Namecheap domains: connecting to a new website

To connect a Namecheap domain to a new website, open Domain List, click Manage next to the domain, and go to the Advanced DNS tab. Delete Namecheap's parking and redirect records, add an A record for "@" and a CNAME for "www" with the values from your new website provider, and leave the Mail Settings section as it is. It takes about ten minutes, and the change usually shows within half an hour to a few hours.

First, check the nameserver setting

Namecheap only uses the records on its Advanced DNS tab if the domain is set to use Namecheap's own DNS. Check before you edit anything:

1. Sign in to Namecheap and open Domain List from the left-hand menu.
2. Click Manage next to your domain.
3. On the Domain tab, find the Nameservers section.

You will see one of these:

• Namecheap BasicDNS (or PremiumDNS): Namecheap holds your records. Carry on to the Advanced DNS tab.
• Namecheap Web Hosting DNS: your records live in your Namecheap hosting account's control panel, in the zone editor, not on the Advanced DNS tab. Make the changes there.
• Custom DNS with names like "ns1.someotherhost.com": another company holds your records. Edit them there; anything on Advanced DNS is ignored.

Do not switch this setting just to get to the records. Changing nameservers moves the whole set of records, email included, and is a bigger step than you need. Nameservers vs DNS records explains the difference if you are unsure.

What a fresh Namecheap domain has on Advanced DNS

Open the Advanced DNS tab. In the Host Records section, a domain that has never been pointed anywhere usually shows two records:

• CNAME Record, host www, value parkingpage.namecheap.com. This shows Namecheap's parking page.
• URL Redirect Record, host @, value http://www.yourdomain.com. This sends the bare domain to the www version, which then shows the parking page.

Both need to go. If your domain has been used before, you may also see A records from an old host, or records a previous designer added. Take a screenshot of the whole tab, including the Mail Settings section further down, before you change anything.

Adding the new website records

Have the values from your new website provider in front of you.

1. Delete the URL Redirect Record for @. Click the trash icon on its row. If you leave it, the bare domain keeps redirecting, whatever else you add.
2. Delete or edit the www CNAME. Change its value from the parking page to the target your provider gave you, or delete it and add a new one.
3. Add an A Record. Click Add New Record, choose A Record, type "@" as the host, paste the IP address as the value, and leave TTL on Automatic.
4. Add the www record if you deleted it. Choose CNAME Record, host "www", and paste the target. If your provider wants an A record for www, add that instead.
5. Remove old A or AAAA records for "@" or "www" that point at a previous host, unless your provider asked for them.
6. Click the green check mark on each new row. Namecheap does not save a row until you do; this is the step most people miss. Then use Save All Changes if it appears.

We keep a step-by-step page for connecting a Namecheap domain, with the screens to look for.

Leave Mail Settings alone

Further down the Advanced DNS tab is a section called Mail Settings, with a drop-down. Its options include things like no email service, email forwarding, Namecheap's Private Email, Gmail, and Custom MX. Whatever it shows now is what keeps your email working.

• Email Forwarding means Namecheap forwards messages for your domain to another inbox, often a Gmail. Fine for a start, with limits. Email forwarding vs a real mailbox explains when it is enough.
• Private Email means you use Namecheap's own mailboxes.
• Custom MX with Google or Microsoft addresses means your mail is with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.

Changing the website does not need any change here. Also leave alone TXT records in the Host Records list that start with "v=spf1" or contain verification codes, and anything with "_domainkey" or "_dmarc" in the host. They help your email reach inboxes.

Redirect Domain on the Domain tab

Namecheap has a second place where forwarding can hide: the Redirect Domain section on the Domain tab. If an old redirect is listed there, the domain will keep sending visitors to it. Remove it unless you deliberately want the domain to forward somewhere.

If your old website was on Namecheap hosting

If the domain has been on Namecheap shared hosting, its nameservers may be set to Namecheap Web Hosting DNS, as mentioned above. In that case:

• Log in to your hosting control panel and open the zone editor.
• Change the A record for the domain and the www record there.
• Leave the mail records in the zone editor as they are, especially if your mailboxes are on the hosting account.
• Keep the hosting running until the new site is confirmed working and you have moved any mailboxes off it.

Checking the result

Namecheap changes are often visible within half an hour. To check:

• On your phone, with Wi-Fi off, open "yourdomain.com" and "www.yourdomain.com".
• Look for the padlock. Your new provider usually issues the security certificate automatically once the records point at it.
• Send an email to your business address from another account and reply to it.

If the parking page still shows, the most likely cause is a row you added but never confirmed with the green check mark, or the URL Redirect record still in place. How long a domain change takes explains how to tell real waiting from a setup mistake.

Your Namecheap list

• Check the Nameservers setting on the Domain tab.
• Screenshot Advanced DNS, including Mail Settings.
• Delete the URL Redirect and parking CNAME.
• Add the A record for @ and the www record, and click the check mark on each.
• Check the Redirect Domain section.
• Test the site on your phone and test email.

If you would like a new website to point it at first, you can see your site rebuilt first and come back to Advanced DNS once it is ready.