Before a procedural walkthrough ships, every step runs on at least two brands when the task is host-specific, or twice on the same stack on different days when it is not. Console errors are captured, UI label drift between regions is noted, and copy is revised the moment a vendor moves a button. Screenshots and paths are spot-checked quarterly. Security-sensitive actions (DNS, SSL, billing) trigger recovery-option checks plus links to the host's own documentation for authoritative wording.
If your host gives you two or more nameservers (e.g. ns1.example.com), pointing the domain at the host is usually easiest. The host then manages all DNS. If you keep DNS at Cloudflare or your registrar, instead add an A record for @ to your server IP and a CNAME for www to your apex or host-provided target.
In your hosting welcome email or control panel, copy the exact nameserver hostnames or the IPv4 address for your account. Typos here are the #1 cause of "site not found" issues.
Log into Namecheap, GoDaddy, or IONOS → Domain → DNS / Nameservers → Custom DNS. Paste each nameserver. Save. If using A/CNAME only, switch to DNS records mode and add @ A and www CNAME per your host's doc.
If migrating live traffic, drop TTL to 300 seconds a day ahead so rollback is faster. then raise TTL again after stability.
Global propagation typically takes minutes to 48 hours. Use a public DNS checker tool querying multiple regions to see when new values appear.
Once DNS resolves, issue SSL in the hosting panel, then in WordPress set Settings → General URLs to https if needed.