Someone has told you to change the nameservers on your domain. So, what are nameservers? They’re the servers that answer questions about your domain. The DNS records, the entries that say where your website and email go, are the information those servers hold.

That instruction reads like jargon, and it carries a real risk. Point the domain at nameservers that don’t yet hold your existing records, and the website or email can go unreachable for the customers who depend on them. So the useful move is to ask, in writing, why the change is needed, what the new nameservers are, and whether your records are already waiting there. Ask before anyone changes anything.

What Are Nameservers?

The definition in ICANN’s glossary is short. It defines a name server as “A server within the Domain Name System that answers queries about a domain name”. The same entry adds an example of what one can hand back: the domain’s Internet Protocol address, the address of the machine that serves the site.

You get the same idea from the original DNS specification, RFC 1034. It describes name servers this way: “server programs which hold information about the domain tree’s structure and set information.” In that document, the domain tree is how all domain names are organized. It also lists NS as a record type, and an NS record names the authoritative name server for a domain. Authoritative here means the official source for the domain’s answers.

Plain version, not a formal one: DNS is the internet’s lookup system, the part that connects a web address to the place that serves it. Each entry in that system is a record. So the two words point at two different things. One is a machine that answers. The other is the information it answers with.

How Do Nameservers Differ From DNS Records?

The nameservers are the servers. The DNS records are the entries those servers hold, each with a type, a name and a value. Spilt Media’s migration post lists the types to capture first: A, CNAME, MX for email and TXT for verification. In short, an A record points a name at a server, and a CNAME points a name at another name.

Spilt Media has a separate post on what a CNAME record is, which explains that one record type.

Here’s an illustration, and it’s made up. Say the nameservers for www.yourbusiness.com get switched to a set your host gives you, with names along the lines of yourhost.example. From that point, those servers answer for the domain. A record that didn’t get copied there is a record nobody answers. That’s the practical meaning of a server that answers queries about a domain name: whatever those servers hold is the answer, and whatever they don’t hold isn’t.

That difference shows up in the instruction you were given. Changing one record edits one entry. Changing the nameservers moves the whole set to wherever those servers are managed: the website entry, the email entries and the verification entries together.

What Happens When You Change Nameservers?

Which servers answer for your domain changes. Spilt Media’s earlier post on a registrar outage puts a condition on it: changing nameservers helps only when a complete replacement environment already exists. Point a domain at an unfinished server, leave out email records, or switch while the current DNS still resolves, and one provider’s incident can stretch into a longer outage of your own making.

Spilt Media’s post on migrating WordPress to new hosting safely treats DNS changes as the final step of a migration. It says incorrect DNS records can break your email, your website, or both. It tells you to screenshot or export your current DNS records before the change. It gives 15 minutes to 48 hours for a DNS change to spread worldwide. That’s the window that post gives for DNS changes, so ask your provider what to expect for yours.

Read those two together and the order falls out. The records exist at the new place first. The nameservers change second.

What Should You Ask Before Anyone Changes Your Nameservers?

Ask in writing, and ask before the change happens. The checks below are habits, not rules from either source. They are owner-side questions to put to whoever asks for the change.

  • Ask why the change is needed, and what it replaces.
  • Ask for the exact new nameserver names, in writing.
  • Ask who manages the DNS records at the new place.
  • Confirm that the new place already holds a copy of your current records, email records included, before the switch.
  • Check the website and the email afterward, and allow time for the change to spread.

Keep the answers in writing, in one place. Note the time the change was made, so you can match what you see against when it happened. If the website or the email looks wrong afterward, tell the person who made the change right away, and give them that time. If you aren’t sure who would make the change, ask that too.

Frequently Asked Questions About Nameservers

Is a nameserver the same as a DNS record?

No. ICANN’s glossary describes a name server as a server that answers queries about a domain name. RFC 1034 describes name servers as programs that hold the information. The records are that information: entries with a type, a name and a value. The nameservers are the servers that hand those entries back when something asks.

How long does a nameserver change take to show up?

Spilt Media’s migration post gives 15 minutes to 48 hours for a DNS change to spread worldwide. During that window, some visitors can still reach the old setup while others reach the new one. The post gives that range for DNS changes, not for your specific change, so ask the provider making it what to expect.

Can changing nameservers affect my email?

Yes. Spilt Media’s migration post says incorrect DNS records can break your email, your website, or both, and MX is the record type it lists for email. Its earlier post on a registrar outage warns against switching nameservers with email records left out. So confirm the email records exist at the new place before the switch, then test email after.

Who handles the DNS change when a site moves to a new host?

Spilt Media’s managed WordPress hosting page says its team handles the complete migration process, DNS included, and coordinates the DNS switchover during off-peak hours. Whoever moves your site, ask them to put in writing what they’ll change and when. Keep that note, so you can retrace the steps if something looks off afterward.

Next Steps Before You Change Your Nameservers

Spilt Media’s managed WordPress hosting page says its team handles the complete migration process, including DNS, SSL, email configuration and thorough testing, and coordinates the DNS switchover during off-peak hours to minimize disruption.

You asked what are nameservers; the short answer is the servers that answer for your domain, and the useful follow-up is whether your records are already waiting at the new place.

If you’d rather hand that question to someone else, book a consultation with Spilt Media. The conversation is about who manages your domain settings and how the site is hosted and looked after.