Domains and DNS: register, connect or manage your own

A few words first

• A domain is the address people type to find you, like yourbusiness.co.za.
• A registrar is the company you bought your domain from.
• DNS is the set of settings that tells the internet where your website and email live. Each setting is a DNS record, a signpost that points part of your domain somewhere.
• Nameservers tell the internet who looks after your domain's DNS.

Open Domain and DNS in the menu and click Add Domain. The portal offers three options.

Option 1: Register a new domain

For when you do not have a domain yet.

1. Choose Register a new domain and search for the name you want.
2. If it is available, the portal shows you every fee before you confirm, including what would apply if you ever move the domain elsewhere.
3. Confirm and set up the monthly payment. There is no charge on the day; it joins your monthly subscription.

Registration usually takes about an hour. From then on we look after the domain and every DNS record for you, for as long as your subscription is active.

Option 2: Let us manage your DNS

For a domain you already own, where you would like us to look after the settings. Your domain stays registered with your registrar, in your name; it never moves. We simply look after its DNS from your portal.

1. Choose Let RSA manage my DNS and enter your domain.
2. Prove it is yours. The portal gives you one record to add. Sign in at your registrar and add it to your domain's DNS. It is a harmless note attached to your domain: it does not move your website or affect your email. Back in the portal, run the check. It can take a few minutes to show up, so if it does not pass straight away, try again shortly.
3. Turn on DNS management. We create your DNS zone and give you four nameservers.
4. Copy your existing records across first. If your domain already carries email or another service, copy those records into the portal before you switch, so nothing stops working.
5. Switch your nameservers. Sign in at your registrar once more and replace the old nameservers with our four. Then click I've Updated My Nameservers in the portal and it checks them for you.

The switch usually takes a few hours and can take up to two days to spread across the internet. If the check does not pass yet, try again later. Because your records were copied first, your website and email keep working the whole time.

DNS management is a monthly service; the price is shown before you confirm and it joins your next monthly payment. After the switch you never need to sign in at your registrar for DNS again. The records that matter are locked so they cannot be broken by accident, and you can still add your own records whenever another service asks you to.

Option 3: Manage your own domain

For a domain you own and want to keep managing yourself. This option is free.

1. Choose I already own a domain and enter it.
2. Prove it is yours with the same single record, added at your registrar.

From then on, whenever something needs a DNS record (launching your website, or setting up business email), the portal shows you exactly which records to add, and you add them wherever your DNS is managed.

Which option should I choose?

• No domain yet: register a new domain.
• You own a domain and want it looked after for you: let us manage your DNS.
• You own a domain, are comfortable with DNS and want to stay in control: manage your own.

Adding a DNS record yourself

If we manage your DNS, the records for your website and email are already correct. You only add your own when another service asks you to, for example to verify that you own the domain. Open your domain and use Manage DNS Records. Each record has:

• Type: what kind of signpost it is. A and CNAME point a name at a website or server, MX says where your email goes, and TXT is a plain note, usually proof of ownership.
• Name: which part of your domain it is for: the domain on its own, or something in front of it like mail or shop.
• Value: where it points.
• TTL: how long the internet may remember the answer, in seconds, between 60 and 86400. An hour (3600) is a sensible default.

Whoever asked you to add the record will have given you the exact values. Copy them across exactly as they are.