Change name server and DNS/MX records unsuccessful
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Hello, I want to use a domain I own (thefreefromhedonist.com) which I purchased from 123reg.co.uk and the email address that I created in that domain for my blog, The Free From Hedonist.
I understand from the WordPress support pages that I need to change the DNS records on WordPress and 123reg.co.uk have provided me with these (mx0.123-reg.co.uk and mx1.123-reg.co.uk) but when I go to my Domain Management, it tells me ‘Your nameservers need to be set to NS1.WORDPRESS.COM and NS2.WORDPRESS.COM for these DNS records to work. If you have already updated the nameservers you can ignore this message; it will stop appearing soon.’ However, there is no name server tab on my Domain Management page. I have paid £9.00 for my domain to be mapped but I’m not sure if that covers the name server change for example. Basically, as long as the name server hasn’t been changed t don’t seem to be able to change the DNS/MX records which is why I suppose that I can’t access my blog by clicking on ‘thefreefromhedonist’ on my dashboard (it brings me to a blank 123-reg.co.uk page with my domain name on it). Could you please help so that I can start using my blog with my domain name and also the email address I created with that domain name?
Many thanks.
Kind regards,
Karen MoyesThe blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Hi Karen!
I’m happy to help you out with this. The first step is to point your name servers to WordPress.com at your registrar. Currently, as you mentioned, the name servers for thefreefromhedonist.com are set to:
ns.123-reg.co.uk ns2.123-reg.co.ukThey will need to be set to the following:
NS1.WORDPRESS.COM NS2.WORDPRESS.COM NS3.WORDPRESS.COMThis will need to be completed at 123Reg. You can find instructions here:
http://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/map-existing-domain/#how-to-change-your-name-servers
After you’ve successfully pointed your name servers to WordPress.com, you will need to move your DNS records over following the instructions here:
Can you give those two steps a try and let me know if you run into any trouble?
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Hi Jeremey,
Thanks for the clear instructions, that’s really helpful.
I’ve now successfully pointed my name servers to WordPress.com but am stuck at the next stage. Do I edit ‘Existing DNS Codes’ or do I ‘Add New DNS Record’ in my WordPress dashboard?
Apologies for all the questions, I am rather new to this!
Thanks for your help.
Karen
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Hey Karen,
Not a problem! You’ll want to Add New DNS Records. The DNS records that you see now in place (A, NS, CNAME) are defaults you’ll want to leave untouched. If you add on your old DNS records, you should be all set!
If you run into any trouble, don’t hesitate to reach out!
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Thanks Jeremey, that’s great.
Hopefully my last question: what do I put in ‘handled by’, i.e. the provider? Is that ‘karen.thefreefromhedonist.com’?
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It looks like you were able to set this up successfully. To your question, the format of the MX records are going to depend on your email provider (looks like 123-reg). That’s probably not going to be karen.thefreefromhedonist.com. I believe you have it right with mx0.123-reg.co.uk. The records should be available at 123-reg as that is where they were living prior to pointing your domain to WordPress.com. Were you able to find them at your 123-reg backend?
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I used the MX details provided to me by 123-reg (i.e. mx0.123-reg.co.uk and mx1.123-reg.co.uk) and these were successfully saved. I can’t see yet the changes but I understand that can take up to a few days.
Incidentally, should I go through 123-reg to access and manage my (email visible only to moderators and staff) email? -
Ah great! It looks like you were able to enter them successfully. You should be able to see them here:
https://thefreefromhedonist.wordpress.com/wp-admin/paid-upgrades.php?page=domains
Just click “Edit Domain” and then “Edit DNS”. Your records should be saved their. Are you able to see them?
To answer your question concerning email management and access, yes, you will need to login to 123-reg (or your normal inbox location) to check and see mail. The DNS records just allow the mailbox to continue to work now that your domain is pointed to WordPress.com. Does that make sense?
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Yes, I can see them and it all seems fine.
I’ve also figured out how to send and receive email from my domain name.
Now that you’ve talked me through the process, it seems logical but not if you’re a novice.
Many thanks for your help – and your patience! Much appreciated.
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Wonderful! I’m glad we were able to figure it out.
Now that you’ve talked me through the process, it seems logical but not if you’re a novice.
We definitely appreciate your feedback. I’ll look over the documentation just to see if I can pick out some tripping points. Was there a particular point in the process that you felt wasn’t clearly described?
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I think some instructions would benefit from breaking down into more steps (e.g. inputting new DNS codes: there are several boxes on the page and it wasn’t clear to me which one(s) you had to amend as I didn’t know that I was adding codes as opposed to amending existing ones and that I therefore had to leave the top of the page alone and go to the lower box). A tutorial with screenshots for each step would be useful. Nothing too lengthy (I don’t think a video tutorial would be necessary) but enough explanations to enable someone with no prior knowledge to carry these tasks out (without having to pester the support team!).
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Thank you so much for the suggestions! I’ll look that particular section over and make some adjustments based on your recommendations.
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