Frequently Asked Questions

The NearlyFreeSpeech.NET FAQ (*)

Domain Name Service (DNS) (*)

How come www.example.com works but example.com does not?

Why are my active and authoritative name servers different?

How should I configure my third-party DNS to point to my site?

What name servers should I use with my domain?

How do I add NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS for a new domain name to my existing website?

I already have NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS for www.example.com. Will it cost more to add another.example.com (or example.com)?

How do I use a domain I registered elsewhere with NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS?

I have NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS set up. How do I add a new site using a subdomain?

What is the "SPF Email Protection" option for DNS?

How do I configure NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS to work with my third-party email service?

What are the IP address(es) listed for my site used for? Are they name servers?

How do I add / remove DNS records for my domain?

These instructions assume you have turned on our DNS and that your domain name registration has our name servers listed. To turn DNS on for a new domain, see this FAQ entry; to turn it on for a domain you've newly registered with or transferred to us (that wasn't already using our DNS), see this one.

To add new resource records:

  1. Go to the Domains tab in our member interface.
  2. Select "Manage" under the "DNS" column for the relevant domain. (If this column says "Add" it means we are not providing DNS service for that domain. If you add it, you will have to update your domain registration.)
  3. On the DNS Information panel for your domain, in the upper right corner, inside the "Actions" box , select the "Add a DNS Resource Record" action.
  4. Detailed instructions for setting up different record types are included on the "Add a DNS Resource Record" panel.

To remove existing resource records:

  1. Go to the Domains tab in our member interface.
  2. Click "Manage" under the "DNS" column for the relevant domain.
  3. In the "Additional Resource Records" box, find the resource record you want to remove and select the "Remove" button to the right of it.

If the record you want to remove is in the "NearlyFreeSpeech.NET Resource Records" box then it is a component of some service we are providing to you, so it cannot be removed without removing that service. For example, if a DNS record matches an alias of a site you have hosted here, then you won't be able to remove the record. If you remove that alias from your site, then the DNS record will automatically be removed as well. See this related FAQ entry for more information.

How do I change the name servers for a domain registered with NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

Should my website use www in its name?

Do you support wildcard site aliases?

How come I can't remove that DNS record?

How do I point a NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS record at my dynamic home IP address?

If I set up DNS for more than one domain, will they all use the same name servers?

Can I get secondary DNS in another location?

How do I remove DNS service?

Why did my domain stop working after I transferred the DNS here?