What Are Bigcommerce Nameservers and How Do They Work

When we are new to the world of ecommerce, the terminology is confusing. Terms like accessibility, nameservers, and domain forwarding may have appeared in your Bigcommerce website operations. But what exactly are nameservers, and how do they work?

In simple terms, nameservers are like the phone book of the internet, translating human-readable domain names (like www.example.com) into the IP addresses computers use to communicate with each other.

When you set up a Bigcommerce store, you access a set of nameservers to point your domain name to your store’s IP address. It is an essential step in getting your store online and accessible to customers around the world. In this article, we’ll break down Bigcommerce nameservers, how they work, and why they’re so important for your online business.

If you like what you read, read on to learn everything you need to know about Bigcommerce nameservers.

An Overview of BigCommerce

BigCommerce is an ecommerce platform that allows businesses to create and manage their online stores. With its user-friendly interface, robust features, and scalability, BigCommerce is quickly gaining popularity among online retailers.

The platform offers attractive customization features for your BigCommerce stores, including engaging themes, integrations with popular payment gateways and shipping providers, and an excellent product management system. On top, BigCommerce also has SEO optimization features, like optimized URLs, microdata, and CDN making it easier for businesses to rank higher in search engine results. All in all, it is an Ecommerce platform worth considering.

The Fundamentals on Domain Name Servers

Domain Name Servers (DNS) are a fundamental part of the internet’s infrastructure. They are simultaneous interpreters translating human-readable domain names (like ecompowerhouse.com) into IP addresses (like 116.203.0.239) that computers can understand.

When you type a URL into your browser, it sends a request to a DNS server to find the IP address associated with that domain name. The DNS server then sends back the IP address, allowing your browser to connect to the correct server and retrieve the website’s content.

DNS operates on a hierarchical system, with top-level domain servers (like .com, .org, and .edu) containing information about the second-level domain servers (like google.com or facebook.com), which in turn contain information about individual websites.

The Different Types of Name Servers

There are mainly two types of name servers: the primary name server and the secondary name server. The primary name server is the first point of contact for DNS queries for a particular domain. It is the authoritative name server that holds the original copies of the zone files for a domain.

The secondary name server, on the other hand, acts as a backup to the primary server. It can answer DNS queries if the primary server fails to respond. Secondary name servers receive zone file updates from the primary server periodically.

How the Bigcommerce Domain Name System Works

Now that you have a background in the generals of Domain Name Servers is the moment for the tastier part of this post, BigCommerce name servers.

When you sign up for a BigCommerce account, you will be provided with a unique domain name, which looks something like “yourstorename.mybigcommerce.com”.

Alternatively, you can use your custom domain name with your BigCommerce store. If you prefer this option, you will need to purchase a domain name from a third-party registrar (such as GoDaddy or Namecheap) and then set up the necessary DNS records to point your domain to your BigCommerce store’s domain.

BigCommerce also offers a domain registration service, where users can purchase a domain name directly from the platform. Once you have a domain name set up with your BigCommerce store, customers will access your live store by typing your domain name into their web browser.

How to Change Big Commerce Name Servers

To change your BigCommerce name servers, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your BigCommerce account.
2. Click on the “Advanced Settings” option on the left-hand side of the screen.
3. Click on the “DNS Settings” option.
4. Click on the “Edit” button next to the domain name you want to change.
5. Enter the new name in the “Name Server” field.
6. Click the “Save” button to save the changes.

Note that you may have to wait for up to 24 hours for the changes to be effective.

The Best Practices for Big Commerce DNS

The best practices for name servers are the best warranty for your BigCommerce store to stay operative and running smoothly.

It is essential to have backup DNS servers in place to ensure your website remains accessible if your primary Domain Name Server server experiences downtime or malfunctions. Additionally, you should prioritize DNS security by using secure passwords and enabling two-factor authentication whenever possible.

Optimizing DNS performance is crucial to favor fast load times and a positive user experience. Some effective strategies are leveraging a content delivery network (CDN), minimizing DNS queries, and implementing DNS caching.

How Custom Domain Affects Your BigCommerce SEO

There are two sides to consider when answering this question. A custom domain can have positive and negative consequences for your BigCommerce SEO.

Having a custom domain can positively impact your BigCommerce SEO in the following ways:

1. It makes it easier for customers to remember and find your website. It can lead to more direct traffic and higher click-through rates, which are both factors that positively impact your search engine rankings.
2. Additionally, having a custom domain can help establish your brand identity, leading to more backlinks, social media mentions, and other factors that can improve your search engine rankings.
3. Overahaving a custom domain can have a significant impact on your BigCommerce SEO and is worth considering if you want to improve your search engine rankings.

A custom domain set wrong can negatively affect your BigCommerce Store SEO. One common mistake is not redirecting your old domain to your new custom domain.

It can result in duplicate content and confuse search engines, leading to lower rankings. Additionally, if your custom domain is not secure (using HTTPS), it can hurt your SEO as Google favors secure sites, so the free SSL certificate provided by BigCommerce is an advantage.

It is fundamental to properly set up your custom domain and ensure all old URLs are redirected to the new domain to maintain your search engine rankings, or you may lose all your hard work to get to the top ranking in search engines.

FAQs

Does BigCommerce Offer DNS Hosting?

Yes, Bigcommerce offers DNS hosting for its customers. Bigcommerce provides this service to its customers to help them manage their domain names and ensure that their online stores remain accessible to their customers.

With Bigcommerce DNS hosting, users can easily manage their domain settings, including creating and editing DNS records, setting up multiple domains, and configuring email settings.

The service is included in Bigcommerce standard plans, making it a convenient and cost-effective option for ecommerce businesses of all sizes.

Can I Use My Domain With Bigcommerce?

Yes, you can use your domain with BigCommerce. To do this, you must update your DNS settings to point to your BigCommerce store.

You can either transfer your domain to BigCommerce or keep it with your current registrar server and update the DNS settings. Once you update your DNS settings, you can customize your store’s URL to use your domain.

It will make your domain extension and store’s URL more professional and help with branding. Using your domain can help with SEO and make it easier for customers to remember your website.

How Do I Link My Domain to BigCommerce?

To link your domain to BigCommerce, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your BigCommerce account and go to the “Server Settings” section.
2. Click on “Domains” and then click “Add a Domain.”
3. Enter your domain name and select “Use DNS settings from another provider.”
4. Click “Save” and then click “View DNS records.”
5. In a separate tab, log in to your domain registrar’s website and navigate to the DNS settings for your custom domain.
6. Create a new CNAME record with your subdomain (e.g., “www”) and point it to your BigCommerce store’s URL.
7. Create a new A record and point it to the IP address provided in the BigCommerce DNS settings.
8. Save the changes on your domain registrar’s website.
9. Return to the BigCommerce DNS settings and click “Verify.”

Your domain is now linked to your BigCommerce store.

The Takeout

We covered a lot of ground in this post, but there is still so much more to explore about the infinite possibilities of BigCommerce as a marketing platform and as a space to showcase your business to new audiences to improve your brand awareness and internet presence.

Using BigCommerce nameserver can be the best option for setting up your store at the beginning, but as your online store scales and progresses, you may consider using a new domain and customizing to increase brand awareness and position yourself in the mind of your customers.

We would love to hear your thoughts. Please share your comments and ideas below!