You have a VPS and a domain name; now you need them to talk to each other. The process is short, but a couple of details trip people up. Here is the whole thing in plain language.
How it works
The internet uses DNS (the Domain Name System) to translate a human-friendly name like yoursite.com into your server's IP address. To connect them, you create an A record that maps your domain to the IP. That is the core of it.
1. Find your server's IP
Your VPS IP address is in your welcome email and your client area. It looks like 203.0.113.42 (IPv4). If you also have an IPv6 address, you can add an AAAA record for it later.
2. Decide where you manage DNS
DNS records live either at your domain registrar (where you bought the domain) or at your host if you use it for DNS. For most people, the registrar's DNS panel is the place to make these changes.
3. Create the A records
Add two records:
- Host
@(the root domain) → A record → your server IP. - Host
www→ A record → your server IP (or a CNAME pointing to the root).
That covers both yoursite.com and www.yoursite.com. Set the TTL to something low (e.g. 300 seconds) while you are making changes so updates apply quickly.
4. Wait for propagation
DNS changes are not instant — they ripple out across the world's DNS servers over anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. You can watch the change take effect with our free DNS lookup tool: query your domain's A record and confirm it shows your server IP.
5. Configure your server for the domain
Pointing DNS is only half the job — your server also needs to know to answer for that domain. If you are running Nginx, add a server block for it (see our LEMP stack guide); on Plesk, just add the domain in the panel. Then install a free SSL certificate so it loads over HTTPS, and confirm with our SSL checker.
That's it
Once the A record resolves and your server is configured, your domain loads your site. Setting up a fresh VPS? New to servers entirely? Start with What Is a VPS?