Shopify Nameservers: All You Need To Know

technologhy
Nov 10, 2022
5m
Anna Pham

shopify-nameservers

Choosing the most suitable Nameservers is significant when launching a new eCommerce store. In this post, we'll present you everything you need to know about Shopify Nameservers and walk you through some of the standard practices for selecting Nameservers for your Shopify store.

What is a Nameserver?

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To grasp what Nameservers are and what function they have, consider what happens when you access a website using a browser.

When you browse a website, your site browser submits a request to the IP address you choose for the webserver. However, you don't give the browsers the webserver's IP address. Imagine having to remember a distinct IP address for each website you want to access – that would be a nightmare, or we'd all need superhuman memory.

Instead, you simply enter the domain name of the website you want to access. Instead of typing 104.19.154.83 into your browser's address bar, use its corresponding domain name, hubspot.com.

The Domain Name System, or DNS, is responsible for allowing us to utilize alphabetic domain names instead of IP numbers. The DNS is a global server network that links domain names and IP addresses. It is made up of many different types of equipment. A Nameserver is a type of computers.

In the DNS, a Nameserver is a system that converts domain names into IP addresses. Nameservers control and store DNS records, which connect a domain to one or more IP addresses. These servers serve as a link between domain names that humans can memorize and IP addresses that computers can process.

Hence, whenever you type a domain name into your browser's address bar, the DNS first locates the Nameserver in charge of that domain name. The nameserver then processes your demand and searches its database for the corresponding DNS entry. The Nameserver returns the IP address to your browser once it has found the record. Lastly, your browser uses the new IP address to contact the target webserver, which returns the requested website.

What are Shopify Nameservers?

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Shopify Nameservers are the DNS servers that Shopify utilizes to transport traffic to and from your store. Shopify employs a public Nameserver by default, which means your business shares a DNS server with several other Shopify companies.

If you desire to utilize a personal domain for your store, you must either use a Shopify-supported DNS service or establish your own DNS servers. In any instance, you'll need to upgrade the DNS records for your domain to connect to the Shopify Nameservers.

When you're using a customized domain for your store, the Shopify Nameservers can be found in the DNS records portion of your shop's admin. If you use a subdomain (for example, shop.yourdomain.com), you must also update the DNS records for the subdomains.

Upgrading your DNS records can be a bit complicated, so if you're not sure how to accomplish it, we recommend contacting your domain registrar or a skilled IT professional for assistance.

What Function Do Shopify Nameservers Serve?

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The Shopify Nameservers are a wonderful method to improve your online visibility and make it easier for you to appear higher in search engine results. Choose which domains or subdomains will be maintained on your server when you setup a Shopify Nameserver. The traffic to and availability of your website over the internet will both increase as a result. When configuring Shopify Nameservers, the following considerations should be made:

1. Verify that your domain name meets all requirements. 

When your domain is example.com, for instance, make sure that your Nameserver includes nameserver records for both "example" and "com".

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2. Utilize subdomains appropriately.

Established a Nameserver for each subdomain that you own or manage; instead, employ subdomains as a component of a larger plan to develop an online presence for your company.

For instance, if you operate a travel website, create a Nameserver for the domain travel.example.com as well as a Nameserver for globalhotels.example.com and Expedia.com. As a result, all of your clients who visit one of the following domains will have your site featured as the primary search result.

3. Don't neglect to renew your Nameservers registrations.

If you do not maintain your Nameservers up to date, your website may become inaccessible from the internet and you might lose customers.

What Advantages do Shopify Nameservers offer?

When establishing your online store, there are several advantages to use Shopify Nameservers.

Utilizing Shopify Nameservers, you can be confident that your store is reachable from any location in the world. Domain Name System (DNS) servers hosted by Shopify are used to do this. Google Public DNS and Amazon Route 53 DNS are both accessible by default for all Shopify stores.

You won't have to bother about hosting your own DNS servers if you use Shopify Nameservers, which is another benefit. As setting up and maintaining your own DNS server infrastructure can be expensive, this is a significant advantage.

Ultimately, employing Shopify Nameservers enables you to utilize the services provided by the Shopify Namespace services. This includes the capacity to modify the DNS settings for your store, add unique domain names and SSL certificates, among other things.

What are the Disadvantages of Using Shopify Nameserver

If you employ Shopify for your online marketplace, you're probably using their Nameservers. Nevertheless, there are several things you should keep in mind before utilizing them:

1. You might not be able to use them in certain ways since they may be held by Shopify.

2. They might not be the Nameservers that are most popular.

3. They might not offer the greatest coverage.

4. Your host or ISP might decide to block them.

5. Shopify's failure to operate could result in the unavailability of your Nameservers.

6. It will be challenging to fix your Nameservers if something goes horribly wrong, to summarize it all together. It's important to consult a specialist if you're unsure whether to use Shopify's Nameservers.

How Should choose Shopify Nameservers to use?

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Depending on your requirements, there are a number of alternative Shopify Nameservers you could use. You can choose between using Google's Cloud Platform or the Shopify App Store.

You can create a Nameserver on Shopify by using the App Store if you desire to utilize your ownnameservers.com domain. Your comprehensive domain name hierarchy, comprising your A-Z and 0-9 domains, will be under your control as a result. If you require more, you may also add extensions like.co.uk and.de.

You can set up Google's Nameservers utilizing their Cloud Platform if you desire to employ them. Compared to using the App Store, this will offer you access to more domains, but it will also charge more each year.

Shopify Default Nameservers

You might have chosen to utilize one of Shopify's default Nameservers when you established up your store. When you build a new store, default Nameservers are those that are dynamically configured for you. Although they make a terrific starting point, you should use them according to some best practices.

Shopify resolves domain names using a set of DNS servers known as default Nameservers. This may have an impact on the functionality of your website and result in problems if you attempt to host a domain through Shopify. If you're uncertain of your default Nameservers, you may verify them in the Settings > Cloud > DNS section of the Shopify admin area. The list of default Nameservers and their accompanying IP addresses may be found here.

Conclusion

It's critical to choose the appropriate nameservers when setting up a store on Shopify. I've mentioned the recommended methods for selecting Nameservers in this article and given some advice on how to properly configure them. You can make sure that your store is approachable from anywhere in the world and that your consumers can quickly locate what they're looking for by adhering to these principles.