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?

This is generally very straightforward.

(In order for this to work, you must first have set up NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS for your domain name. If that is not already done, start with this FAQ entry and then return here.)

  1. Go to the Domains panel.
  2. Select "Manage" in the "DNS" column for your domain name.
  3. On the DNS Information page, find the "Authoritative Name Servers" box and copy down the information. (You'll find two server names of the format ns.xxx0.nearlyfreespeech.net.)
  4. Go to your domain registrar's site and find the option to change name servers.
  5. Replace whatever name server information they currently have with the information you found in the "Authoritative Name Servers" box.

Since each registrar has a slightly different way of editing name servers, you would need to contact them for specific help with using their system.

Once these steps are complete, you may have to wait awhile for the change to take effect. Changes in most top-level domains take less than 24 hours, and the major ones (.com, .net, and .org) often take effect within a few minutes.

If your domain registrar provides DNS service, you can also use that, although it is not recommended. Please see this FAQ entry for more information.

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?

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?