Storefront Nameservers

Every domain registered through your Storefront needs nameservers, the servers that answer DNS queries for that domain. Your nameserver choice determines two things: whether your customers can manage their own DNS records in Storefront, and whether DNS templates apply automatically at registration.

Storefront (Shopco) DNS vs. custom nameservers

Storefront supports two nameserver configurations for new registrations.

Shopco DNS (default) uses Storefront's own nameservers:

• a.ns.shopco.com
• b.ns.shopco.com
• c.ns.shopco.com

When a domain uses Shopco DNS:

• Your customers can view and edit their DNS records in the Storefront customer portal.
• DNS templates apply automatically at registration (if you have one configured).
• Customers can reset their DNS to the template default.
• You can manage DNS records on a customer's behalf via Storefront Manager.

Custom nameservers use a nameserver set you define, typically your own DNS provider or a third-party service. When a domain uses custom nameservers:

• DNS is managed at your external provider, not in Storefront.
• Customers cannot view or edit DNS in the Storefront portal.
• DNS templates do not apply at registration.
• You manage DNS records outside of Storefront entirely.

The nameserver choice is a reseller-level setting that applies to all new registrations in your store. Individual customers can still change their domain's nameservers after registration from their Storefront account.

Configure default nameservers for new registrations

The default nameserver setting applies to every new domain registered in your store from that point forward. It does not change the nameservers on domains already registered.

Use Shopco DNS (default)

Shopco DNS is the default for new Storefronts. If you haven't changed the setting, no action is needed.

To restore Shopco DNS as the default:

1. Log in to Storefront Manager.
2. Click the Account icon, then select Storefront Settings.
3. Select Domain Defaults.
4. In the Nameservers section, select Use default nameservers.
5. Click Save Changes.

Use custom nameservers

1. Log in to Storefront Manager.
2. Click the Account icon, then select Settings.
3. Select Domain Defaults.
4. In the Nameservers section, select Use your nameservers.
5. Enter your nameserver addresses (up to 4).
6. Click Save Changes.

Change nameservers on an existing domain

Resellers can change nameservers on any domain in their store. Customers can change nameservers on their own domains from the Storefront customer portal.

To change nameservers on a domain as the reseller:

1. Navigate to the domain's details page in Storefront Manager.
2. Scroll to the Nameservers section.
3. Click Edit Nameservers.
4. Enter the new nameserver addresses.
5. Click Save.

To switch a domain to Shopco DNS, click Reset to default in the Nameservers section and confirm. This sets the domain to a.ns.shopco.com, b.ns.shopco.com, c.ns.shopco.com.

Nameserver changes propagate across the internet within minutes to 48 hours depending on the domain's TTL and caching by resolvers.

What your customer sees

When a domain uses Shopco DNS, the customer sees a DNS Records section on their domain's page in the Storefront portal. They can add, edit, and delete records there without contacting you.

When a domain uses custom nameservers, the DNS Records section either does not appear or shows a message indicating DNS is managed externally. The customer cannot edit DNS in Storefront.

Troubleshooting

A customer can't see DNS records for their domain in Storefront. The domain is using custom nameservers. DNS records for custom-nameserver domains are managed at the external provider, not in Storefront. To enable Storefront DNS management, switch the domain to Shopco DNS nameservers. If the domain has existing DNS records to preserve, see Manually Transferring SystemDNS Zones to Storefront for the migration process.

DNS templates aren't applying to new registrations. Confirm that Use default nameservers is selected in Settings → Domain Defaults. DNS templates only apply to domains using Shopco DNS. If you've set custom nameservers as the default, templates will not apply.

I changed the default nameserver setting but existing domains weren't affected. The default nameserver setting only applies to new registrations going forward. Changing it does not update nameservers on domains already registered. Update individual domains manually if needed.

A nameserver change isn't taking effect. Nameserver changes propagate across the internet and can take up to 48 hours. If propagation seems stalled after 48 hours, verify the new nameservers are responding correctly and contact OpenSRS Support if the issue persists.

Related articles

• Managing DNS Records in Storefront 
• DNS Templates in Storefront 
• Manually Transferring SystemDNS Zones to Storefront

Questions? Contact OpenSRS Support.

Was this article helpful? If not please submit a request here