How to resolve the external domain name bound to GreenGeeks host?

If you purchase a GreenGeeks host but use a domain name other than greengeeks, you will find that it is impossible to resolve the domain name by just adding an A record or something to the DNS as usual. This is because of their security mechanism to protect user data security. Therefore, when resolving the greengeeks domain name (external domain name), it can be said that you are forced to change the original domain name server (called Name Server in English or NS for short) to the GreenGeeks domain name server. This article will share with you the specific steps.

Why GreenGeeks failed to resolve the domain name (external domain name)

Greengeeks may not be as famous as SiteGround, Hostinger, Bluehost and other hosts, but it has become quite popular abroad in recent years. It is a hosting provider that uses renewable energy to power its hosts and has hosted more than 50W websites. .

Some people bought greengeeks but registered the domain name with a third party. When adding DNS records to resolve the Greengeeks host, they found that it was useless. This is because of their security mechanism to protect user data security. Therefore, when resolving the greengeeks domain name (external domain name), it can be said that you are forced to change the original domain name server (called Name Server in English or NS for short) to the GreenGeeks domain name server.

Change domain name server (NS)

Changing the domain name server (replacing it with NS in the following) is indeed a simpler domain name resolution method. You only need to find the NS of the new host, then go to the DNS management panel of the domain name provider you purchased to replace the original NS, and then Just wait for the propagation and parsing to be successful. The only problem is that when you want to use a CDN in the future, you have to change the domain name server.

Step 1. Find their NS (domain name server) in the GreenGeeks backend

Generally speaking, hosting providers encourage users to change the third-party domain name server to theirs, which is easier to manage and safer. However, sometimes when using other third-party services such as CDN, you have to change the domain name server to the third-party domain name server. Third-party service, so many tutorials do not recommend you to change NS. However, it is indeed more convenient and simple for novices to change NS. Host providers usually provide their NS in the background of your account.

GreenGeeks' NS can be found by clicking on Hosting->the host you purchased->Manage in the backend panel.

chi-ns1.greengeeks.com
chi-ns2.greengeeks.com
ams-ns1.greengeeks.com

You can copy the NS above and replace the original domain name NS one by one.

Step 2. Enter the domain name registrar backend to change NS

No matter where you buy the domain name, there is a DNS management panel. I use namesilo. Find the domain manager and click on the domain name that needs to be modified by NS. See the following page

See NameServers, click Change, copy the NS just found in GreenGeeks, replace it one by one, submit and save.

Step 3. Wait for the domain name server to take effect

Generally, domain name resolution has a certain propagation and effective time. Generally, it is propagated within 1 to 48 hours, and some are very fast. For example, cloudflare's domain name server only takes a few minutes, maybe because they are CDNs. Normally, one hour is definitely an hour, so just wait during this time.

To know whether the resolution is complete, please log in to the website whatsmydns.net, enter your domain name, and then select the resolution type as NS

Check whether all areas have turned green. The parsing must be completed only when all areas have turned green. If you are testing locally, PING your own domain name to see where the IP points to, or directly open the domain name and see Whether it is website content.

Add domain name DNS record

Although it is useless for GreenGeeks to directly add A records to DNS, in fact you still have a way, but you need to add a few more NS records. Essentially, you still need to use GreenGeeks’ domain name server, but you need to The original domain name provider provides NS records, but Namesilo does not seem to provide them.

Cloudflare provides adding NS records. Take a look at the steps to add NS records.

Step 1. You need to add the NS record of GreenGeeks in DNS

These records were provided to me by customer service:

Name/Hostname: _acme-challenge

NameServer:
chi-ns1.greengeeks.com
chi-ns2.greengeeks.com
ams-ns1.greengeeks.com

Look at the picture below and add:

Name is filled in _acme-challenge, and then there is one line for each nameserver, which is equivalent to adding three NS records. After that, you can add A records, CNAME, etc. and resolve them directly just like resolving to other hosting providers. But this method feels not as convenient as directly changing NS.

Conclusion

GreenGeeks actually restricts adding A records directly through the original server to point to the host IP. If you know the two resolution methods, this is not a problem at all. They are mainly for security. Is domain name resolution difficult? It’s not easy. If you are not a practitioner in the IT industry and just want to build your own business website, then it is strongly recommended to register the domain name directly with the hosting provider. This will also facilitate the management of the host and domain name. If it is not possible, you can also go to the hosting provider to handle it directly.

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