Namecheap is a popular, affordable place to buy domains. But once you own the domain, connecting it to your website and email means editing DNS records — and that is where most people get stuck. Here is what each setting does and how to get it right.
Nameservers vs. DNS records
First decision: will you manage DNS at Namecheap (BasicDNS) or somewhere else like your host or Cloudflare? If your host gave you nameservers, set them under Domain → Nameservers → Custom DNS. Otherwise, keep Namecheap's BasicDNS and edit records under Advanced DNS.
Pointing the domain to your website
- A record: points your root domain (yoursite.com) to your server's IP address.
- CNAME record: points www (or other subdomains) to another hostname.
- URL redirect: Namecheap can forward the domain to another address if you don't host it yourself.
After changes, DNS can take a little while to update worldwide. Confirm everything resolved correctly with our free DNS health checker.
Setting up email
Email needs MX records pointing to your mail provider, plus SPF and DMARC records so your messages don't land in spam. Get these wrong and email silently fails. Test your setup with our email deliverability checker.
Don't forget SSL
Once the domain points to your site, make sure HTTPS is active so visitors see the padlock. You can verify it with our SSL checker.
We'll connect it for you
Domains, DNS, email, and SSL are exactly what we manage day to day. If you'd rather not touch DNS records, our hosting and business email services handle all of it. Just reach out.