Moving the DNS to a place that is currently being utilised for operations does not have to be as frightening as you may think. The most important thing you can do is establish a well-thought-out plan for how you will spend the time between when your DNS records still refer to your prior server. In this post, we’ll walk you through the steps you need to take to guarantee your transfer goes ahead without a hitch and without issues.
The elements addressed in this article comprise your to-do list for transferring to a new website, and we’ll go over each one in turn below as we go over the details of the transition. Before you begin, you must ensure that you have thoroughly read everything. When it comes to installing everything, a few weeks before the actual launch day is the best time to begin.
Before we begin, please double-check the new location, including the address and site, before you move in. Check to check if Let’s Encrypt can provide an SSL certificate for the address, and make sure there are no impediments to doing so.
Examine the TTL values for each of the hostnames. Get the certification without taking any time off. First, the certificate’s validity must be validated. After that, the DNS records must be relocated. Changes the existing DNS records so that they can be linked to life. As soon as the data transfer is complete, Let’s Encrypt will provide you an SSL certificate.
Before we begin with the DNS migration in this piece, also remember that this is not the same as domain registration. It is a totally different process as a whole.
- Check that the address of the website to which you want to switch and the website itself are right
Make a list of all the hostnames you want to move, including the root domain (for example.com) and any subdomains (for example, api.example.com and www.example.com), as well as the hostnames of any websites you want to redirect to the new domain. Include the primary domain as well as any subdomains. The next item on your to-do list should be to obtain an SSL certificate. Following that, you should verify that the certificate has all of the hostnames that you specified. You have the option of waiting or connecting your domain to your Netlify site right now. You have the choice between the two. You need not be concerned because this in no way implies that we will begin steering traffic to your website. Because your DNS does not yet point anywhere, the address is more than just a wildcard. You will also be able to review your certificate at a later date.
If you want to be extra cautious, go through this checklist, where you submit a test hostname that correlates to your own certificate, such as B. test.example.com. If you want to be extra cautious, we recommend going through this checklist. We recommend checking through this list to ensure you haven’t forgotten anything. As a result, you won’t be caught off guard by anything negative when doing the activity in your production environment while using the hostname.
- Look for any rules that prevent Let’s Encrypt from supplying SSL keys for your hostname. If there are any, they must be removed
Some businesses, organisations, and educational institutions, such as colleges, put their hostnames in their domain’s CAA or SOA records. These records contain a list of SSL Certificate Authorities that have been granted key distribution permission. You must ensure that this item does not appear in your hostname and that Let’s Encrypt is listed as a valid certificate authority. You must also ensure that Let’s Encrypt is not blacklisted. We will be unable to provide you an SSL certificate in that case. Please accept my apologies.
- Each and every address requires a TTL resolution.
You must examine the TTL value given in the DNS record of each hostname being transferred. This number can be found by running a web search with the Google tool or by using the Terminal. A DNS record’s time-to-live (TTL) value indicates how long the record will remain in the DNS cache before being queried again. When the time to live (TTL) is set to 3600, it means that the log file will not be requested again for 3600 seconds, or one hour. When configuring redirects, choose a low TTL. This will trigger DNS to request a new DNS record referencing Netlify and delete the old DNS record referencing the previous server host as soon as possible. This will ensure that the traffic that you have redirected is handled correctly. This can be accomplished by exploiting the DNS cache.
- For further information on this stage of the procedure, please see the Support Step-by-Step Guide
You are entitled to your prize indefinitely. Let’s Encrypt is the only location we can get an SSL certificate, and even then, only if your DNS is properly configured and points to Netlify. When configuring DNS records, it is in your best interest to keep older entries operational for as long as possible. When that time arrives, your newly produced records will be ready to replace the older ones. However, because of the enormous number of caches that exist, including the one saved in a browser’s DNS settings, DNS propagation can take a very long time at times. Despite our best efforts, we are unable to secure an SSL certificate for you automatically at this time. We sincerely sorry for any inconvenience. As a result, we strongly advise you to supply your own bespoke certificate for site forwarding: you can obtain one by visiting this page. You can ensure that your website is secure throughout the Spawn period by configuring the certificate to hide the site before executing full DNS execution or before doing -o DNS updates. Stay. If a person visits your website without a specific certificate, their browser will display a security warning until we issue them with a Let’s Encrypt certificate. This will continue till they receive their certificate. Where did you get your diploma and what school did you go to? There are numerous service providers to choose from, including B. DigiCert and Comodo, among others. Regardless of the provider you select, you must generate a Certificate Signing Request, often known as a CSR, for your own personal certificate.
One final thought
I’m going to assume you’re already experienced with changing the DNS settings for a website that is currently in production. If you have any questions or concerns for us, please post them in the comments box below.