Connect a domain from GoDaddy, Squarespace, or Cloudflare

Before you start

• 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.
• The domain added to your hosting. If you ordered your plan with this domain, it's already there. If not, add it in cPanel first; see adding a second domain.
• Email already on this domain? If you use Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or another email service with this domain, note down its MX records now. Once the nameservers point at Dredge, your DNS lives in cPanel, and you'll need to add those records again in the Zone Editor so mail keeps arriving.
• DNSSEC switched on? Turn it off at your registrar before changing nameservers. Changing nameservers with DNSSEC still on can make the domain unreachable.

GoDaddy

1. Sign in and open your Domain Portfolio.
2. Select the domain to open its Domain Settings.
3. Go to DNS, then Nameservers, and choose to change them.
4. Pick the option to use your own nameservers, and enter your two Dredge nameservers.
5. Select Save, then Continue. If the domain has Domain Protection, GoDaddy asks for a verification code first.

Older GoDaddy accounts can show a slightly different route: Domain Settings → Manage DNS, then Change in the Nameservers section. The rest is the same.

Squarespace (including domains moved from Google Domains)

1. Open the Domains dashboard and click the domain.
2. Go to DNS, then Domain Nameservers.
3. Choose the option to use custom nameservers and enter your two Dredge nameservers.
4. Confirm with your password or two-factor code. Squarespace warns that DNSSEC will be turned off; accept that.

Once you switch, any Squarespace site stops showing on this domain, and records in Squarespace's DNS panel stop applying. That's expected: from now on your site and DNS live on Dredge.

Cloudflare

What you do depends on where the domain is registered.

• Registered somewhere else, using Cloudflare for DNS: change the nameservers at the registrar where you pay for the domain, using the steps above or below. That moves DNS from Cloudflare to Dredge.
• Registered with Cloudflare Registrar: Cloudflare doesn't let these domains use another company's nameservers. Keep Cloudflare's DNS instead and point the domain at Dredge with DNS records. Get in touch and we'll send you the exact records for your account.

If you add records in Cloudflare, set their proxy status to DNS only (the grey cloud). Our free HTTPS certificates are issued directly to your server, and Cloudflare's proxy can get in the way.

Any other registrar

1. Sign in and open the settings for your domain.
2. Look for Nameservers, sometimes under DNS or Advanced.
3. Switch from the registrar's default nameservers to custom ones, enter your two Dredge nameservers, and save.

Some website builders that also sell domains, such as Wix and Shopify, don't let you change nameservers. Either transfer the domain to us or another registrar, or ask us for the records to add there instead.

Wait, then check

Nameserver changes usually show up within an hour or two, but can take up to 48 hours. Once they do, your domain shows your Dredge site, and free HTTPS kicks in by itself within a few hours. If you see a certificate warning after a day, see Fix “Your connection is not private” errors.

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