If you register a domain with us, you can manage its DNS (the records that point your domain at your website, email and other services) from the Prostack portal. You don't need a hosting plan with us to do this.
Before you start
- Your domain must be Active in the portal.
- You need to be the account owner, or a user with the Manage Domains permission.
- If your domain is hosted with us on a cPanel plan, its DNS is managed in cPanel instead. See If you have hosting with us below.
Open the DNS page
- Log in to the Prostack portal.
- Go to Domains → My Domains and click the domain.
- In the Actions panel on the left, click Manage DNS.
Turn on DNS hosting
The first time you open the page, you'll see one of two buttons:
- Enable DNS: your domain already uses our nameservers. Click it to start adding records.
- Set up DNS: your domain currently uses another provider's nameservers (for example Cloudflare). See Moving your DNS to us below.
Add a record
- Under Add record, fill in:
- Name: the part before your domain, such as
wwwormail. Use@for the domain itself (for exampleexample.co.uk). - Type: the kind of record (see the table below). The help text under the form changes to match.
- TTL: how long, in seconds, other servers may cache the record.
3600(one hour) is a good default. - Priority: only for MX and SRV records. Lower numbers are tried first.
- Value: where the record points.
- Name: the part before your domain, such as
- Click Add.
| Type | Use it for | Example value |
|---|---|---|
| A | Pointing a name at a server's IPv4 address | 203.0.113.10 |
| AAAA | Pointing a name at a server's IPv6 address | 2001:db8::10 |
| CNAME | Making a name an alias of another hostname (not allowed on @) |
forwarder.mydomain.com |
| MX | Telling the world where to deliver your email | smtp.google.com (priority 1) |
| TXT | SPF, DKIM, DMARC and verification codes from other services | v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all |
| SRV | Services such as Microsoft Teams or SIP: weight, port and target | 1 443 sipdir.online.lync.com (priority 100) |
| CAA | Choosing which certificate authorities may issue SSL certificates | 0 issue "letsencrypt.org" |
| NS | Delegating a subdomain to someone else's nameservers (not allowed on @) |
ns1.example.net |
| TLSA, SSHFP, DS | Advanced: DANE, SSH fingerprints and DNSSEC for delegated subdomains | As given by your provider |
When a service such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or a website builder asks you to add a record, copy its name, type and value exactly as given. If they show the name in full (for example www.example.co.uk), that's fine: we'll trim your domain off for you.
Edit or delete a record
- To change a record, click the pencil icon next to it. The record loads into the form; make your changes and click Save. Click Cancel editing to stop without saving.
- To remove a record, click the bin icon and confirm.
Changes usually take effect within a few minutes, but other servers may keep using the old value until its TTL runs out.
Moving your DNS to us
If your domain currently uses another DNS provider, you can set everything up here first and switch over with no downtime.
- Click Set up DNS. Leave Copy my current records ticked to bring across your website, email and common verification records automatically.
- Check the records carefully, and add anything that's missing. We copy the most common records, but other subdomains have to be added by hand, so compare against your current provider's list.
- When everything looks right, click Switch to Prostack nameservers. Your records go live once the change has spread, which usually takes a few hours.
Moving from Cloudflare? If Cloudflare was proxying your website (an orange cloud next to the record), the copied website records point at Cloudflare rather than your server. Replace them with your server's real IP address before you switch, or your website will stop working. Your web host can tell you the right address.
If you have hosting with us
- Already hosted on cPanel: the DNS page will say your DNS is managed in your hosting control panel. Use Zone Editor in cPanel instead.
- Buying hosting later: when your new cPanel account is set up, your records are moved into it automatically, and you then manage DNS in cPanel. Your hosting account's own website records replace the old ones, so if you had pointed
wwwsomewhere else, set that again in cPanel. - Adding the domain to an existing hosting account: on the DNS page, use Move into a hosting account and choose the account. The domain is added as an addon domain, with your records carried over.
Troubleshooting
I can't see Manage DNS.
Check the domain is Active, and that your user has the Manage Domains permission. The account owner can change permissions under Account → User Management.
"A CNAME can't be added where other records already exist for that name."
A CNAME has to be the only record at its name. Remove the other records at that name first, or use an A record instead.
"That subdomain is delegated to other nameservers."
That name has NS records, so its DNS is managed by the nameservers they point to. Add the record there instead, or remove the NS records first.
"Too many DNS changes in the last hour."
You can make up to 60 changes an hour. Wait until the next hour and try again.
"DNS for this domain can't be managed right now" or "being moved into a hosting account".
Please open a support ticket and we'll sort it out.
My changes aren't showing yet.
Other servers may be caching the old value until its TTL runs out, usually up to an hour. If your domain isn't on our nameservers yet, the DNS page will say your records aren't live.
Need a hand? Open a support ticket and we'll help you set things up.
