Buy a domain from Porkbun or Namecheap and connect it

You connect them by changing the domain's nameservers, which tells the rest of the internet to send your visitors (and your email) to Dredge.

Already own a domain at GoDaddy, Squarespace, Cloudflare, or somewhere else? Follow Connect a domain from GoDaddy, Squarespace, or Cloudflare instead.

Before you start

• A Dredge plan. If you don't have one yet, pick a plan and, when checkout asks about a domain, choose the option to use a domain you already own and type in the domain you're about to buy (or already have).
• Your Dredge nameservers. They're in the welcome email we send when your account is set up, and in your client area at my.dredgehost.com under your hosting service. There are two of them and they look like ns1.example.com.

You can also register a new domain, or transfer one you already own, through your client area at checkout or any time later. Prices are on the pricing page. This guide covers buying from Porkbun or Namecheap; if you register through Dredge instead, email us and we'll make sure the domain is pointed at your account.

Step 1: Buy the domain

1. Go to porkbun.com or namecheap.com and search for the name you want.
2. Add it to your cart. Keep WHOIS privacy switched on (both include it free). You can skip any hosting, email, or website-builder add-ons; Dredge covers those.
3. Check out and confirm the verification email the registrar sends you. ICANN requires this, and an unverified domain can be suspended after 15 days.

Step 2a: Change the nameservers at Porkbun

1. Log in and open Account → Domain Management.
2. Find your domain and hover over or click it to show its Details.
3. Next to Authoritative Nameservers, click Edit.
4. Delete the Porkbun nameservers that are there and paste in your two Dredge nameservers, one per line.
5. Click Submit.

Step 2b: Change the nameservers at Namecheap

1. Log in and open Domain List from the left-hand menu.
2. Click Manage next to your domain.
3. In the Nameservers section, change the dropdown from “Namecheap BasicDNS” to Custom DNS.
4. Enter your two Dredge nameservers, one in each box.
5. Click the green checkmark to save.

Step 3: Wait, then check

Nameserver changes usually show up within an hour or two, but can take up to 48 hours. Once they do:

• Visiting your domain shows your Dredge site (or the default cPanel page if you haven't uploaded anything yet).
• Free HTTPS kicks in by itself. cPanel's AutoSSL checks for newly pointed domains a few times a day and issues a certificate. If it hasn't after a day, see Turn on HTTPS everywhere.

Adding a second domain to the same account

On Channel and Harbor you can host more than one site. Point the extra domain's nameservers at Dredge exactly as above, then in cPanel open Domains → Create A New Domain, enter the domain, and untick “Share document root” so it gets its own folder. Anything you put in that folder is what the new domain shows.

Want to keep DNS at your registrar instead? You can, but then you're responsible for keeping the records in sync with us, including the ones email needs. Changing nameservers is simpler and is what we support by default. If you have a reason to do it the other way, get in touch and we'll send you the exact records.

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