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How to Manage the DNS Zone on DigitalOcean

This guide shows how to manage the DNS records of a domain on DigitalOcean. You can use it to point your domain to your Hostvento hosting.

Domains and DNS2 min read9 steps

What is a DNS zone?

DNS is like a phone book for the internet. It turns a website name into a number that computers understand. A DNS zone is the page of that phone book that belongs to your domain. It holds small entries called records. Each record says where something goes, such as your website or your email.

DigitalOcean does not sell domain names. It hosts the DNS zone for a domain you bought elsewhere. This works only when your domain's nameservers point to DigitalOcean. Nameservers are the computers that hold the zone.

Warning: A wrong record can take your website or email offline. Write down the old values before you change anything.

Before you start

  • Have your DigitalOcean login ready.
  • Find the values you need to add. For Hostvento hosting, the server IP address is in your welcome email. If you cannot find it, ask Hostvento support.

Steps

  1. Log in to the DigitalOcean control panel.
  2. Click Networking in the left menu.
  3. Open the Domains tab.
  4. If your domain is not listed, type its name in the box and click Add Domain.
  5. Click the domain name to open its records.
  6. Use the form to create a record. Pick the type, such as A, and fill in the host name and the value. An A record links a name to an IP address. A CNAME record links one name to another name. An MX record tells the world where email goes.
  7. Click Create Record.
  8. To change or delete a record, use the More menu on its row.
  9. Go to the company where you bought the domain. Set the nameservers to the ones DigitalOcean shows: ns1.digitalocean.com, ns2.digitalocean.com and ns3.digitalocean.com.

After the change

DNS changes do not show at once. They can take from a few minutes to some hours to spread. This waiting time is called propagation. Clear your browser cache and test again later.

Tip: An @ in the host field means the bare domain, such as example.com.

Need help with the Hostvento side? Open a support ticket.

Quick recap

  • A DNS zone holds the records of your domain.
  • In DigitalOcean, use Networking then Domains.
  • Add the domain, then create your records.
  • Point the domain's nameservers to DigitalOcean.
  • Allow time for changes to spread.