SiteSmith

Your domain, step by step

Customer sign-in

Put your new website on your domain at DreamHost

About 15 minutes. You change three settings at DreamHost. Your domain stays where it is and your email keeps working. Your panel checks each setting for you as you make it.

You need your DreamHost sign-in. Keep the Domain tab of your SiteSmith panel open: you copy your site's address from it in step 7. At DreamHost the old website is switched off first, in step 4. Your email at DreamHost stays as it is.

The three settings

TypeNameValue
CNAMEwwwyour site's address — copy it from the Domain tab of your panel
A@137.66.50.77
AAAA@2a09:8280:1:0:0:1a0:bb93:0

@ means the domain itself; some screens call it the "host" or leave it blank. Leave every other setting exactly as it is: your email depends on them.

Step by step

  1. Sign in to DreamHost

    Go to panel.dreamhost.com. Type the email address and password of your DreamHost account and click Sign In. If DreamHost asks for a code, type it and click Sign In again.

  2. Remove the old website's padlock certificate

    In the menu on the left, click Websites, then Manage Websites. Click the three dots ⋮ next to your domain, then SSL Security. Click Remove Certificate, tick the box, and click Proceed with Certificate Removal.
    DreamHost's help says this has to go first, or the old website's settings stay in place. Your new website comes with its own padlock. No certificate there? Go on to the next step.

    DreamHost's Manage Websites page with the three-dots menu open and SSL Security circled
    Tap the picture to see it bigger.

  3. Open your website's settings

    In the menu on the left, click Manage Websites. Click Manage next to your domain.

  4. Switch the old website off: Set to DNS Only

    Click the Settings tab. Under Non-Hosting Options, click Set to DNS Only to open it. Click the Set to DNS Only button, then the red Yes, Set to DNS Only.
    Do this only once your new website is ready. It takes your old website off the internet at DreamHost, so your domain can show the new one. DreamHost's help says this changes only the website: your email at DreamHost keeps working, your old files stay on DreamHost's server, and your hosting plan stays open.

    The Settings tab of the website at DreamHost, Non-Hosting Options, with the red Yes, Set to DNS Only button circled
    Tap the picture to see it bigger.

  5. Open DNS Settings

    Go back to Manage Websites. Click the three dots ⋮ next to your domain, then DNS Settings. You see the list of your domain's records.

    DreamHost's Manage Websites page with the three-dots menu open and DNS Settings circled
    Tap the picture to see it bigger.

  6. Start the www record

    Click Add Record. A box opens with the record types. Point at CNAME Record and click ADD.

    The record types box at DreamHost with ADD next to CNAME Record circled
    Tap the picture to see it bigger.

  7. Fill in the www record

    In Host, type www. In Points to, paste your site's address from the Domain tab of your panel. Click Add Record.

    The CNAME form at DreamHost with www in Host, the site's address in Points to, and Add Record circled
    Tap the picture to see it bigger.

  8. Add the A record

    Click Add Record again. Point at A Record and click ADD. Leave Host empty: empty means the domain itself. In Points to, type the A address from the table above. Click Add Record.

    The A form at DreamHost with Host left empty, the A address in Points to, and Add Record circled
    Tap the picture to see it bigger.

  9. Add the AAAA record

    Click Add Record once more. Point at AAAA Record and click ADD. Leave Host empty. In Points to, type the AAAA address from the table above. Click Add Record.

    The AAAA form at DreamHost with Host left empty, the AAAA address in Points to, and Add Record circled
    Tap the picture to see it bigger.

  10. Check it in your panel

    Open the Domain tab in your panel and click Check my settings again. Each setting says done once the internet sees it. DreamHost says this can take a few hours. We email you the moment your new site shows on your domain.

Good to know

Do not change your nameservers, or any record of type MX or TXT. Those carry your email.

Is your email at DreamHost? Set to DNS Only leaves it working. Do not close your DreamHost hosting plan, though: DreamHost's help says email then needs a separate email plan. Ask in your panel's Help tab before you close anything.

Is your old website on DreamPress? DreamHost's help says DreamPress has no Set to DNS Only, and that the switch deletes DreamPress files. Stop before step 4 and ask in your panel's Help tab.

No Set to DNS Only on the Settings tab because your domain has no website at DreamHost? Then there is nothing to switch off: go on with step 5.

DreamHost says You already have a record for this name? The old website is still switched on. Do step 4 first, then add the record again.

If DNS Settings already lists a www record, or an A or AAAA record with an empty name, that you did not add today, ask in your panel's Help tab before you add yours.

Stuck, or not sure?

Open the Help tab in your panel and write what you see, in your own words. We answer within minutes and walk you through it.

Changed your mind? At DreamHost, going back takes two things: delete the three records you added, and add hosting to the domain again (DreamHost's help says that brings the old settings back). Ask in your panel's Help tab and we do it with you.

Based on DreamHost's own help pages: Adding custom DNS records, Setting your domain to 'DNS Only', Remove an SSL certificate, Website settings overview, DreamHost control panel overview. The pictures are our own simplified drawings of DreamHost's screens, not copies of them; DreamHost's screens may look slightly different. DreamHost is a trademark of its owner; SiteSmith is not affiliated with DreamHost. Last checked 2026-10-25.