When you register a domain, you get the ability to set the domain’s name servers. That’s what controls where your website is hosted and where your email is hosted.
To move your website to Tectalic, we need you to provide access to your domain management login (or the ability to update the name servers). We only need it briefly — once the new site is approved and we go live, we point the domain at the new web and email services. We don’t need ongoing access, and we don’t need to transfer the domain away from your existing registrar.
At the right time in the go-live process, we update the domain’s name servers to:
- ns1.tectalic.net
- ns2.tectalic.net
- ns3.tectalic.net
What a domain login is (and isn’t)
A domain management login (or “domain login” for short):
- is not the same as the username/password for your email
- is not the same as the username/password for your web hosting account
A domain login is your login at the domain registrar, with the ability to update the name servers.
When your domain was first registered, the registrar would have emailed the login details to the registrant, so a search of your records (start with your email archive) is often all it takes. If we register a new domain for you as part of a website project, we register it in your name and pass you the login for your records.
Once you find the login, confirm it works by logging in at the registrar and checking you can reach the name server settings.
Can’t find it? Here’s how to track it down
Look up the Whois information
On a Mac, open the Terminal app (Applications → Utilities) and type whois yourdomain.com. Otherwise use an online tool — search for “whois lookup”. Note the Registrar Name and the contact details, then search your email archive for anything mentioning that registrar or the registrant. If you’re lucky you’ll find the original login notice. If not, you at least know which registrar to contact.
Use the “Forgot your password” option
Once you know the registrar, go to their site and find the domain management login. Every registrar has a “Forgot your password?” option — sometimes you start with the domain name, sometimes with the email address the domain was registered under.
Watch out for resellers
If the registrar has no record of your domain, it may have been registered through one of their resellers. Resellers range from large operations to one-person shops with no website. Your best bet is to work out who originally registered the domain for you and ask them.
Recovering access for a .au domain
For a .au domain (including .com.au), you can look up the current registrant email and, if it’s yours, request the domain password. See auDA’s guidance on recovering a domain password. Some registrars use the domain name plus this password to log you in; others use a separate login.
Still stuck?
If you don’t know the login and you can’t access the email address the domain is registered to, you have a genuine problem — common when someone else registered the domain on your behalf and is no longer contactable. In that case, contact the registrar’s help desk, explain the situation and go through their process for proving ownership.
The transfer option
Sometimes it’s simpler to transfer the domain to a registrar you find easy to deal with. If you have the domain auth code, you can use it to transfer to a new registrar, and you’ll get a fresh domain login from them once it completes.
Why registrars make it hard
Registrars can’t just hand over control of a domain because someone rings up claiming to own it — otherwise anyone could talk their way into taking a domain they liked. So be patient, send through your proof of ownership, and you’ll get access.
Related: Delegate your Name Servers.