Now that we've registered a domain and set up hosting, we need to get the two to "talk" to each other. Otherwise, we've got our domain over here and our hosting over there and the domain doesn't know it belongs to the hosting and vice versa. That's not particularly helpful.
If you registered your domain when you set up your hosting, you can skip this step and move on to adding a new user.
So, in order to get our domain to "point" to our host, we have to change our nameservers.
IMPORTANT! As soon as you change your nameservers, your domain will bring visitors to this blog. Therefore, if you are currently using your domain on another blog, do not complete this step until your new blog is ready to go. If this is the case, you can still access your new WordPress blog via the temporary URL you were provided with in your welcome email if you're using Bluehost. If you are using HostGator, simply call or chat with them and ask them for a temporary URL.
First we have to find out what the nameservers are from our host (Bluehost or HostGator) and then change those in our domain manager at our registrar (GoDaddy).
1. Login to your hosting account.
In my case, that's Bluehost.
If your host is HostGator, check your welcome email for your name servers (more info here).
2. Click the "Domain Manager" tab at the top of your screen (#1 below)
3. Once you're on the "Domain Manager" page, click on the tab called "Name Servers" in the right column about half way down the page. (#2 above)
You'll see two pieces of information that look something like this (#3 above):
- ns1.bluehost.com
- ns2.bluehost.com.
Take note of both of those. You'll need them in Step 7 below.
4. Now, login to your account at your domain registrar.
In my case, that's GoDaddy. Click the "Login" button at the top left of the screen.
5. From your Domain Manager, choose your domain name.
Once you're logged in, click the black "My Account" button to the left of your name (again, top left of screen).
Click the "+" next to "Domains" to see your domain(s) if the list is not already expanded for you.
Click the "Launch" button next to your domain.
6. Click "Set Nameservers"
7. Input the nameservers.
First, select "I have specific nameservers for my domains." Then input the nameservers you took note of in Step 3. Click OK.
Done!
(It could take up to 24 hours for the changes to implement, but it usually takes considerably less time.)
Now when you type your domain name into your browser, you should see your blog (albeit generic – we'll get to that), but it should be there!
Want to move on? You can check out the Cheat Sheet for next steps.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Other posts in this series
- How to Start a Blog or Website: Intro & FAQ
- How to Start a Blog or Website: Cheat Sheet
- How to Find (or Refind) Your Passion
- How to Decide What to Blog About: What Works for Readers?
- How to Decide What to Blog About: What Works for You?
- Understand Branding: 4 Tips
- Understand Keywords: Increase the Odds of Getting Found
- Writing Great Content: 3 Tips
- How to Write a Killer About Page
- 12 Blog Organization Tips
- How to Choose a Domain Name: 12 Tips
- How to Register a Domain Name
- How to Set Up Hosting and WordPress
- How to Change Your Nameservers
- How to Add a New User in WordPress
- How to Optimize Your WordPress Settings
- How to Install a Plugin
- My Favorite Plugins
- How to Get & Optimize a Feedburner Feed
- How to Choose a WordPress Theme
- How to Install a WordPress Theme
- Elegant Themes for WordPress
- How to Install Google Analytics
- How to Use WordPress: Tips & Tricks
- How to Start a Blog or Website: 10 Tips for New Bloggers
I have done this a few times because I was indecisive and changed my mind about who was hosting my blog and it was a PITA that took half the day on the phone with Go Daddy. Now I'm just going to bookmark this page in case I change my mind again.
Amy, you know that I'm one that needs alot of hand holding. Just ask Joy. LOL
So, until I follow the above steps, I'm not going to be able to "see" my blog, to start working on it. Is that correct? WordPress offers a default theme when you first start with them, and then you work on the blog design and content from there?
My WordPress blog isn't going to have the same name as my present blog, so I can go ahead and do the above steps, correct? The WordPress blog will just be a work in progress?
If I understand your question, you should be able to access your blog via a temporary url.
If I understand your questions, I think the answer is yes and yes. People make the move from Blogger to WordPress all the time.
You can absolutely do it yourself, but if you are worried about losing followers along the way or need some excellent help, I can't recommend Joy highly enough.
I'm sorry, but if we registered our domain through hostgator and have our hosting through them, do we need to do this step?
Nope!
HI Amy! I was the one that emailed yesterday saying I couldn't see the Atahualpa theme option – figured out it was b/c I was on WordPress.com not .org – SO now I have purchased hosting through Hostgator, redirected my dns names and now I can't see my site at all…??? I downloaded WordPress.org on my Mac – but can't seem to figure out how to access the dashboard to import my .com blog – I already exported it from wordpress.com to my desktop just don't know how to import it and can't understand any of the help on WP website… any advice you can give will stop my absolute panic attack I' m having – also -have I now lost my current subscribers? Sorry for all the questions! THANK YOU!!!!!
Hi Christina,
You should be able to install WordPress via your hosting cpanel. If that's clear as mud
I would call HostGator and ask them to walk you through it. I hope that helps!
Thank you SO much for your help and this AMAZING tool you have provided us all with your blog!
Oh, I forgot to ask if your site eventually showed up? Sometimes it takes a while…
And you're welcome!
It's my pleasure.
It did eventually show up but looked horrible and kinda turned into a nightmare – wish I would have found your site before I started with WP.com – I got so frustrated and felt very in over my head – so I ended up canceling with hostgator (they were very helpful though) and am going to look into making the switch to WP.org after the Christmas time madness – I thought I was pretty computer savvy until I got into looking at switching my blog over! Really the problem was that I am keeping my same domain name and didn't want to go live until I had the new blog all setup, but apparently you can't do that if you are keeping the same domain… Anyway I will revisit all this next month!! Thanks again for your responses!!
Oh, I'm so sorry!
You actually can set up your new site (on a temporary URL). You would just continue blogging at WP.com until your new site is up and running on the temp URL, and then you can point your domain to the new one. Not sure if that makes sense. But I'm so sorry it's caused so much frustration!
I meant to say "point your domain to the new site" (once it's set up on the temp URL at your host).
HI Amy. I am just getting started here. I had a domain name w/ go daddy and just set up my hosting w/ bluehost. I did the name server process just now. When I type in my website address , no matter whether I use www. or not, I get some generic and even obscene info from go daddy. Am I assuming correctly that this will change and that I will have the blue screen at some point in the next 24 hours?
Thanks much!
Yes, it usually takes a bit of time to show up.
I just checked it and it's showing up for me!
I have one more question, Amy. Am I also correct in assuming that people will be able to look up my website either by typing in www before it or with just my website name? I wasn't clear on that. I can get to your website either way…so I was wondering how that works since you indicated in your tutorial that you set it up so that it didn't have the www before it.
Thanks again!
Yes, it should work both ways, but you should designate one as your preference. Here's how to do that.
Hi Amy,
I'm SUPER new to this changing of nameservers thing and I just found your site -thank you for it! I'm trying to transfer my wordpress blog over to my permanent domain name with Godaddy. I think I did everything correctly and input the new nameservers. When I go to my new site – it says that it 'appears to be broken – it sounds like it could take up to 24 hours. Am I to expect my WordPress blog (posts and everything) to show up on my Godaddy site, or am I not even close to that yet? I think I still have lots to read on your site! Thanks for any help you can provide!
Jen
Also, when all of this changes over (if it actually does) will I lose my WordPress blog, posts, subscribers, etc.?
"Why did we register our domain and purchase hosting from two different companies? Well basically, to avoid giving one company complete control over our site." you said.
would you be kind explaining why it matters? What control do they have over my site?
I registered my domain and hosting thru godaddy and i'm happy with it, cuz every time i dont know something i call them, and they have the best customer service, that actualy speak English. But i have no idea about that FTP thingy you talked about.
Love your site, good gracious how much work is in it!
Thank you sooo much!!
My name servers have some numbers after them. (NS1.BLUEHOST.COM…….) Should I include those numbers when I paste my name server to godaddy?
Yes, Jessica, include the NS1 and NS2.
I have the same question as Jessica, I think. We're wanting to know whether or not to include all of the numbers that come after "ns1.bluehost.com". I'm brand new to all of this, so maybe it's a dumb question…
Nope. Just the NS1.BLUEHOST.COM.
I've made it this far on your list for a new blog I'm starting and am so relieved that I found you! I would have no idea what I was doing on my own. You're a blessing!
Glad it's helpful! Thanks for stopping by.
Amy, every time I get to step I get a "invalid TLD" message. I'm stuck and clueless as to what this means. Any advice?
Hmmm…that's a new error message to me. First, I would google it as I explain here. Second, I'd call your registrar.
Figured that out…now just waiting on the "blue screen" to show up! Do you know how long that usually takes. I'm on about 20 hours right now. Thanks for your help!
What do you mean by blue screen? (Sorry, I'm clueless.)
I thought I read something about a "blank blue screen" somewhere. Anyway, here's a link to the blog so you can see what it looks like. I can't get past this step and don't know why. I've followed steps 1-9 so far…
http://www.spotmyeyesavings.com/
Hmmm…that's new to me. Did you call Bluehost about it? I'd definitely do that.
Here's another thing I keep getting. Does that mean that the domain and host site aren't "talking" yet? It will be 48 hours tonight since I started this step…and again…thanks so much for your help! You can be sure that once I'm done I'll be sending others your way!
http://www.spotmyeyesavings.com/wp-login.php
Heather I recieved that error message also, how did you correct it.
I'm very excited!! I spent half of yesterday reading your 'How to Blog' posts (thank you very much for them by the way!!) and got this far. I spend some time thinking about what I'm passionate about – knitting, family history, my church, my faith. I also thought a lot about thing I want to deal with or are on my mind – clutter, cleaning, time-management (bought your ebook), procrastination, frugality, addiction to name but a few. When I went to bed all I could think was "I'm all over the place with this blogging thing – God, show me the way to go". When I woke this morning the first thought that came into my head was "live a balanced life" – Thank you God!! This morning I registered the domain livingbalancedlives.com. Thanks Amy – I have a long way to go, but this is a great start!! Now back to your blog posts.
Yes, a great start!
I pointed my domain to my host a few days ago. I was not aware that I should not do this until I am ready to start blogging (which I am not)! Is there a way to undo this, or should I not worry so much about it?
Yes, you can put the nameservers back as they were. Call your domain registrar and they should be able to help you. Blogging is forgiving and most things are fixable!
Thank you! Your tutorials have been very helpful – I just need to read them more thoroughly before diving in!
Hi Amy – I installed a "coming soon" plug-in and it seems to be working great – allowing me to work on my site without it being visible to the world.
Sounds good. Maintenance Mode is another plugin.
I have Blue Host as my server and domain. Should I not have Blue host as both? I got it up until step 4…Not sure where to go from there. Also I am switching from WordPress to Blogger. (I'm not computer savvy at all and in my own embarrasment, WordPress is too complicated for me.)
If you're moving to Blogger, you don't need hosting since Blogger is hosted for you. If you've had your blog for any length of time, make sure you redirect your existing blog so people don't get lost in the move.
Do you have directions on how to do this through hostgator?
I think this should help.
Amy, your blog is awesome. I checked a bunch of 'how to' books out of the library, but ended up using your blog and the step by steps to get my hosting and WordPress installed! Whoo hooo!
i did want to let you and your readers know that GoDaddy has tweaked the Nameserver section–so #6 doesn't show up quite the way you demonstrated. It threw me at first and I think I had to click an extra place before I got to the spot where I could enter my name servers. Crossing my fingers that it worked ok (since I did it wrong the 1st time)!
OK, thanks, Cheryl! I appreciate the heads-up. I'm currently updating all my videos so this is helpful!
When I sign in to GoDaddy it says I do not have a domain but I have an email from them?? Weird. I contacted CS and hopefully I can get further in this system.
Ok I have the domain. I had to refresh a few times. NOW I really have a big question and hope I didn't do a big oops.
My page looks nothing like yours. I click my domain and name servers and it asked me to park, forward, or something else. I said Park????? it will take up 2 hours for me to change anything.
What should I have done or what should I do next?
Thank you so much for your blog! I am still confused on one main issue – I want to start creating and organizing my blog and setting it all up before it goes live. Once I set up hosting and download wordpress, can I begin setting up my blog before changing the nameservers (which causes it to go live)? Basically, how do I go about setting up my blog before it goes out for the world to see – I don't want anyone to see it until it is completely set up and ready to go.
Thank you!
Figured it out myself
I haven't figured this out yet. I'm brand new to this. I set up my godaddy, registered with bluehost, downloaded wordpress.org, and changed nameservers. Now what? Please forgive me for my ignorance!
Hey amy thanks for all your work. I am trying to get everything started and I signed up for the wordpress.com before I realized I was to sign up for the .org. I dd this last week. So now I cannot refund. I requested to update my nameserver on wordpress.com. So where do I go from here? Will my .com domain still be the same? What exactly have I done? Thanks so much for your help. I most certainly will click through your site for any purchases I sign up for!
Hi Misty,
I would browse through WordPress.com's help and support information about switching to a self-hosted WordPress blog. This is a good place to start.
The Go Daddy website has changed since this post, it was a little confusing to find the domain manager currently.
Thanks, Lora. I'll make a note to try to update it.
While I'm waiting for stars and nameservers to align, I just wanted to take a sec and thank you for putting together this post. Self-hosting has been ridiculously terrifying to me up until I took the plunge this morning and signed up with Bluehost. I was streaming merrily along until I got stuck at nameservers, lol… Anyway, thanks so much. I'm back to rowing merrily along
You can do it, Ebony! So many people here (including me!!) felt equally apprehensive when starting, but diving in as you did is the best way to go about it in my opinion. There are always bumps in the road, but if you're willing to work on it a little each day and walk away when you're about to bang your head against the wall, you'll get it!
I let myself stop at the free WordPress blog with my last blog, and although I'm still keeping that one, I knew I needed to get rid of those silly fears to make room for what God has planned for this next one… need to think BIG
Thanks so much for your encouragement, means a lot! Happy Weekend!
To get past step 6, what I found to do was, choose the account summary tab. Scroll down to the "my domains" section. At the far right column in "domain diagnostics", click on "score domain." Nameservers is about halfway down on the left side of the screen. Choose "set nameservers," then select the radio button next to "I have specific nameservers for my domain," add in your two names and then click on ok.
I hope this works for you.
Hi Amy! Thanks so much for your blog…I want to transfer my blog over from blogger to wordpress without loosing anything and your blog has been a great tutorial so far in getting me started.
Question – how do i know when my website has updated with the right nameserver? Thanks!
never mind! =) i figured it out…
Hi Amy, Thanks so much for holding my hand through this process…it's definitely not intuitive for me. I've been at blogger and just purchased my domain and hosting, per your fabulous instruction. I'm trying to change nameservers, but GoDaddy gives a message that my Bluehost numbers are incorrect. I've tried several times and now don't know whether to contact the domain or host site for help. (Or what to ask for, for that matter! : ) Slowly but surely I'll get this new blog up and running! Help!
Hey, GoDaddy has great customer service. I got it figured out in 5! Thanks Amy!
I will try this for changing my name server,Thank you Amy!.
Thank you so much for these instructions. I was just wondering when I changed my nameserver it said it could take up to 48 hours to take effect. I am using HostGator. What do you see on the site when you try to access it? I keep getting site is unavailable. Does that sound normal? This is my first time doing this and I am worried I did something wrong. I am probably worrying too much LOL.
Can you leave your link, Carolyn?
Sure. website is http://www.polarbearrenovations.com
It looks like that domain is not registered at all. My hunch is that either (a) when you registered it you accidentally registered it under a different spelling or (b) you didn't actually finish the entire registration process (maybe clicked out of the window too early or something). So, you're right, this isn't the way it's supposed to be. I would check your welcome emails for a possible spelling error and/or contact the company you registered with and see if they can locate the problem.
Well I just got off the phone with HostGater. They sent me the wrong name for the Name Servers. The woman at tech support said she has never seen that happen before. Only me
. So hopefully this will fix the problem.
Oh dear. Glad you figured it out. Sorry you had to be a guinea pig there.
Hi Amy,
This is a fantastic post, but my issue is a bit unique. I set up a wordpress.com then purchased a domain (and thus changed the nameservers on godaddy.com).
I recently signed up for WordPress hosting on GD (and I believe I installed it correctly), but when I sign into my blog/wp-admin it's still wordpress.com. What am I doing wrong? I feel there must have been a step I missed…Do I need to redirect my name servers maybe?
Thanks!
Mica
Hi Mica,
It's hard to know from here what might be the problem and I'm not very familiar with WordPress.com and GoDaddy hosting. I recommend you contact GoDaddy and have them walk you through. I hope that helps!
Hi, Amy, Is it possible to transfer WP.com blog subscribers over to my new WP.org blog (same URL), even after I've changed the nameserver? I should have saved my list of subscribers somehow, but this didn't occur to me until now, after I've already made the big switcheroo. I've only been blogging for a few months, so I don't have a huge list. But I would be sad to lose them! Any suggestions would be appreciated….Thanks!
There are some variables here that make it difficult for me to know, but I would check the support forums at WordPress.com and WordPress.org. Or google it.
So to clarify if I registered my domain and am hosting it both through host gator than I don't need to worry about name servers correct? I am having some issues with pulling up my wordpress dashboard even though I setup my domain through host gator and installed wordpress and wordpress sent me an email saying that my site was ready to go with a link to my dashboard, but when I click on the link they sent me it just keeps saying page not found…can't figure out what I've done wrong..help!!
If you registered the domain at the same time as purchasing hosting, that's correct. I would definitely contact HostGator and ask them to walk you through (it's hard to know from here).
Hi Amy!
Thanks for this great tutorial, I'm at the name server change part and what you wrote here applies to me:
" MPORTANT! As soon as you change your nameservers, your domain will bring visitors to this blog. Therefore, if you are currently using your domain on another blog, do not complete this step until your new blog is ready to go. If this is the case, you can still access your new WordPress blog via the temporary URL you were provided with in your welcome email if you're using Bluehost. If you are using HostGator, simply call or chat with them and ask them for a temporary URL."
So now what step do I go to start getting my blog ready to go?
Many thanks!
Jayne
This site is cool and awesome – thanks to the author
Amy, can you please HELP me? I am in so far over my head.
I purchased a domain through Go Daddy, and a hosting package through BlueHost. I changed my nameservers just find and I was working my way down your list installing plug ins.
Then, I closed out that the tab I had open and I cannot get back to my site. When I type in my domain name, it is just a blue page from Bluehost with ads on it. When I try to click through the temp URL that I was given when I installed WordPress, it is a white page with my blog title, but no way to log in.
I called Blue Host and the guy on the line was mumbling and taking in technical terms I did not understand at all.
How do I get back to my page?!
Sorry for all of the typos, I just re read that and I realize I sound like an idiot. Its after 4am and I have been trying to get back to my WordPress dashboard for two hours. I am thinking maybe I need to hang it up and cancel Bluehost. I am just not technologically savvy enough for this.
Hi Laura
I just wanted to say that I have also moved my site over the Christmas period and I know exactly how you are feeling. I spent so many hours on it and most of the time I felt like a complete idiot as I couldn't work out what I was doing wrong. I hope you didn't give up and I'm pretty sure my site is running ok now. I found the support people at both WordPress.com and BlueHost to be really excellent so I would advise you to contact them as well as reading this excellent blog. People keep saying it's easy, but I found it quite hard and I consider myself to be fairly intelligent. I'd be intrested to know how it turned out for you.
cheers
Amy,
Wow – this has been very frustrating and made me anxious! I used 1and1 for my domain registration and finally had to end up calling them to switch the DNS settings. They were wonderful. I didn't realize there is SO much wait time between all of these changes.
Thanks for all the info on your web site; it's been very useful. I wish i had used GoDaddy , which would have made the whole nameserver thing much easier!!
Debi
Glad to hear you had a good customer service experience, Debi. Sorry it was trying, but as I see it, these types of things are the best way to learn. I heard it said once that frustration propels you to the next level and I know that has been true for me. Way to go!
Hello Amy
I've just discovered your blog and I wish I had found it BEFORE I started moving my blog as then I would still have my hair! Anyway, can you tell me how to stop goodle from indexing my temporary url? I don't want it to show up in the search results.
thanks so much.