Ready to launch?

You will need access to your DNS information in order for Xdesign to launch your website. Below are different ways of locating your DNS registration. You can provide Xdesign with the login credentials to your DNS provider, or Xdesign can provide instructions on what will need to be changed in your DNS settings once your website is ready to launch.

What is the difference between DNS & Hosting?

In simple terms, DNS helps your computer find the website you want to visit by translating its name into an address, while hosting provides the place where all the files that make up the website live.

DNS (Domain Name System)

DNS is like a phone book for the internet. When you type a website's name (like google.com) into your browser, your computer doesn't actually know where that website is located. It needs to ask a DNS server to find out the website's unique address, which is called an IP address (kind of like a phone number). Once your computer knows the IP address, it can connect to the website's server and load the page.

Hosting

Hosting is like renting space on the internet to store your website's files. Just like you need a physical space to keep your belongings, websites need a digital space to store their files, like HTML, images, videos, etc. When you buy hosting, you're essentially renting a spot on a special computer called a server that's connected to the internet 24/7. This server stores all the files that make up your website and delivers them to visitors when they type in your domain name.

If you work with Xdesign, we will provide you with hosting services unless you’ve specifically requested to handle them internally. Thus, Xdesign will not need access to your current hosting information.

How do I find my domain access:

Ask your IT department/provider

We recommend starting here if you don’t readily know where your DNS is registered. Typically, your IT department will have this information and can either provide us access or we can provide them with the information that will need to be updated in order to launch your website.

If that’s a dead-end, here are two more ways to find your DNS registration.

Search Your Billing Records

Typically, your domain host is the entity from which you initially purchased your domain name. If you're uncertain about your domain host, search through your and your team’s email archives for billing records pertaining to the registration or transfer of your domain name. Use search terms such as “DNS Registration” and “Domain Name”. Your domain host's information is usually included in your invoice.

Some of the most popular domain hosts are GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Namecheap, Enom, and DreamHost. You can also search for those terms in your emails.

Utilizing ICANN Lookup

If your billing records are inaccessible, you can conduct an online search to identify your domain host. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit organization, maintains a database of domain information. You can find your domain host by using the ICANN Lookup tool.

1. Go to lookup.icann.org.
2. In the search field, enter your domain name and click Lookup.
3. On the results page, scroll down to Registrar Information.
4. The registrar is usually your domain host.

Once you have that information, go to the domain host website and log in, or begin the password recovery process.

Finding your DNS access can be frustrating. It often involves searching past employees' inboxes and maybe even calling that IT person from 15 years ago who worked at the company. We start the domain access process early in website development to ensure that we don’t run into issues when it comes time to launch your site.