Manage DNS records for your domain

If you registered your domain with CR Servers and it is not hosted on our shared web hosting, you can manage its DNS records yourself from the client area at no extra cost. Use this guide to point the domain to a VPS or dedicated server, or to connect it to an external service such as an email provider or a website builder.

Looking for a shorter checklist for your server? See Point your domain to your VPS or Point your domain to your dedicated server.

Before you start

Use this guide only if all of the following are true:

• The domain was registered with CR Servers (not a .cr or .co.cr domain, and not registered elsewhere).
• The domain does not use CR Servers shared web hosting or hosted email. Those services need the domain to stay on the CR Servers hosting nameservers (ns1.crservers.net, ns2.crservers.net, ns3.crservers.net).

Important: switching nameservers replaces every DNS record at the previous provider, including email (MX) and verification (TXT) records. Write down the records you use today before you switch, then recreate them in step 3.

If you are not sure, open a ticket and we will confirm before you change anything.

Step 1 — Check your current nameservers

1. Sign in to the client area.
2. Open Domains and select your domain.
3. Look at the Name Servers table on the domain page.

If the nameservers are dns1.name-services.com through dns5.name-services.com, your domain already uses your registrar's DNS and you can skip to step 3. If they are ns1.crservers.net, ns2.crservers.net, and ns3.crservers.net, the domain uses the CR Servers hosting nameservers.

Step 2 — Switch to your registrar's DNS

This is the DNS service included with your domain registration. It is separate from the CR Servers hosting nameservers.

1. On the domain page, open Name Servers.
2. Choose the custom nameservers option (not the option that uses the CR Servers hosting nameservers).
3. Enter these five nameservers, one per field:
   • dns1.name-services.com
   • dns2.name-services.com
   • dns3.name-services.com
   • dns4.name-services.com
   • dns5.name-services.com
4. Save your changes.

Step 3 — Add your DNS records

1. On the same domain page, open DNS Management.
2. Enter the hostname, choose the record type, and enter the address or value.
3. Save your changes.

Common records:

Goal	Hostname	Type	Value
Website on your server	@	A	Your server's IPv4 address
www version of the site	www	A	Your server's IPv4 address (same as the root record)
Any other subdomain	app, api, …	A	The IPv4 address of the server for that subdomain
Email routing	@	MX	Your mail provider's mail server and priority
Email or service verification	@	TXT	The value your provider gives you

Replace the values with the ones for your own server and services. A wildcard record (*) sends every subdomain without its own record to the address you choose.

Using the domain with an external service

If the domain is only used with a service hosted elsewhere (an email provider, a website builder, a store platform), you still manage its records here:

1. Open your provider's domain setup page and copy the records it asks for (A, CNAME, MX, or TXT).
2. Add them exactly as shown in DNS Management (step 3). Keep the hostname, type, value, and priority the provider gives you.
3. Verification records are usually TXT records. Add them, then use the provider's "verify" button once the change has propagated.
4. If the provider asks for a CNAME on the root (@), use the A records it offers instead. A CNAME cannot share the root with other records such as MX and TXT.

Step 4 — Wait and verify

• Changes are usually visible within minutes, but some networks keep the previous answers for up to a few hours.
• To check from your computer, run dig +short A yourdomain.com (or use an online DNS checker) and confirm it returns the IP you expect.
• If the domain points to your own server, make sure the server is running and its firewall allows the traffic you expect (for example ports 80 and 443 for a website).

Troubleshooting

• Records are saved but the domain does not resolve: confirm the nameservers in step 1 are the five name-services.com servers. Records saved while the domain uses other nameservers have no effect.
• The domain resolves to the wrong IP: check for an old wildcard (*) or duplicate @ record.
• Email stopped working after the switch: add your MX and TXT records again. They were not copied automatically.
• Still stuck: open a ticket with your domain name and the records you expect.