy your current email records from the existing DNS zone.

Common email-related records include:

• MX records;
• SPF record;
• DKIM records;
• DMARC record;
• mail-related CNAME records.

These records may be required for your email service to continue working.

Important
Changing nameservers replaces where DNS is managed. If email records are not recreated in the new DNS zone, email delivery may stop working.

Recreate email records after switching nameservers

If Antihost nameservers become responsible for your domain, email records need to exist in the Antihost DNS zone too.

Before or immediately after the switch, make sure the required email records are added.

Best practice
If the domain is used for business email, confirm the email DNS records before changing nameservers.

Step 3: Wait for DNS propagation

DNS changes are not instant

After changing nameservers, DNS propagation starts.

DNS propagation is the process where DNS providers and networks around the world update to the new domain settings.

During this time, the domain may behave inconsistently.

It may:

• open the old website;
• open the new Antihost site;
• not open yet;
• work for some users but not for others;
• show SSL warnings until HTTPS is ready.

Good to know
DNS propagation does not finish everywhere at the same time. This is why the domain can work on one network and still fail on another.

SSL may take additional time

SSL can be issued only after the domain points to the correct Antihost environment.

If DNS is still updating, SSL may not be ready yet.

During this period, your browser may show:

• “Not secure”;
• privacy warning;
• certificate error;
• HTTPS error.

This can be temporary during setup.

How to check propagation

Check the nameservers

You can check whether the domain is already using Antihost nameservers.

Look for the domain’s NS records and confirm that they match the Antihost nameservers.

Expected result:

[ns1.antihost.com]
[ns2.antihost.com]

If old nameservers still appear, the change may still be propagating or may not have been saved correctly at the registrar.

Check where the domain points

You can also check whether the domain opens the correct website in a browser.

Try:

• opening the root domain;
• opening the www version;
• checking from another device or network;
• clearing browser cache;
• using an incognito/private browser window.

What this means
If the domain works in one browser or network but not another, DNS propagation or local cache may still be the reason.

What to do if the domain points to the wrong place

Check if nameservers were saved correctly

First, return to your domain registrar and check whether the nameservers were saved correctly.

Make sure there are no old nameservers left.

If even one old nameserver remains, DNS may still point to the previous provider.

Check if the domain was added to the correct WordPress instance

Next, open your Antihost panel and confirm that the domain is connected to the correct WordPress instance.

This matters if you have more than one WordPress site or more than one hosting plan.

Check if you are using external DNS

If you did not switch to Antihost nameservers and kept DNS with an external provider, check the A and CNAME records there.

The domain may point to the wrong place if:

• the A record uses an old IP address;
• the CNAME points to the previous hosting provider;
• the root domain and www version are configured differently;
• old records were not removed;
• proxy/CDN settings are overriding DNS behavior.

Important
If you use an external DNS provider, Antihost cannot fully control DNS records. The records must match the values provided by Antihost.

When to contact support

Contact support if the domain still does not work after propagation

Contact Antihost support if:

• the domain still points to the wrong website after DNS propagation;
• the domain was added in Antihost but does not connect;
• the domain works without www but not with www;
• SSL does not become active after DNS is correct;
• the site works on the temporary domain but not on the connected domain;
• you are not sure whether to use nameservers or manual DNS records;
• changing nameservers may affect your email and you need confirmation.

What to include in your support request

When contacting support, include:

• your domain name;
• your WordPress hosting plan;
• your current nameservers;
• whether the domain uses email;
• whether you changed nameservers or A/CNAME records;
• a screenshot of your registrar DNS settings;
• the error you see in the browser.

Why this matters
Domain issues can happen at different layers: registrar, nameservers, DNS records, email records, SSL, browser cache, or WordPress instance connection. These details help support check the correct layer faster.

Summary

Existing domains need registrar-side changes

If your domain was not purchased through Antihost, you need to update its settings at the domain registrar.

The recommended setup is:

1. Add the domain to your Antihost WordPress instance.
2. Replace current nameservers with Antihost nameservers.
3. Preserve email DNS records if the domain is used for email.
4. Wait for DNS propagation.
5. Check that the domain points to the correct site.
6. Wait for SSL to activate.

In most cases, if you use Antihost nameservers, you do not need to manually edit A or CNAME records.