Pointing your domain to iWebVault is the first thing you’ll do after signing up. It tells the internet that your domain should load from our servers instead of wherever it was previously hosted. This guide walks you through the entire process from start to finish.
Before you begin
You’ll need three things ready before you start:
- Login access to wherever your domain is registered (Namecheap, GoDaddy, your previous host, etc.)
- The iWebVault nameservers, which we sent in your welcome email
- About 10 minutes — plus up to 24 hours for DNS to propagate worldwide
If you don’t have your welcome email handy, log in to your Client Area and the nameservers will be listed on your service details page.
Step 1 — Find your iWebVault nameservers
Your nameservers look like this:
ns1.iwebvault.com ns2.iwebvault.com
Some customers on dedicated nameserver plans receive personalised ones, such as ns1.yourdomain.com. If that’s you, use the ones from your welcome email instead.
Step 2 — Log in to your domain registrar
This is the company you bought the domain from, not iWebVault (unless you also registered the domain with us). Common ones include:
- Namecheap → Domain List → Manage → Nameservers
- GoDaddy → My Products → DNS → Nameservers
- Cloudflare Registrar → your domain → Nameservers
Each registrar’s interface looks a bit different, but they all have a section called Nameservers or DNS settings.
Step 3 — Replace the existing nameservers
You’ll usually see one of two states:
- Default registrar nameservers (e.g.
dns1.registrar-servers.com) — replace them entirely with the iWebVault ones. - Custom DNS — switch to “Custom nameservers” or “Use custom DNS” mode, then enter the iWebVault ones.
Save your changes. Some registrars take a minute to confirm.
Tip: Take a screenshot of your current nameservers before changing anything. If something goes wrong, you can revert immediately without searching for what they used to be.
Step 4 — Wait for propagation
DNS changes don’t take effect instantly. They have to spread across thousands of DNS servers worldwide, which is called propagation. Typical timing:
- Within 1 hour: working for most visitors
- Within 4–6 hours: working for nearly everyone
- Up to 24–48 hours: the worst-case maximum (rare)
You can check propagation status with tools like whatsmydns.net — enter your domain and watch the green checkmarks appear globally.
Common issues
“It’s been 24 hours and my site still isn’t loading.”
Double-check the nameservers were saved correctly at your registrar. A single typo (e.g. ns1.iwebvalut.com) will silently fail.
“My email stopped working after I changed nameservers.”
That’s expected if you were using your old host for email. Your MX records moved with the nameserver change. Either set up email on iWebVault, or configure custom MX records pointing back to your old email provider.
“I see a default ‘site is working’ page instead of my website.”
The nameservers are pointing correctly, but your website files haven’t been uploaded to iWebVault yet, or your add-on domain isn’t configured. See our migration guide for moving site files across.
What happens next
Once propagation completes, your domain loads from iWebVault. You can then install SSL, set up email accounts, and upload your website files. If you’re migrating from another host, our team can handle the full transfer for you free of charge — just open a ticket from the Client Area.
Was this helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
