A nameserver tells the internet which servers hold your domain's DNS records. An A record is one of those records, and it maps a name like example.com to an IP address. So the two are not rivals. Nameservers decide who is in charge of your DNS, and the A record is one entry that person manages. Once you know which one you need to change, moving a website gets much less stressful.
TL;DR
- Nameservers (NS records) say which servers are authoritative for your domain. Change them to hand your whole DNS zone to a new provider.
- An A record maps a domain or subdomain to an IPv4 address. Change it to send web traffic to a different server while keeping DNS where it is.
- Changing nameservers moves every record, so the new zone must already contain your A, MX, TXT and other records. Changing an A record affects only that one name.
- Pick one approach per domain: either point nameservers at your host, or keep DNS elsewhere and add an A record there. Do not mix them up.
- Email lives in MX records, not A records, so check mail before you touch anything.
Table of Contents
- The short version: who answers vs. what the answer is
- What a nameserver actually does
- What an A record actually does
- Nameserver or A record: which should you change?
- What changes when you update each one
- NS record vs. A record: the same question, asked differently
- Where email fits in
- Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- How to check what is live
- Our view: keep DNS next to the site
- Put it into practice with inSave Hosting
- FAQ
- Sources
The short version: who answers vs. what the answer is
Think of a phone directory. The nameserver is the directory's publisher: the authority you go to for listings. The A record is a single listing inside it: this name, this address.
Microsoft's DNS documentation puts it the same way. An NS record identifies the authoritative nameservers for a domain, while an A record associates a domain name with an IP address. That one sentence is the whole difference. Everything below is about what it means in practice.
| Nameserver (NS record) | A record | |
|---|---|---|
| What it holds | The names of the servers that answer for your zone | An IPv4 address for a name |
| Question it answers | "Who is in charge of this domain's DNS?" | "Which server should this name load from?" |
| Where you usually set it | At your domain registrar | In the DNS zone, at whoever runs your nameservers |
| Scope of a change | The entire zone: web, email, verification, everything | One hostname |
| Typical values | ns1.yourhost.com, ns2.yourhost.com | 203.0.113.25 (a documentation example) |
| Typical reason to change | Moving DNS management to a new provider | Pointing a site at a new server |
What a nameserver actually does
A domain's DNS records live in a file called a zone. An authoritative nameserver is a server that stores that zone and answers questions about it. Cisco's DNS documentation explains that authoritative servers hold zone data and answer from that authoritative database, rather than from information they picked up while answering other queries.
When someone types your domain into a browser, their resolver works down the chain. It asks the root, then the .com registry (or .org, .net, and so on), and the registry replies with your nameservers. The resolver then asks those nameservers for the actual record, such as your A record, and gets the IP address back.
That is why nameservers matter so much. If they are wrong or unreachable, nothing under your domain resolves. Microsoft's guide warns that when NS records are not set up properly, people cannot load the website or reach connected apps.
Two places NS records exist
This is the detail that confuses most people. NS information appears in two places:
- At the registry (the parent zone). When you enter nameservers in your registrar's control panel, the registrar passes them up to the registry for your top-level domain. This is the delegation: it tells the world where your zone lives.
- Inside your own zone. Your zone file also lists NS records for the domain, which should match the delegation.
The settings screen at your registrar changes the first. The DNS editor at your host or DNS provider shows the second. Keep them consistent and you avoid odd, intermittent resolution problems.
Why you usually have two or more
Registries expect at least two nameservers so a single failure does not take your domain offline. Good providers spread them across different networks and locations. If you want to dig deeper into how that affects speed and resilience, our guide to DNS hosting and performance covers it.
What an A record actually does
An A record is the workhorse of web DNS. It maps a hostname to an IPv4 address. A typical zone might hold:
example.comto an A record pointing at your web serverwww.example.comto either its own A record or a CNAME to the rootshop.example.comto a different IP, if the store runs on another server
Each one is independent. You can repoint shop without touching www. You can also list several A records for one name, which spreads visitors across multiple servers.
IPv6 has its own sibling, the AAAA record. If your host gives you both an IPv4 and an IPv6 address, add both, or old AAAA records will keep sending some visitors to the previous server.
A record vs. CNAME
A CNAME is the other record people mix up with A. An A record points a name at an IP address; a CNAME maps one name to another name, and the resolver then looks up that second name to find its address. Two practical consequences:
- A CNAME cannot sit at the root of the domain (example.com itself), because the DNS specification does not allow it. The root needs an A record, or a provider-specific alias feature.
- A CNAME is handy for subdomains that should follow another hostname, such as
wwwpointing toexample.com, or a subdomain pointing to a third-party service that may change its IP.
Rule of thumb: use an A record when you have a fixed IP, and a CNAME when a service gives you a hostname instead.
Nameserver or A record: which should you change?
Both methods can send your domain to a new host. They differ in how much control you hand over.
Use nameservers when your host manages DNS
Most shared and WordPress hosts give you two nameservers. Point your domain at them and the host creates and maintains the zone, including the A record. This is the simplest route for a typical small-business site because the host's control panel handles it, and it keeps your site, DNS and SSL setup in one dashboard.
Choose this route when:
- You are moving a whole site to a new host and want one place to manage everything.
- Your registrar's DNS tools are basic and you want a fuller editor.
- You want DNS changes to be made next to your hosting settings.
Use an A record when DNS stays where it is
Sometimes you want to leave nameservers alone. Maybe your DNS is at a separate provider with a CDN or firewall in front, or email, a booking tool and a store are all wired up in an existing zone. In that case you log into the current DNS provider and edit the A record to the new server's IP.
Choose this route when:
- You have many records that must keep working exactly as they are.
- You want only the website to move, not the whole domain's DNS.
- You are pointing a single subdomain at a different server or a landing-page service.
A quick decision guide
| Your situation | Best move |
|---|---|
| New domain, new hosting plan, nothing else attached | Set nameservers to your host |
| Moving a site, but email and other services run from the current zone | Keep nameservers, edit the A record |
| Host asks you to "point the domain" and gives only an IP | Edit the A record |
| Host gives you two nameserver names | Update nameservers at your registrar |
| One subdomain moves to another service | Add or edit an A record (or a CNAME) for that subdomain |
What changes when you update each one
Updating nameservers
You replace the delegation. From that moment, resolvers are told to ask the new servers for everything. Whatever records exist in the new zone become your live DNS, and whatever was only in the old zone stops being served.
This is where outages happen. The most common mistake is switching nameservers before rebuilding the old zone at the new provider. The website may work, but email goes quiet because the MX records are missing. Before you switch:
- Export or list every record in the current zone: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, SRV.
- Recreate each one in the new zone.
- Test the new zone using the new provider's nameserver names directly if the tooling allows it.
- Only then change the nameservers at the registrar.
Our step-by-step piece on how to avoid downtime when changing nameservers on U.S. domains walks through the sequence in more detail.
After the change, expect a delay. Registries cache the delegation and resolvers cache your records, so some visitors see the new setup before others. Lowering the TTL (the cache time on your records) a day or two ahead of the move shortens the overlap. Nothing breaks if you wait; plan for hours rather than minutes, and do not make further changes while it settles.
Updating an A record
Here the delegation does not change. The same nameservers answer, but with a new IP for that name. Only the hostname you edited is affected. Email, verification records and other subdomains carry on as before.
The delay depends on the old record's TTL. If it was set to an hour, most resolvers will pick up the change within about an hour. Lower it before the move, then raise it again after.
Also check for conflicts. If you edit the A record for example.com but forget www, or leave an old AAAA record behind, some visitors land on the old server. And if your site sits behind a CDN, the A record may need to point at the CDN rather than directly at the origin.
NS record vs. A record: the same question, asked differently
Searchers often phrase this as "NS record vs A record" or "nameserver vs DNS." They are the same topic seen from different angles.
- NS record: a pointer to where your DNS records are hosted.
- A record: one of the actual records hosted there.
- DNS: the whole system. Microsoft describes DNS as the mapping of human-readable hostnames to IP addresses, with NS records naming the authoritative servers and records like A and MX directing traffic.
- Nameserver: the machine that stores and serves your zone. "Name server" and "DNS server" are often used interchangeably in everyday talk, though a DNS server can also mean a resolver that looks things up for users, which is a different job.
A subtle point for the technically curious: NS records at the top of your zone, the apex, follow rules that differ from delegations to subzones. Unless you are running your own DNS software, your provider handles this for you.
Where email fits in
Neither an NS record nor an A record tells the world where your email goes. That is the MX record's job: it points to where email for a domain should be sent. An MX record names a mail host, and that host in turn needs its own A record.
Two takeaways when you move a site:
- Changing the A record for your root domain does not move email. Mail keeps flowing to wherever the MX points.
- Changing nameservers can break email if the MX and TXT records are not copied across.
TXT records carry your sender-authentication settings, and these need the same care. If you send business email, set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC authentication so messages are not blocked, and see our guide to protecting deliverability with SPF and DKIM for the lookup limit that trips up small sites. If you run mailboxes through your host, setting up web host email explains which records to add.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Editing records in the wrong place. If your nameservers point to your host, an A record added at your registrar's DNS page does nothing. The records that count are the ones at whoever the nameservers belong to. Always confirm who is authoritative first.
Using an IP address as a nameserver. Registrars want hostnames such as ns1.yourhost.com. An IP goes in an A record, not the nameserver field.
Forgetting www. Visitors type both forms. Make sure both resolve, either with matching A records or a CNAME for www.
Leaving stale records. After a move, delete old A and AAAA records that point to the previous server, so traffic does not split.
Changing everything at once. Change one thing, confirm it works, then move on. If something breaks, you know which change caused it.
Skipping the security layer. DNSSEC signs your records so resolvers can detect tampering, and it adds a step when you change DNS providers. Our explainer on what DNSSEC is and why it matters covers how to handle it during a move.
How to check what is live
You do not have to guess. A few quick checks show the current state:
- Look up the nameservers. A WHOIS or domain lookup tool shows the delegation the registry holds.
- Query the A record. Use
dig example.com Aornslookup example.comon your computer, or a web-based DNS checker. - Query the new server directly. Ask a specific nameserver for your record with
dig @ns1.yourhost.com example.com Ato see what it will serve before the switch goes public. - Compare results from different locations. If answers differ, propagation is still under way.
If the nameservers show the old provider, you are editing the wrong zone. That one check solves a large share of "my DNS change isn't working" tickets.
Perspective
Our view: keep DNS next to the site
For most small businesses, bloggers and agencies, we think the cleanest setup is to keep DNS and hosting in the same dashboard. When the nameservers belong to your host, the A record, SSL certificate and email records are created and updated together, and there is no second login to forget about.
Our sites are managed by SRE and DevOps engineers in the EU and US, and a lot of the support questions they handle come down to one thing: a record was edited in a zone that was not actually live. That is why we ask people to check who is authoritative before they touch anything, and why free migration is part of how we work. We move the site, and you decide whether the nameservers or just the A record change.
If you are unsure, start by listing what is in your current zone. Everything in that list has to exist in the new one. Do that and the switch is routine.
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Put it into practice with inSave Hosting
If you are moving a site or starting a new one, we can make the DNS side straightforward. Register or transfer a domain and manage its records alongside your hosting from a single dashboard. Our domain registration with DNS management page shows how that works, and the guide to transferring a domain safely without downtime helps if you are bringing one over.
For the site itself, pick the plan that fits: shared hosting for a first business site, WordPress hosting for WP-focused projects, or VPS hosting when you want more control. Our offer includes free migration, daily backups and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
If you manage several sites from one account, see how multi-domain hosting keeps costs and DNS work manageable. For ongoing record upkeep, DNS management explained is a good next read.
FAQ
What is a nameserver?
A nameserver is a server that stores your domain's DNS zone and answers questions about it. Because it holds the zone data and provides authoritative answers, it is the final word on where your website and email point. You set a domain's nameservers at the registrar, usually as two or more hostnames.
Can I use an A record instead of changing nameservers?
Yes. If your DNS stays with the current provider, edit the A record there to the new server's IP address. Only that hostname moves, while email and other records stay as they are. Remember to update www and any AAAA record too.
Does changing nameservers delete my DNS records?
Not literally, since the old zone still exists at the old provider. But resolvers stop using it, so any record missing from the new zone effectively disappears. Copy every A, CNAME, MX and TXT record to the new zone first.
What is the difference between an A record and a CNAME?
An A record maps a name directly to an IPv4 address. A CNAME maps a name to another name, which then resolves to an address. A CNAME cannot be used at the root of a domain, so the root needs an A record.
Which record identifies my email server?
The MX record. It names the mail host for your domain, and that host name needs its own A record. Changing your website's A record does not move email.
Sources
- DNS basics, Microsoft 365 admin, Microsoft Learn
- Cisco Prime Network Registrar 10.1 Caching and Authoritative DNS Guide
- A Record vs. CNAME: What's the difference, Valimail