How to Point Your Domain at Your VPS (DNS, the Easy Way)
Two records do 90% of the job: an A record for the apex and a CNAME (or A) for www. Here is exactly what to set, how to check it propagated, and the gotchas that waste an afternoon.
By VPSoto Team · Networking · February 13, 2026 · 5 min read
You bought a domain and you have a VPS with an IP. Connecting them is two DNS records and a short wait.
The records you need
In your domain's DNS settings (your registrar's panel, or wherever your nameservers point):
| Type | Host / Name | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
A | @ (the apex) | 203.0.113.10 | your server's IPv4 |
CNAME | www | yourdomain.com. | or another A to the same IP |
AAAA | @ | 2001:db8::1 | only if you have IPv6 |
That's it for a basic website. Set the TTL low (300 seconds) while you're making changes, then raise it later.
Verify it worked
dig +short yourdomain.com A
dig +short www.yourdomain.com
You want to see your server's IP. From the server side, your web server (nginx, Caddy, Apache) needs a matching server_name, and then you can issue a Let's Encrypt certificate — Caddy and most panels do this automatically once DNS resolves.
The gotchas that eat an afternoon
- Propagation isn't instant. Old TTLs mean some resolvers still have the previous answer for a while. Lower the TTL before you change records, not after.
- Browser and OS caches.
digshows the truth; your browser might not. Test in a private window orcurl -Ifrom the server. - Apex CNAME isn't allowed. You generally can't
CNAMEthe bare domain — use anArecord there (or your DNS provider's "ALIAS"/"ANAME" flattening). - Nameservers vs records. If your domain's nameservers point somewhere other than where you're editing records, you're editing the wrong zone. Check the
NSrecords first. - Mail. Pointing the web at a new server does nothing to email — your
MXrecords are separate. Don't break them by accident.
Registered your domain with VPSoto? DNS management is in your dashboard — set the A record there and you're done. New domain? Search and register one →
