Quick answer
To change nameservers without downtime, copy every DNS record to the new provider first, including email records, and check them. Lower the TTLs a day ahead, switch the nameservers at your registrar at a quiet time, then keep the old hosting and DNS running for at least 48 hours while the change spreads.
Changing nameservers takes two minutes at your registrar. The trouble is what happens next. The moment you switch, the internet starts asking the new provider for your records, and if your website address, email routing or verification records are not there yet, visitors and email are sent nowhere. The site goes down, or worse, the website works but email silently bounces for two days. All of that is avoidable with the right order.
What nameservers actually do
Your domain’s nameservers are the servers that hold its DNS records, the instructions that say where the website lives, where email goes and which services are allowed to send on your behalf. Changing nameservers hands that job from one provider to another. Cloudflare’s explanation of the NS record is a clear primer, and our guide to connecting a domain to a website covers when to change nameservers and when to change individual records instead.
The key point: the new provider starts empty, or with a guess at your records. Whatever is missing from it stops working when you switch.
Before you start: three checks
- Who controls the registrar account? You need to log in where the domain is registered. If a previous developer holds it, sort that out first; our post on a developer who owns your domain explains how.
- Where is email hosted? Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, your web host or another provider. The email records must move with everything else.
- Is the domain close to expiry or locked? Renew it first if it expires soon. For .uk domains, Nominet’s domain support pages explain how registrars handle changes.
The safe order, step by step
Step 1: export or record the current zone
Log in to your current DNS provider and export the zone file if it allows, or screenshot every record. You want the A and AAAA records, CNAMEs, MX records, every TXT record (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, Google or Microsoft verification), SRV records and anything else listed. Do not trust memory; old verification records are easy to forget and painful to rediscover.
Step 2: rebuild the zone at the new provider
Add every record at the new provider, exactly as it was, unless you are deliberately changing the website’s address. Many providers scan and import records automatically. Check the import against your export line by line, because scans often miss records on subdomains.
Step 3: lower the TTLs
The TTL tells resolvers how long to remember an answer. A day before the change, lower the TTL on key records at the old provider to five minutes or so, if it allows. That shortens the time anyone is stuck with old answers after the switch.
Step 4: switch at a quiet time
Change the nameservers at your registrar during your quietest hours. For most local businesses that is a weekday evening; for shops, avoid launch days and sales. If the domain uses DNSSEC, follow the new provider’s instructions closely, because a mismatched DNSSEC setting can make the whole domain unreachable.
Step 5: check, then wait
Test the website, send and receive email from an outside address, and check any forms that send notifications. Then wait. Keep the old hosting and old DNS active for at least 48 hours, because some resolvers will still be using them.
The records people forget
| Record | What it does | What breaks if missing |
|---|---|---|
| MX | Routes incoming email | Email bounces or vanishes |
| SPF and DKIM (TXT) | Proves your mail is genuine | Mail lands in spam |
| DMARC (TXT) | Tells receivers what to do with failures | Weaker protection, delivery issues |
| Verification (TXT) | Proves ownership to Google, Microsoft and others | Services lose verification |
| CNAMEs on subdomains | Booking tools, shops, email links | Parts of the site disappear |
If email starts landing in junk after a move, our guide to business emails going to spam covers the records to check.
How to tell the change has worked
Use an online DNS lookup tool to check which nameservers different parts of the world are seeing, and compare a few records against what you set. Your own computer may cache old answers, so check from a phone on mobile data too. ICANN’s registration data lookup shows the nameservers listed for your domain at the registry level.
Moving hosts at the same time
Many nameserver changes happen because a business is moving to a new host that wants to manage DNS too. That is two changes at once, and it is safer to separate them. First, move the website to the new host and test it there using a temporary address or a hosts-file preview. Then point the existing DNS at the new server and check everything works. Only once the site is settled, change nameservers to the new host if you still want to. If anything breaks, you know which step caused it.
For shops and booking sites, pick a moment when no orders are in progress, and make sure new orders taken during the change end up in one place. A site that runs on two servers for a day can split orders between them if both are live.
If something goes wrong
If the site or email stops working after the switch, the fastest fix is usually to add the missing record at the new provider rather than switching back, because switching back starts the waiting game again. If you cannot tell what is missing, compare the new zone with your export. That is why step 1 matters.
Keep a dated copy of the export somewhere safe even after a successful move. The next time anyone changes hosts, email providers or booking tools, that record of what was there saves an afternoon of guesswork.
A worked example
A florist in Brighton moved her website to a new host that asked her to switch nameservers. Before touching anything, she exported the old zone and found eleven records, including three she did not know existed: a DKIM record for her email provider, a verification record for her online shop and a CNAME for her booking page. All three went into the new zone, checked line by line. She lowered the TTLs on a Sunday, switched on Monday evening after closing, and kept the old hosting for three days. Customers never noticed, and her order emails kept arriving throughout.
Want it handled for you?
Our website management and hosting is £20 a month and includes UK hosting, SSL, daily backups and up to three business mailboxes; we move the DNS as part of setting it up. If you are moving hosts at the same time, our guide to website migration costs covers the wider job. All our prices are on the pricing page.
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Frequently asked questions
Will changing nameservers take my website offline? +
It should not, if the new DNS provider has a full copy of your records before you switch. Downtime happens when the new zone is missing records, so visitors or email are sent nowhere for a while. Copy every record, check it, then switch, and keep the old hosting running until the change has fully spread.
How long do nameserver changes take? +
Often a few hours, but allow up to 48 hours. The parent registry updates quickly; the delay comes from resolvers around the world holding the old answer until it expires. Some will switch within minutes and some later, which is why both the old and new set-ups must work during the change.
Will changing nameservers affect my email? +
Only if the email records are missing or wrong in the new zone. Copy the MX records, the SPF, DKIM and DMARC TXT records, and any autodiscover records exactly. If you forget them, email can bounce or land in spam until they are fixed. Email is the part people most often break.
Should I change nameservers or just DNS records? +
If you only need to point the website at a new host, changing one or two records at your existing DNS provider is simpler and lower risk. Change nameservers when you want a different provider to manage all your DNS, for example moving to your new host's DNS or to a dedicated DNS service.
