How to change the A record for a subdomain in Spaceship hosting

Change the A record for a subdomain, step by step

Follow these steps to change a subdomain’s A record in Spaceship hosting without running into conflicts or unnecessary downtime.

Before you start

  • If your subdomain is on Spaceship’s shared hosting, Spaceship assigns its A record automatically and you can’t edit it directly.
  • To change the A record, you first have to remove the subdomain from shared hosting, then add a new record in Advanced DNS.
  • Removing the subdomain from shared hosting may take it offline until the new A record has propagated.
  • DNS changes can take 30 to 60 minutes to spread worldwide.

Step 1: Check your current A record and DNS settings

  1. Log in to your Spaceship account.
  2. Click the magnifying glass icon at the top of the dashboard, then search for Advanced DNS and open it.
  3. Select your main domain to see its DNS records.

If your subdomain isn’t listed, you’ll enter it manually when you create the new record. In the Host field, type only the subdomain name, for example “store”, without the main domain.

Step 2: Find and resolve the A record conflict

If you get an error saying the new A record conflicts with an existing one:

  1. Look for the existing A record in Advanced DNS.
  2. Check whether the subdomain is on Spaceship’s shared hosting. If it is, the system has assigned an A record you can’t remove or edit directly.

To fix this, remove the subdomain from shared hosting so the A record is freed up.

Step 3: Remove the subdomain from shared hosting

  1. Log in to your Spaceship account.
  2. Click the magnifying glass icon and search for Hosting Manager.
  3. Find your hosting plan and the subdomain.
  4. Click the three-dot menu (â‹®) next to the subdomain.
  5. Select “Delete connection”, then confirm with “Remove connection”.

Removing the subdomain from shared hosting doesn’t delete your website files. They’re still in cPanel. Your subdomain may go offline until the new A record is set up and has propagated.

Step 4: Add the new A record in Advanced DNS

Once the subdomain is off shared hosting:

  1. Go back to Advanced DNS in your Spaceship account.
  2. Click Add record and choose A record.
  3. In the Host field, enter your subdomain, for example “store”.
  4. In the Value field, enter the new IP address, for example 3.33.255.208.
  5. Click Add to save the record.

Then wait 30 to 60 minutes for DNS to propagate.

Step 5: Check the new A record

To confirm the new record is working, use Spaceship’s Advanced DNS checker or an outside tool such as DNS Checker.

Optional: manage your DNS with Cloudflare

If you want more control over your DNS, you can move DNS management to Cloudflare.

  1. Sign up for a free account at Cloudflare.com.
  2. Add your domain and let Cloudflare scan your existing DNS records.
  3. In Spaceship’s domain settings, change your domain’s nameservers to the ones Cloudflare gives you.
  4. In Cloudflare’s DNS settings, add the new A record for your subdomain.

Once you switch, Cloudflare’s DNS settings replace Spaceship’s Advanced DNS. Check that every DNS record has moved across before you switch, or parts of your site may go down.

Quick recap

  1. Check your current DNS settings in Advanced DNS.
  2. Find any A record conflict.
  3. Remove the subdomain from shared hosting to free up the A record.
  4. Add the new A record in Advanced DNS and wait for it to propagate.
  5. Check the new record with a DNS checker.

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