Migrate a domain to Easel

A domain migration changes where DNS sends traffic. The safest migration prepares the Easel deployment and certificate path before moving production traffic.

Migration checklist

Before changing DNS:

Deploy the application to Easel
Test the Production deployment through its Easel URL
Add the custom domain to the Easel project
Inventory existing DNS records
Preserve mail and third-party verification records
Reduce the relevant DNS TTL in advance
Confirm the old hosting configuration remains available
Decide how to roll back the DNS change

1. Inventory DNS

Export or record all existing DNS entries, especially:

A and AAAA
CNAME
MX
TXT
CAA
SRV
DKIM
DMARC
Verification records

Do not replace nameservers without recreating required records at the new DNS provider.

2. Prepare the Easel project

Confirm that:

The expected Production deployment is Ready and Current
Static assets load correctly
Functions work
Environment variables are configured
Redirects are correct
The application accepts the intended hostname
Authentication callback URLs include the new domain

Use the unique deployment URL for initial testing. See Deployment URLs.

When the application requires the real hostname, use a local hosts-file override or a controlled test hostname rather than moving public DNS prematurely.

3. Add the domain

Add the domain to Easel and leave the old traffic record in place until you are ready to cut over.

Easel verifies ownership by detecting the A or CNAME routing record. You cannot fully verify before the cutover unless you temporarily point DNS at Easel or use a hosts override for local checks.

4. Lower TTL

Lower the TTL of the record that will change, ideally before the migration window.

You must wait for the old TTL to expire before the shorter TTL takes effect for previously cached answers.

5. Change DNS

Replace the old web-routing record with the record shown by Easel:

Apex: A record to the edge IPs in the dashboard
Subdomain: CNAME to cname.easelusercontent.com

Do not remove unrelated MX or TXT records.

Keep the previous hosting environment available while caches expire.

If you use Cloudflare or another proxy, switch to DNS-only until the domain is live on Easel. See DNS configuration.

6. Verify the cutover

Test from more than one network and resolver.

Check:

dig example.com A
dig example.com AAAA
dig www.example.com CNAME
curl -I https://example.com
curl -I https://www.example.com

Confirm:

DNS resolves to the intended endpoint
HTTPS uses a valid certificate
The correct Easel project responds
Canonical redirects work
Authentication and APIs work
Email remains operational

7. Monitor

Watch error rate, TLS failures, 404 responses, redirect loops, login and callback failures, and regional DNS differences.

Roll back

To roll back a DNS migration:

Restore the previous routing record
Keep Easel configured while caches expire
Confirm traffic returns to the previous host
Diagnose the Easel issue before attempting another cutover

DNS rollback is not instantaneous for clients that cached the new answer.

Nameserver migration

Changing nameservers is broader and riskier than changing one web record.

A nameserver migration affects every DNS record for the domain. Prefer changing only the web-routing record unless moving authoritative DNS is an explicit goal.

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