How to point a domain name to VPS using A records and custom nameservers

To use a custom domain name with a virtual private server (VPS), you must make a few DNS changes. Otherwise, your website will become inaccessible since the DNS server can’t resolve your domain into its IP address.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to point a domain name to VPS using three methods – changing the A record, configuring Cloudflare, or using custom nameservers.

Locating details

Before proceeding, purchase a domain name from a registrar. In this example, we will use Hostinger. To future-proof and protect your branding, make sure to consider our Domain Bundle deal as well.

Keep in mind that the steps may differ depending on your domain registrar.

After setting up your Linux VPS, open Hostinger’s hosting control panel, hPanel. Click VPS and select Manage for the server in question. On the VPS information tab, copy your server IP address.

How to point a domain name to VPS

In this section, we’ll explain three methods to point a domain name to your VPS, from the easiest to the most advanced. Since the outcome is the same, choose whichever suits your needs.

Point a domain to VPS using the A record

The easiest way to point your domain is by modifying the A record type in your current DNS zone.

This method will keep your DNS zone file and existing record entries at the current provider. The approach is ideal for beginners or users who don’t want to alter their DNS zone location.

Before proceeding, use a DNS lookup tool to find the NS records and check your domain name’s current pointing location. Alternatively, use the dig command via Terminal:

dig NS +short domain.tld

If you purchased the domain from Hostinger, you can easily change the DNS record entries via hPanel:

1. Navigate to hPanel → Domains → Domain Portfolio and select Manage for the domain in question.
2. Click DNS/Nameservers on the sidebar.
3. In the DNS records tab, go to the Manage DNS records section.
4. Find an existing A and CNAME record type in the DNS zone and replace their value with your VPS IP address.

Your DNS entries may look different depending on the approach. If you use two A records for the domain and www subdomain, here’s how the entries should look:

Name	TTL	Type	Address
example.com	14400	A	123.12.123.12
www.example.com	14400	A	123.12.123.13

Meanwhile, the entries should look like this if you use A and CNAME records setup for the domain and subdomain:

Name	TTL	Type	Address
example.com	14400	A	123.12.123.12
www.example.com	14400	CNAME	example.com

After you point the domain to the virtual private server, check whether the entries were added correctly. Use DNS checkup tools or enter the dig command via Terminal:

dig A +short domain.tld

If configured correctly, Terminal will return your VPS’s IP address as the A record. The DNS propagation time may take up to 24 hours, but flushing DNS can help speed up the process.

Once it’s complete, you will see a default loading page when visiting your domain.

Point a domain to VPS via Cloudflare

Pointing a domain via Cloudflare requires extra steps. Fortunately, the procedure is similar regardless of your VPS hosting control panel.

In addition to changing the A record in DNS settings, you must assign the Cloudflare nameservers to your domain name.

To start, follow these steps to add your domain to Cloudflare:

1. Create a new Cloudflare account.
2. On the main dashboard, click Add site.
3. Enter your domain name and click the Add site button.
4. Select the free plan.
5. Review the root domain records. Ensure the A record type points to your VPS IP address. Then, click continue.
6. Copy both the Cloudflare nameservers and paste them into a text editor.

Now, change the nameservers on your registrar’s domain management panel. Here’s how to do it on Hostinger:

1. Navigate to hPanel → Domains → Domain Portfolio. Select Manage for the domain in question.
2. On the Domain Overview page, click Edit next to DNS/Nameservers.
3. Select Change Nameservers.
4. Paste the nameservers. Leave the other fields blank.
5. Click Save.

Flush DNS to speed up propagation and wait until your domain becomes accessible. To verify if the DNS records are set up correctly, use a lookup tool or enter dig in Terminal.

Point a domain to VPS using custom nameservers

Pointing a domain via custom nameservers is trickier, as you must set up a new DNS zone on the virtual server. However, it allows you to use hPanel to control the domain for easier management.

This method will switch your DNS zone location to the VPS. This means you can manage all DNS-related settings in the newly created zone. To do so, follow these steps:

1. On hPanel, navigate to Domains → Domain Portfolio. Select Manage for the domain in question.
2. Then, click on DNS / Nameservers on the left side menu and navigate to the Child nameservers tab.
3. Enter your desired child nameservers, like ns1.domain.tld and ns2.domain.tld.
4. Enter your VPS dedicated IP address in both fields.
5. Click Save.

After completing the child nameservers setup, create a DNS zone on your Hostinger VPS hosting account. Before proceeding, run this command to ensure your VPS has the BIND service:

named -v

If you use Hostinger’s VPS operating system templates, it should be pre-installed. Otherwise, download and install BIND on your Linux machine. Then, follow these steps to set up the DNS zone on your VPS:

1. Connect to your VPS via SSH using Terminal or applications like PuTTY.
2. Enter the following to change the working directory:

cd /etc/bind

3. Then, create a separate folder for the DNS zone files:

mkdir -p zones

4. Access the newly created directory:

cd zones

5. Use the nano command to create a new zone file for your domain. Replace domain.tld with your domain name:

nano domain.tld

6. Enter the following snippet and replace the placeholder with your VPS IP address:

;
; BIND data file for domain.tld
;
$TTL    3h
@       IN      SOA     ns1.domain.tld. admin.domain.tld. (
 1        ; Serial
                         3h       ; Refresh after 3 hours
                         1h       ; Retry after 1 hour
                         1w       ; Expire after 1 week
                         1h )     ; Negative caching TTL of 1 day
;
@       IN      NS      ns1.domain.tld.
@       IN      NS      ns2.domain.tld.
domain.tld.    IN      MX      10      domain.tld.
domain.tld.    IN      A       123.12.123.12
ns1                     IN      A       123.12.123.12
ns2                     IN      A       123.12.123.13
www                     IN      CNAME   domain.tld.
mail                    IN      A       123.12.123.12
ftp                     IN      CNAME   domain.tld.

7. Press CTRL + X to save and confirm the changes.
8. On a new line, enter the following command to insert the zone file with the default bind configuration for DNS:

cd /etc/bind

nano named.conf.local

9. Add the following lines at the bottom, and make sure to edit the file name with the real values:

zone "domain.tld" {
      type master;
      file "/etc/bind/zones/domain.tld";
};

10. Edit the named.conf.options file using the nano command to change the DNS forwarder. We recommend using a stable DNS forwarder like Google Public DNS:

nano named.conf.options

11. Locate the following lines and change 0.0.0.0 to the forwarder’s DNS address:

// forwarders {
//      0.0.0.0;
// };

After adding the values, execute this command to check if the DNS zone file syntax is correct:

named-checkzone domain.tld /etc/bind/zones/domain.tld

If the syntax is correct, the output should be similar to:

After ensuring the file is correctly configured, run these commands to restart the DNS bind service:

/etc/init.d/bind9 restart

/etc/init.d/bind9 start

Once the DNS zone is set, change your domain nameservers to the new ones.

To point your domain to Hostinger, go to hPanel → Domains → Domain Portfolio. Click Manage for the domain in question and click Edit next to the nameservers.

Wait for the DNS propagation process and check the status using checkup tools or Terminal. Then, access your domain via a web browser to verify if it’s configured correctly.

Setting up reverse DNS record

You may need to set up a reverse DNS record for various reasons, like tracking users or the origin of an email. It lets the DNS server resolve your VPS IP address to the domain name, not the opposite.

To set up a reverse DNS, Hostinger users can add a pointer (PTR) record to VPS via hPanel. Here are the steps:

1. On hPanel, click VPS on the sidebar.
2. Select Manage for the VPS in question and click Settings on the sidebar.
3. Click the IP address tab → Set PTR record.
4. Enter your domain name and click Save.

Once added, wait until the DNS servers fully propagate the PTR record.

Conclusion

Pointing your domain name to VPS is essential to make your website accessible online. In this tutorial, we have explained three different methods to do so:

1. Changing CNAME and A records via the domain’s registrar DNS settings.
2. Assigning VPS IP address to the A records and using Cloudflare’s nameservers.
3. Creating custom nameservers and setting up the DNS zone on your VPS.

After changing the DNS settings, wait 24 hours until the propagation process is finished. Once the domain starts working, use the VPS to host your website or web applications.

How to point a domain name to VPS FAQ

In this section, we will answer several questions about how to point a domain name to VPS. If yours remains unanswered, leave it under the comments section below.