Help with separate hosting of email and web site

Hosting
1

I assume this is straightforward, but I haven’t dealt with this before, so I’m hoping to get some clarification, and not screw it up!

My client has their domain registered with, and are hosting their email at Network Solutions. They have paid for a long term email hosting plan and don’t want to change it. They built a site initially with Google’s site builder, and have their DNS settings configured with an alias to that Google-hosted site. I just made a site for them that I will be hosting, as a Host Gator reseller. Thus, I wish to direct web traffic to their new site, hosted on my Host Gator account, without messing with their current email setup.

Currently under the Advanced DNS tab at Network Solutions, they have an MX record set up pointing to a Network Solutions mail server, and under CNAME records there are two records relating to email and then a “www” record aliased to Google.

What I THINK I need to do is simply delete that third CNAME record and add an A record pointing to the numeric IP of the server where I have their new site. Is that correct? Any help is appreciated. I’m on unfamiliar ground here, and just want to avoid an email loss disaster!

2

You, as simple as a case of pointing the blank and www records to your server to transfer the hosting of the website to you.

The MX points the mail at the relevant server, and then I guess there’ll be a mail. or similar entry also pointing at the mail system that’ll need to be left.

If you have any further questions, ask :slight_smile:

3

Hi Tim, thanks a lot for replying. I did a little more reading about DNS last night, and decided to go ahead and try it. All worked well, of course, with the additional advantage that, since I wasn’t changing the DNS hosting, the new site was live right away. :slight_smile:

4

Lucky, I know plenty of providers that cache dns for hours, some even days… making simple updates take so long to actually show.