Point Network Solutions DNS to Flywheel

Flywheel provides each site with an IP address to which domains can be pointed. This is useful if you own, for example, thisfinedomain.com, and would like it to resolve to a Flywheel site.

If you’re brand new to the world of domain names, some of the terminology may seem a little confusing. If you ever feel stuck, feel free to reference our Glossary of DNS terms.

Step 1: Add the domain to your Flywheel site

1. From the site’s Overview tab, go to the Domains section and click the + Add Domain button to add the domain you’d like to point to Flywheel.
   
2. Next, fill out the domain information as described below.
   
   1. Domain: Enter the URL (without a prefix). Example: mywebsite.com
   2. Primary domain: Check the box if you want this to be your primary domain (if this will be your site’s main URL).
   3. www: By default, the www version of the domain will be added, but you can uncheck the box to skip this step if needed. Example: www.mywebsite.com.

   Then click Next.

   Note

   In the background, our system will automatically update all appropriate URL references in the database to this new primary domain.
3. Click to copy your new DNS records to your clipboard. We recommend keeping this tab open so you can easily copy them from here and paste them into Network Solution’s DNS editor.
   
   You will need to copy all the records you see in the table. For example:
   • A record (This is your Flywheel site’s IP address)
   • CNAME record (The CNAME record is only required if you’re adding the “www” version of your domain. If you’re not, the CNAME isn’t required and won’t be displayed in the list.)
   • TXT record

Step 2: Log in to Network Solutions

1. In a separate tab, log in to your account at Network Solutions. Make sure to select Manage My Domain Names for the Log In To dropdown.
   
2. You should see a list of all the domains you’ve purchased through Network Solutions. Under the domain you wish to edit, click the Change Where Domain Points button.
   
3. On the next page, choose the Advanced DNS option, then click Continue.

Step 3: Configure the A records

You may see additional records in this section, especially if your domain was pointed to a different host previously. For now, we’re just going to be concerned with the A records, since they are the records responsible for pointing your domain to your website.

Be careful about modifying or deleting any other records – especially MX records, which are responsible for email. Also, it never hurts to take a screenshot before you start making changes.

1. Click the Edit A Records button.
2. In the Numeric IP fields, enter your Flywheel site’s IP address for each of the A records. In this example, the IP is 208.91.197.27.
   Note: The default setup on Network Solutions is to set up @ (the root version of your domain), www, and * (any other subdomain that somebody puts before the domain) as individual A records. If any of these records are missing, you can click Add More A Records to add them.
3. Click the Continue button to review your changes.
4. Click the Save Changes button to apply your changes.

Unless you have a subdomain setup, for example shop.thisfinedomain.com, you should only need one A record value. At the very least, make sure that you have one A record with @ set as the host which is pointing to your Flywheel IP address.

Step 4: Add a TXT record

The TXT (or Text) record is used to verify that you own and control your domain, and prevents unauthorized use of your domain.

Click + Add Record and then configure the following information:

• Type: TXT
• Refers to: Select Other Host and then paste the host/label text string from your Flywheel DNS details.
• TXT Value: Paste the destination/target text string from your Flywheel DNS details.
• TTL: Leave this on the default setting.

Step 5: Confirm your changes using Flywheel’s DNS checker

After a short propagation window, your site should be connected to Flywheel! You can use our built-in DNS checker to confirm your settings.

1. Go to your site’s Overview tab on the Flywheel dashboard.
2. Click Refresh Status in the Domains section.

Once your site is pointed to Flywheel, the status will switch to ✅ Connected and the domain registrar will be displayed as well.

Need help?

If you have any questions our Happiness Engineers are here to help!