Point a Namecheap domain at your church website

Do this

1. 1Publish your site first. Your old site disappears about half an hour after you save here.
2. 2Sign in at namecheap.com.
3. 3Domain List → Manage next to your domain → Advanced DNS.
4. 4In HOST RECORDS, find the URL Redirect Record on Host @. Trash bin icon, then Yes. Leave every other row — the trash bin sits on your MX rows too.
5. 5ADD NEW RECORD. Type A Record. Host @. Our A value into Value. Leave TTL as it is. Green Save Changes check mark.
6. 6Find the www row — a CNAME Record pointing at parkingpage.namecheap.com. Hover it. Click the pencil icon. Replace Value with our CNAME value. Leave Type, Host and TTL as they are. Green Save Changes check mark.
7. 7SAVE ALL CHANGES below HOST RECORDS, if it is showing.
8. 8Back to the domain screen. It says Live on its own.

4 traps

• HOST RECORDS greyed outThen the domain is not on Namecheap BasicDNS — the Domain tab's NAMESERVERS reads something else. Namecheap offers to switch you to Namecheap BasicDNS right there. Do not click it. Namecheap would then answer for the domain with its own empty records and your church email stops the same day. Tell us instead.
• One row per hostNamecheap rejects a second row on the same host and gives no reason. If an @ or www row is already there, hover it and click the pencil icon. If there is none, use ADD NEW RECORD. MX and TXT rows also show Host @ — leave those.
• Every row saves separatelyThe green Save Changes check mark saves one row only. A row you never pressed it on is not saved, and Namecheap gives no warning. SAVE ALL CHANGES below the table catches the rest.
• Site MakerNamecheap Site Maker writes its own @ and www rows on this domain and puts them back after you edit. Turn Site Maker off for this domain first.

Do not touch

MX · TXT · MAIL SETTINGS · the nameservers. MX rows sit in the same HOST RECORDS table, Host @, with the same trash bin as every other row. MX is your church email — often Namecheap Private Email (privateemail.com). Changing the MAIL SETTINGS dropdown clears every MX row at once.

Not working

• Over an hour, still not LiveA URL Redirect Record on @ is still there, or there are two A Record rows on @. Delete the A Record row that is not our value. Leave MX and TXT rows alone.
• HOST RECORDS is greyed outThe domain is not on Namecheap BasicDNS. Tell us — do not accept the switch-to-BasicDNS prompt.
• One address works, not the otherOne row never saved. Press SAVE ALL CHANGES below the table.
• Namecheap rejected the recordA row for that host already exists. Hover it, click the pencil icon, and edit it.
• The old rows came backSite Maker is still on for this domain. Turn it off, then redo the two rows.
• Email stoppedAn MX row or MAIL SETTINGS was changed. Tell us, do not keep changing.