Orchid eCommerce DNS Setup: After your Orchid eCommerce mock website is approved, follow these steps to point your domain to the Orchid hosting environment. Your Orchid implementation consultant will provide the exact IP address or CNAME target to use.
About Network Solutions DNS
Network Solutions is one of the oldest domain registrars. DNS management is done through the Advanced DNS Records section under your domain's Advanced Tools.
Before You Start
- Confirm you have admin/owner access to your domain registrar account.
- Get the target IP address (for A records) or CNAME hostname (for CNAME records) from your Orchid implementation consultant.
- Note your current DNS records before making changes — screenshot or write them down as a backup.
- If you use email on this domain (e.g., you@yourdomain.com), do not change MX records — only modify A and/or CNAME records as instructed.
- DNS changes can take 15 minutes to 48 hours to fully propagate worldwide.
Step-by-Step: Update A Record (Root Domain)
- Sign in to your Network Solutions account.
- Click Domains in the left menu.
- Select your domain.
- Scroll to Advanced Tools.
- Click Manage next to Advanced DNS Records.
- In the IP Address (A Records) section, click Edit A Records.
- Set the host to @ (root domain).
- Enter the IP address from Orchid.
- Set TTL (default is 2 hours).
- Click Save.
Step-by-Step: Update CNAME Record (www subdomain)
- In Advanced DNS, scroll to the CNAME Records section.
- Click the pencil icon to edit or add a new CNAME.
- Select www as the host (or choose Other Host for custom subdomains).
- Enter the Orchid hostname in the Alias to field.
- Click Save.
Important Network Solutions Notes
- Disable Web Forwarding first. Network Solutions uses web forwarding for parked domains, and it overrides your A/CNAME records. Turn it off before making DNS changes.
- A record for www conflicts with CNAME for www. Delete the A record first if you plan to use a CNAME for the www subdomain.
- CNAME editing may be temporarily locked after editing A records. Wait a few minutes and reload if you see errors.
- No CNAME on root domain. Only subdomains can have CNAME records.
TTL and Propagation
Default TTL is 7200 seconds (2 hours). You can lower it to 15 minutes before making changes. Propagation typically takes 24–48 hours, up to 72 hours worst case.
Verifying Your DNS Changes
After saving your records, verify propagation:
- Open a terminal or command prompt.
- Run:
nslookup yourdomain.com(replace with your actual domain). - Confirm the returned IP address matches the one provided by Orchid.
- Alternatively, use an online tool like whatsmydns.net to check global propagation.
If your domain still shows the old site after 48 hours, clear your browser cache, try an incognito window, or contact your Orchid consultant.
Need help? If you're uncomfortable making DNS changes, your Orchid implementation consultant can walk you through it on a screen-share. Submit a support ticket to schedule.