How can I point my domain to a DigitalOcean Droplet using the DigitalOcean DNS?

Hey there! 👋

You’re on the right track! Pointing your domain to a DigitalOcean Droplet using DigitalOcean’s DNS is pretty straightforward.

First, head over to the DigitalOcean Control Panel and click on “Networking” in the left-hand menu. Then, under the Domains tab, add your custom domain (e.g., yourdomain.com) by typing it in the box and clicking “Add Domain”.

You’ll need to point your domain’s nameservers to DigitalOcean’s. Go to your domain registrar’s control panel (where you bought your domain) and update the nameservers to:

ns1.digitalocean.com
ns2.digitalocean.com
ns3.digitalocean.com

This might take a little while to propagate, so don’t worry if it’s not instant.

Next, in the DigitalOcean Networking tab where you added your domain, you’ll need to create an A Record that points to your Droplet’s IP address. Here’s how:

• Type: A
• Name: @ (this means the root domain, like yourdomain.com)
• Value: Your Droplet’s public IPv4 address
• TTL: Keep the default (3600 is fine)

Click Create Record after you’ve filled in these fields.

If you have subdomains or email services, you might need to add more DNS records:

• CNAME Record: For subdomains, like www.yourdomain.com, create a CNAME record:

  • Type: CNAME
  • Name: www
  • Value: yourdomain.com

• MX Records: If you’re setting up email, make sure to add MX Records provided by your email hosting provider.

DNS changes usually take some time to propagate. You can use tools like WhatsMyDNS to check if the changes have taken effect globally.

If you’re worried about security, you can also use DigitalOcean Cloud Firewalls to restrict access to your Droplet. It’s super easy to set up and allows you to control inbound and outbound traffic.

You can find more about it here:
DigitalOcean Firewalls Documentation

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Let me know how it goes, and feel free to reach out if you need any more help! 😄

- Bobby