How to Point Your Domain to UNEMPRENDE: Configuring A and CNAME Records

Link your website address to your hosting account correctly

Your domain name (e.g., yourcompany.com) and your web hosting are two separate services that need to be linked for your website to work. If you purchased your domain from an external registrar (such as GoDaddy, Mi.com.co, or Namecheap) and want to host your website on UNEMPRENDE’s optimized servers, you must configure your DNS (Domain Name System) records to direct your visitors to the correct web address seamlessly and without technical delays.

Key DNS records: A record and CNAME record

The A record is a fundamental rule that translates your domain name into a numeric IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.1), telling the browser exactly which physical server your website files are located on. On the other hand, the CNAME (Canonical Name) record acts as an alias to connect subdomains (such as www.tuempresa.com) to the main domain, ensuring that your website loads correctly with or without the three double-V’s.

What is TTL (Time To Live), and how does it affect the change?

The TTL is a setting in seconds that tells Internet servers how long they should remember your website’s address before requesting it again from the primary DNS server. If your TTL is set to a high value (such as 86,400 seconds or 24 hours), any changes you make will take a full day to propagate globally. Temporarily reducing the TTL before pointing your domain will help speed up DNS propagation.

How long does DNS propagation take in Colombia?

Propagation is the process by which the Internet servers of various telecommunications providers (such as Claro, Movistar, or Tigo) update their records to reflect the new location of your website. In Colombia, this process usually takes 2 to 12 hours, although with some local providers that have slow DNS caching, it can take up to a full day. Keeping your previous hosting active during this period prevents service outages.

Step-by-Step Guide to Pointing Your Domain

• Get your server's IP address: Copy the IP address assigned to your hosting account from your UNEMPRENDE automatic billing portal.
• Log in to your registrar: Log in to the control panel of the company where you purchased your domain name and look for the DNS zone management section.
• Modify the primary A record: Find the record named ‘@’ (or blank) and edit its value so that it points to the IP address of your new server.
• Set up the CNAME alias: Add or edit a CNAME record named ‘www’ and configure it to point to your main domain (e.g., yourcompany.com).
• Wait for the DNS propagation: Changes take anywhere from a few hours to a full day to propagate globally across the internet.

Maintain full control over your digital assets

Pointing your domain using individual records instead of changing the full nameservers is the best practice if you have externally hosted corporate email services that you want to keep. If you're looking for personalized assistance with this process, please contact us through the support contact and we'll help you right away.