Custom branded nameservers let you present your own brand to clients when they point their domains to your reseller hosting. Instead of using generic nameservers, your clients would use addresses like ns1.yourbrand.com and ns2.yourbrand.com, with no visible connection to Host Media.
Custom nameservers vs anonymous nameservers
Before setting up custom nameservers, it is worth understanding the difference between your two options:
| Custom branded nameservers | Anonymous nameservers | |
|---|---|---|
| What clients see | ns1.yourbrand.com |
Generic nameservers with no brand association |
| Setup required | Yes, requires glue record registration and a support request | None, available immediately from your welcome email |
| Best for | Established resellers who want full white-label branding under their own domain | Getting started quickly without additional setup |
If you want to get started quickly without additional setup, see our guide on anonymous nameservers for resellers.
What you will need
To set up custom nameservers you need:
- A domain name registered in your own name that you will use for the nameservers (this is typically your own brand or agency domain, for example
yourbrand.com) - The two server IP addresses from your Host Media welcome email. These are the IPs your nameservers will resolve to
- Access to manage the domain's glue records at your domain registrar
How custom nameservers work
Custom nameservers require glue records — a special type of DNS record registered at your domain registrar that maps a hostname (like ns1.yourbrand.com) directly to an IP address. Glue records are necessary because without them, resolving ns1.yourbrand.com would create a circular dependency: the resolver would need to ask yourbrand.com's nameserver where ns1.yourbrand.com is, but it can't find the nameserver without first resolving ns1.yourbrand.com.
Once glue records are in place, your nameservers are fully functional and you can give your clients ns1.yourbrand.com and ns2.yourbrand.com to point their domains.
Step 1: Register glue records at your domain registrar
Log in to wherever you manage yourbrand.com and look for a section called Glue Records, Child Nameservers, or Host Records — the exact name varies by registrar.
Create the following two records, replacing the IPs with the ones from your Host Media welcome email:
| Hostname | IP address |
|---|---|
ns1.yourbrand.com |
Your Host Media server IP 1 |
ns2.yourbrand.com |
Your Host Media server IP 2 |
If your registrar does not offer glue record management, contact their support team and ask them to register child nameserver records (also called host records) for your domain with the IP addresses above.
Not sure which IPs to use? Your two server IP addresses are listed in your Host Media welcome email. If you cannot locate your welcome email, open a support ticket and we will provide them.
Step 2: Request nameserver configuration from Host Media
Once your glue records are in place, open a support ticket so our team can configure the nameservers on the server side.
Please include the following in your ticket:
- Your desired nameserver hostnames, for example
ns1.yourbrand.comandns2.yourbrand.com - Confirmation that glue records have been registered at your registrar
- Your reseller account domain or username
Our team will configure the nameservers and confirm once everything is set up. Allow up to one business day for this to be completed.
Step 3: Give your clients the new nameservers
Once configured, you can start giving clients your branded nameservers to use when pointing their domains. Your clients simply log in to their domain registrar and update their nameservers to:
ns1.yourbrand.com
ns2.yourbrand.comAfter updating, allow up to 24 hours for DNS propagation. See our guide on DNS propagation for more detail.
Adding domains to your reseller account
Before directing a client to point their domain to your nameservers, make sure their hosting account exists in WHM:
- Log in to WHM.
- Go to Account Functions → Create a New Account.
- Enter the domain name, account details, and package, then click Create.
- Once created, the account is ready to receive traffic as soon as the client's nameservers propagate.
Troubleshooting
Nameservers not resolving after setup
Allow at least a few hours after registering glue records before testing — glue records have their own propagation time. You can check whether your nameservers are resolving correctly using dnschecker.org — search for ns1.yourbrand.com using the A record type and confirm the IP matches your Host Media server IP.
Registrar cannot find the glue record option
Some registrars label this feature differently. Try looking for: Child Nameservers, Host Records, Nameserver Registration, or Private Nameservers. If you cannot find it at all, contact your registrar's support team directly and ask them to register child nameserver records for your domain.
