How to Change the A Record for a Subdomain in Spaceship Hosting 🚀

Change the A Record for a Subdomain (Step-by-Step Guide)

If you need to change the A record for a subdomain in Spaceship Hosting, follow this step-by-step guide to avoid conflicts and ensure a smooth transition.

🛑 Important Notes Before You Start

✔ If your subdomain is hosted on Spaceship’s Shared Hosting, an A record is automatically assigned and cannot be modified directly.
✔ To update the A record, you must first remove the subdomain from Shared Hosting before adding a new record in Advanced DNS.
✔ Removing a subdomain from Shared Hosting may cause temporary downtime until the new A record is fully propagated.
✔ DNS changes can take 30-60 minutes to propagate worldwide.

Step 1: Check Your Current A Record & DNS Settings

  1. Log in to your Spaceship account.
  2. Go to the Advanced DNS section:
    • Click the magnifying glass icon 🔍 at the top of the dashboard.
    • Search for Advanced DNS and open it.
  3. Select your main domain to view existing DNS records.

🛠️ If you cannot see your subdomain listed:

  • The subdomain must be entered manually when creating a new record.
  • In the Host field, enter only the subdomain name (e.g., store)—do not include the main domain.

Step 2: Identify & Resolve A Record Conflict

If you receive an error saying that the new A record conflicts with an existing one, follow these steps:

  1. Look for an existing A record under Advanced DNS.
  2. If your subdomain is hosted on Spaceship’s Shared Hosting, the system automatically assigns an A record, which cannot be removed or modified directly.

✔ Solution: You must remove the subdomain from Shared Hosting to free up the A record.

Step 3: Remove the Subdomain from Shared Hosting

To allow changes to the A record, remove the subdomain from Spaceship’s Shared Hosting:

  1. Log in to your Spaceship account.
  2. Go to the Hosting Manager:
    • Click the magnifying glass icon 🔍 and search for Hosting Manager.
  3. Find your hosting plan and locate the subdomain.
  4. Click on the “⋮” menu (three dots) next to the subdomain.
  5. Select “Delete connection” and confirm by clicking “Remove connection”.

⚠️ Warning:

  • Removing the subdomain from Shared Hosting does NOT delete your website files—they will still be available in cPanel.
  • Your subdomain may go offline until the new A record is configured and propagated.

Step 4: Add the New A Record in Advanced DNS

Once the subdomain is removed from Shared Hosting:

  1. Return to Advanced DNS in your Spaceship account.
  2. Click Add Record and select A Record.
  3. In the Host field, enter your subdomain (e.g., store).
  4. In the Value field, enter the new IP address (e.g., 3.33.255.208).
  5. Click Add to save the record.

⏳ Wait 30-60 minutes for DNS propagation.

Step 5: Verify Your New A Record

To confirm that your new A record is working correctly:
✔ Use Spaceship’s Advanced DNS checker: Click Here
✔ Or use an external DNS checker: DNS Checker

🌐 Bonus: Managing Subdomains with Cloudflare (Optional)

If you want more control over your DNS settings, consider switching to Cloudflare for DNS management.

How to Use Cloudflare for Your DNS Management

  1. Sign up for a free Cloudflare account at Cloudflare.com.
  2. Add your domain to Cloudflare and let it scan your existing DNS records.
  3. Update your domain’s nameservers to Cloudflare’s provided nameservers (you can do this in Spaceship’s Domain Settings).
  4. Go to Cloudflare’s DNS settings and add your new A record for the subdomain.

⚠️ Note:

  • Using Cloudflare may override Spaceship’s Advanced DNS settings.
  • Ensure all DNS records are correctly transferred to avoid downtime.

🚀 Summary: How to Change Your Subdomain’s A Record in Spaceship

✅ Step 1: Check your current DNS settings in Advanced DNS.
✅ Step 2: Identify and resolve any A record conflicts.
✅ Step 3: Remove the subdomain from Shared Hosting to free up the A record.
✅ Step 4: Add the new A record in Advanced DNS and wait for propagation.
✅ Step 5: Verify the new record using DNS checkers.
✅ (Optional) If you need advanced DNS management, consider Cloudflare.

By following these steps, you can successfully update your subdomain’s A record in Spaceship without unnecessary downtime or conflicts. 🚀