Hostinger DNS Setup Guide Configure Your Domain Records Step by Step

Hostinger is one of the most popular budget hosting providers on the planet, but its DNS interface trips up thousands of users every week. Whether you just registered a domain at Hostinger, transferred one from GoDaddy or Namecheap, or you are trying to point an external domain to Hostinger's servers, the process has several steps that each carry their own failure modes. This guide covers every scenario: nameserver delegation, individual A/CNAME/MX/TXT record management, email setup, and propagation verification — with exact menu paths and real command examples so you can stop guessing and get your domain working.

Understanding How Hostinger Handles DNS

Hostinger provides two separate DNS systems, and confusing them is the most common source of errors:

• Hostinger's own nameservers (ns1.dns-parking.com / ns2.dns-parking.com for older accounts, or ns1.hostinger.com / ns2.hostinger.com for newer ones) — used when your domain is registered at Hostinger or when you delegate an external domain to Hostinger's DNS.
• Your registrar's DNS zone — used when you keep your domain registered elsewhere (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, etc.) and only add individual A or CNAME records pointing to Hostinger's server IP.

Pick one approach and stick to it. Trying to edit records in both places simultaneously causes conflicts that look like random propagation failures but are actually just competing zones returning different answers.

Method 1: Point an External Domain to Hostinger Using Nameservers

This is the cleanest method. You hand full DNS control to Hostinger, and they manage everything from a single interface.

Step 1: Find Your Hostinger Nameservers

1. Log into hPanel at hpanel.hostinger.com.
2. Click Hosting in the top navigation bar.
3. Select Manage next to the hosting plan your domain will use.
4. Scroll to the DNS / Nameservers widget or go to Advanced > DNS Zone. The nameservers listed there are what you will copy to your registrar.

Typical Hostinger nameservers look like:

Some legacy accounts or reseller plans use region-specific nameservers. Always read the nameservers directly from hPanel for your specific plan — do not copy them from a forum post.

Step 2: Update Nameservers at Your Registrar

Log into wherever your domain is registered and locate the nameserver settings. The exact path varies by registrar:

• GoDaddy: My Products > DNS > Nameservers > Change
• Namecheap: Domain List > Manage > Nameservers > Custom DNS
• Google Domains / Squarespace Domains: DNS > Custom name servers

Remove any existing nameservers, enter Hostinger's nameservers, and save. Registrar-level nameserver changes propagate within 30 minutes to 2 hours for most registrars, though the global TTL window is technically up to 48 hours.

Method 2: Keep Your Registrar's DNS and Add Records Manually

This approach is preferred when you run email through Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, have other subdomains elsewhere, or simply do not want to move DNS. You only add the records Hostinger actually needs.

Finding Your Hostinger Server IP Address

1. In hPanel, go to Hosting > Manage.
2. Look in the Server Information sidebar or the Details tab for your shared hosting IP address. It will be a standard IPv4 address like 154.12.xx.xx.

Once you have it, add these records at your registrar's DNS manager:

Some hosts also provide a CNAME for www instead of an A record. Either works, but an A record for both @ and www avoids edge-case redirect loops on certain platforms.

Managing DNS Records Inside hPanel

When Hostinger is your DNS authority (method 1), you edit records directly in hPanel rather than at an external registrar.

Accessing the DNS Zone Editor

1. hPanel > Domains (left sidebar or top menu).
2. Click the three-dot menu next to your domain and choose DNS / Nameservers.
3. Select the DNS Records tab.

You will see a table listing every record in your zone. Hostinger pre-populates most zones with A, MX, TXT (SPF), and CNAME records for the www subdomain automatically when you add a domain to a hosting plan.

Adding or Editing an A Record

1. Click Add Record.
2. Set Type to A.
3. In the Name field, enter @ for the root domain or a subdomain label like shop for shop.yourdomain.com.
4. Enter the target IP in the Points To field.
5. Leave TTL at 14400 unless you expect frequent changes (lower to 300 before planned migrations).
6. Click Add Record to save.

Adding a CNAME Record

CNAMEs are commonly needed for third-party services — Shopify storefronts, Vercel deployments, HubSpot landing pages, or MailChimp tracking domains.

Critical rule: Never point a CNAME at an IP address. CNAMEs must point to a hostname. Never create a CNAME for the root domain (@) — that breaks MX and other records. Use an A record for @ and CNAME only for subdomains.

Setting Up Email DNS Records on Hostinger

If you are using Hostinger Email (their built-in email or Titan Mail), the MX and SPF records are added automatically when you activate the mail service. If you use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, you need to add them manually.

Google Workspace MX Records

Microsoft 365 MX Record

Replace yourdomain-com with your actual tenant value found in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Domains.

SPF Record

Add a TXT record at the root (@) for SPF. If you are using Hostinger's own email plus Google Workspace, you must merge them into one SPF record — two separate TXT SPF records cause hard failures:

DKIM Record

For Hostinger's built-in email, DKIM is configured under hPanel > Email > Email Accounts > Email Authentication. Hostinger generates the DKIM key and adds the TXT record automatically. For Google Workspace, generate the key in the Google Admin Console and paste it as a TXT record with the host set to google._domainkey.

Common Hostinger DNS Errors and How to Fix Them

Error: Domain Shows Hostinger Parking Page After Pointing Nameservers

This means nameserver delegation worked but the domain is not yet linked to a hosting plan in hPanel. Fix:

1. hPanel > Hosting > Manage.
2. Go to Domains inside the hosting plan.
3. Click Add Domain and enter your domain name exactly as it is registered.
4. Choose whether it is an addon domain or a subdomain.
5. Wait 5-10 minutes for the zone to activate.

Error: SSL Certificate Fails After DNS Change

Hostinger uses Let's Encrypt for free SSL. The validation requires that your domain's A record actually resolves to Hostinger's server before the certificate can issue. If you changed nameservers but the A record has not propagated yet, the SSL order will fail. Fix: wait for full propagation (use the checker above), then go to hPanel > Hosting > Manage > SSL and click Install or Renew to trigger a fresh validation attempt.

Error: MX Records Not Working After Switching to Hostinger Nameservers

When you move to Hostinger nameservers, your old registrar's DNS zone (including MX records) stops being read. The new Hostinger zone starts blank except for auto-generated records. Always check that MX records exist in the Hostinger DNS zone editor before switching nameservers, or re-add them immediately after.

Error: www Works But Root Domain Does Not (or Vice Versa)

This is almost always a missing A record. Check that you have separate A records for both @ and www. In hPanel's DNS editor, look for both entries. If only one exists, add the other.

Verifying Your DNS Configuration

After making changes, verify from outside your local network to avoid reading cached results from your own ISP. Use the DNS Lookup tool to query specific record types and see the live authoritative answer.

You can also run these from any terminal:

Compare the returned IP against the server IP shown in your hPanel. If they match, DNS is resolving correctly. If the old IP still appears, propagation is still in progress or there is a caching issue — lowering your TTL before future changes will make this faster next time.

Best Practices to Prevent DNS Problems on Hostinger

• Lower TTL before major changes. Edit your A records to TTL 300 (5 minutes) at least one hour before you plan to make a change. After the change is confirmed working, raise TTL back to 3600 or 14400.
• Never delete records before adding new ones. During a host migration, add the new records first, verify they exist, then remove the old ones. This prevents a window where your domain resolves to nothing.
• Document your zone before migrating nameservers. Export or screenshot every DNS record at your current registrar before you move to Hostinger's nameservers. Hostinger's auto-generated zone will not include third-party service records like SendGrid, Zendesk, or any custom CNAME entries you set up over the years.
• Use subdomain delegation for complex setups. If only one subdomain (like app.yourdomain.com) needs to point to a different host, use a NS delegation record for that subdomain rather than fragmenting your main zone.
• Test email deliverability immediately after DNS changes. Send a test email to mail-tester.com after setting up SPF and DKIM. A score below 8/10 usually indicates a misconfigured or missing record.

When Hostinger Support Cannot Help

Hostinger's live chat support is fast but often limited to confirming what records exist in their system. They cannot speed up global propagation and cannot edit records at your external registrar. If you are hitting a wall, the most productive approach is to query the authoritative nameservers directly to isolate whether the problem is in Hostinger's zone or in the registrar's delegation:

If the authoritative nameserver returns the correct record but public resolvers like 8.8.8.8 do not, you are dealing with caching — wait for the old TTL to expire. If even the authoritative server returns wrong data, the record in hPanel needs to be corrected. This distinction saves hours of troubleshooting time.

Getting DNS right on Hostinger is mostly about understanding which of their two systems you are using, making sure every required record type is present in that system, and verifying externally rather than from your own browser cache. With the steps and commands in this guide, you have everything needed to configure, verify, and maintain a solid DNS setup on any Hostinger plan.