My client already has hosting with an existing website. I designed the new version of the website via webflow but I don’t know how to point it to their existing domain. All they gave me is their ftp account information, and upon using a google chrome extension to figure out who their hosting provider was it came out that it’s Fasthosts. I’m not sure where to go from here. Am I missing some information from the client, or is there a way to do this through the ftp account they gave me, or what? My background is in UX and not web development so I’m not really familiar with these things…Would appreciate the help.
Hey Nadine,
I’m assuming that your plan is to use Webflow’s hosting, and if that’s the case, you need access to their DNS, or else you need to supply whoever manages their DNS with the Webflow configuration that’s needed.
Often the DNS is managed by the domain registrar, but not always, you’ll need to check.
That registrar might be fasthosts, or they might only be using fasthosts for the hosting of their old site.
In short, you’re going to have to ask the client. The FTP login isn’t what you need, unless you’re exporting and uploading the site. Even then that would be quite difficult to make it work right.
Hey, I’m really sorry for bothering you with this, but I’m new to all of this so I kinda need a bit more clarity. Can you further breakdown to me the steps I need to follow to resolve this issue moving forward? How do I access their DNS when all they’re giving me is the Ftp account info? How do I explain to them that there’s some missing info I need from them?
Are you going to host their site on Webflow?
If so then you need to change their DNS to point to Webflow.
You’ll just have to tell them you need access to their DNS and that usually it’s manage by their domain registrar. You can ask them to give you the login ( if they trust you enough ), or offer to give them the Webflow configuration records for them to enter.
Make sure to give them all 4 - two A records, the CNAME, and the TXT record.
If they’re expecting you to export and upload the site to their existing FTP server, that’s a whole different thing. Hopefully you’ve planned the site design around whichever approach you’re planning.
It all depends on what approach you’ve decided with them.
What’s the domain name?
How would I go about exporting and uploading the site to their existing ftp server?
Hi Nadine, you can read the webflow university guide on exporting but unless you’re fairly technical, the fact that you’re asking means this probably isn’t the right approach for you. This is more complex than hosting on Webflow and has important limitations.
I’m just making guesses because you haven’t given any information yet on what you’ve agreed with your client regarding the hosting of their site.
Hi @Nadine_9967
- Ask your client their DNS provider. If they don’t know what/who, you can reformulate with: “Who bought your domain name www.domainexample.com” or “Who is in charge of the old website?”
1.1) If they are still lost, you can try to find the name of the provider with a reverse DNS lookup
1.2) If it’s still not working, ask them to search for invoice with the DNS keyword, they should have something in their email.
- Hopefully, you get the DNS provider and then it’s fairly simple, you follow the steps recommended by Webflow for the DNS provider
As @memetican mentioned, exporting to the server is another challenge level.
I hope you will find or access the DNS, from there, if you still need help, let us know.