How Do I Connect My Domain to My Website? A 123 Reg Guide
If you’ve bought a domain together with a 123 Reg plan like Website Builder or Managed WordPress Hosting, the chances are it’s already connected — so once you’ve hit publish, it should appear when someone visits your web address. There are other times when you’ll need to connect it yourself. For example, if the domain is in a different account, if you’re switching to a different hosting plan, or if your site is hosted somewhere else. This guide explains how the connection works, and what to do if you need to manually “point” your domain to 123 Reg hosting or a third-party website. Why do you need to connect your domain? Your domain name is what people type in to find your site, like “your-big-idea.co.uk”. Your website is the content you’ve built using an easy tool like Website Builder or Managed WordPress Hosting, or perhaps even one you’ve set up yourself with hosting. On their own, they don’t link up. Connecting them makes sure that when someone enters your domain, they’re taken to your website. If your domain isn’t connected to your website, people won’t be able to reach your site through your main web address. Your website might still exist on a temporary address, but your domain won’t take visitors there until it’s linked properly. It’s a bit like putting a house name on your front door. Connecting your domain is that simple final step that turns your web address into a real destination for visitors. This is also important because it helps search engines understand where your site lives. When your domain is connected, Google can find and show your pages in results, which helps people find you more easily over time. How do I connect my domain to a website? There are two main ways this usually works. In many cases, the connection is already set up for you, or you can quickly assign your domain inside your 123 Reg Control Panel. Otherwise, you may need to point the domain yourself so it links to the right website. ☐ Automatic or guided connection (common when bought together) When your domain and website product (like Website Builder or Managed WordPress) are in the same 123 Reg account, they’re often linked during setup or shown as ready to connect. In most cases, you just choose the domain and assign it to your site in your Control Panel. ☐ Manual connection (when they aren’t already linked) If the domain isn’t already assigned, you can connect it from inside your website product settings by selecting the correct domain and linking it to your site. If your website is hosted outside of 123 Reg, you’ll need to point your domain using DNS records or nameservers instead. What you need before you connect your domain Before you start, it helps to have a few things ready: ✓ A domain registered with 123 Reg (or one you’re happy to move or connect). ✓ A live website already built, whether with 123 Reg hosting or a third-party provider. ✓ Access to your 123 Reg account and the product where your site is managed (for example, Website Builder or your hosting control panel). If you’re using 123 Reg Website Builder, it’s a little easier when both the domain and the site are in the same 123 Reg account, so it’s worth checking that first. Can I use more than one domain for the same website? Yes! And it can actually be a good idea. You can register multiple domains in your 123 Reg account and point them all to the same website. That helps you cover different versions of your name, common misspellings, or alternative endings, so people still find you even if they don’t type the exact address. What should I do if your 123 Reg domain is in a different account? If your domain is with 123 Reg but sits in a different account to your Website Builder site, you won’t be able to connect it straight away. The domain needs to be in the same 123 Reg account as your Website Builder product before it can be linked. You’ll need to transfer the domain into the correct account first. Once that’s done, you can continue with the normal steps. How to connect my 123 Reg domain to my Website Builder site Start by going to your 123 Reg My Products page. In Websites + Marketing, select Manage next to your website. From your dashboard, select Edit Website to open Website Builder (like you would if you were going to edit your site). From there, go into Settings in the right-hand menu and click Manage. You’ll see the domains in your 123 Reg account in the dropdown under “My Domain”. Simply choose the domain you want to use, then click Save & Publish to connect it to your site. In most cases, the change happens within a few minutes, but it can take up to 72 hours to fully update. For more, see our Support article: Connect your Website Builder site to a new domain Connecting your Website Builder site to an external domain You’ll also see an option to Add an external domain. This is for domains that aren’t already set up in the same account or aren’t currently linked to your Website Builder site. When you choose this option, your domain needs to be pointing to your Website Builder site using an A record. This is a DNS setting that connects your domain to your website using an IP address. You’ll find the correct A record details in your Website Builder settings when you select Add an external domain. Then, tick the box that says “Yes, my domain’s A record has been updated”, and click Save & Publish to complete the connection. For more help, see our Support article: Connect my Website Builder site to a domain registered outside of 123 Reg Once your domain is connected, your website is ready for visitors. You can check
What is DNS? How Do Websites Get Found Online?
Ever wondered how typing a simple website name seems to magically take you to the right place? The answer lies in the Domain Name System (DNS) and Nameservers. Understanding what happens behind the scenes might seem technical, but it’s foundational to how we navigate the internet. While you don’t need to know the ins and outs of DNS to get a great website up and running, there may be occasions when it’s necessary to make changes. DNS and Nameservers: The Basics You can think of the Domain Name System (DNS) as a giant telephone directory for the web. Every server and device has an Internet Protocol (IP) address. Each website can get its own entry in the book. In the early days of the internet, you had to manually enter long sets of numbers to connect to a website—fine for tech enthusiasts, but not practical for everyday users. DNS simplifies this by translating web addresses into IP addresses. When you enter a domain name (like “123-reg.co.uk”) into your browser, it gets converted into a corresponding IP address (like “123.0.1.2”). This connects you to the correct web server, making internet navigation more user-friendly. DNS infrastructure allows us to choose from thousands of memorable domain names instead of cumbersome numerical addresses. For example, 8.8.8.8 is the IP address for https://dns.google/, which is Google’s free tool for translating domain names into IP addresses. See also: Names That Click – How to Choose the Right Domain Name Where DNS is the directory, Nameservers are the operators. They connect you to the website or service you want to get through to. When you type a domain name into your browser, Nameservers (also known as ‘DNS Servers’) kick into action — translating, or ‘resolving’, domain names into IP addresses. Image: DNS-Server – Author: Seobility – Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 Not every website has its own entry in the DNS. Multiple domain names can point to the same IP address, and there can be several DNS records associated with a single IP address, such as for different services hosted on the same server. You can also manually enter the IP address directly into your address bar to reach a website, bypassing DNS altogether. However, most major websites balance traffic by using several IP addresses. DNS caching temporarily stores the mapping between domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. This speeds up future website visits because the lookup information is readily available. Specifically, the DNS resolver caches IP addresses for a specified time known as Time to Live (TTL), which allows it to respond more quickly to subsequent requests for the same domain. Remember, you don’t need in-depth knowledge about DNS to buy a domain and build a website; your hosting provider handles the technical details behind the scenes. Did you know? IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) was the first version of IP address to catch on. The original 32-bit system made 4.3 billion unique addresses possible. But that wasn’t enough to keep up with the explosion of internet-connected devices. Later, IPv6 was released, with a 128-bit format which makes 340 trillion trillion trillion unique IP addresses possible. What are the DNS record types? DNS Records are the individual pieces of data stored within the Domain Name System. They contain different kinds of info that help internet services know how to deal with your website — not least of all, where to find it. The good news is: you don’t usually need to create or edit DNS Records yourself! Good website hosts will generally handle this all for you. However, there may be times when you want to take more control over your DNS Records. The most important DNS Record for website owners is the A record, which maps domain names to their IP addresses, allowing users (and browsers) to find your site. Here’s a hierarchical list of the different types of Records that make your domain name work: ✓ NS (Nameserver) Record✓ A (Address) Record✓ CNAME (Canonical Name) Record✓ MX (Mail Exchange) Record✓ TXT (Text) Record The Nameserver “NS” Record sits at the top and delegate authority for a domain to specific nameservers. These Records hold all the information about your domain, like where your website files are stored and how to handle emails. Without them, the rest of your website’s address lookup wouldn’t work. When someone types in your domain name, finding your NS Records is the first step. The NS Records are therefore a bit special. It’s all the other DNS Records (MX, CNAME, TXT, etc) that actually contain specific information for your website. They live on the nameservers that Nameserver Records point to. You may want to change your NS Records when moving or “pointing” a website to a new hosting provider. A Records directly link domain names (or subdomains) to their IP addresses. As such, they’re essential for a website to be sure it’s reachable. You usually manage your A record (along with other DNS Records) through the control panel of your domain registrar CNAME Records are used to set up alias URLs. If you own both exampledomain.com and blog.exampledomain.com, for instance, a CNAME Records are there to point one to the other. MX Records are all about email. They specify which mail servers handle messages for the domain. That is to say, they tell other email systems where to deliver messages, like the postbox for your email. If you use an app like Outlook with your own domain’s email, the MX Records point to the mail servers provided by your email hosting company. If you have POP3 Email in your browser, the MX Records point to their mail servers. Last but not least, TXT Records are there to offer extra room for information about your domain. This text-based info might range from verification codes to general notes for domain management. Lastly, TXT Records offer extra space for information about your domain, ranging from verification codes to general notes for domain management. TXT Records can also verify you’re the rightful