--- title: "Point a Domain to Shopify" description: "If your domain is registered with InMotion Hosting and your store runs on Shopify, you can point a domain to Shopify by editing two Domain Name System (DNS) records in cPanel's Zone Editor. By the..." url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/domain-names/dns-nameserver-changes/point-a-domain-to-shopify/ date: 2026-06-25 modified: 2026-08-04 author: "Derrell" categories: ["DNS and Nameserver Changes"] tags: ["cpanel", "dns", "domain-names", "shopify", "zone-editor"] type: post lang: en --- # Point a Domain to Shopify If your domain is registered with InMotion Hosting and your store runs on Shopify, you can point a domain to Shopify by editing two Domain Name System (DNS) records in cPanel’s Zone Editor. By the end of this guide, your domain will resolve to Shopify’s servers, while your InMotion Hosting account continues to manage the DNS. **Important:** These steps require that your domain’s nameservers already point to your InMotion Hosting server. If you are not sure, log in to cPanel, open Zone Editor, and confirm the nameserver records listed there match your InMotion server. See [Registering a New Domain Name](/support/domain-names/registering-a-new-domain-name/) for background on how domain registration and nameservers work together. ## Step 1: Point a Domain to Shopify by Updating DNS Records in cPanel Shopify requires two DNS changes on your root domain: an A record pointing to Shopify’s IP address, and a `www` CNAME record pointing to `shops.myshopify.com`. Make both changes in cPanel’s Zone Editor before touching the Shopify dashboard. 1. [Log in to cPanel](/support/edu/cpanel/how-to-log-into-cpanel/). 2. In the **Domains** section, click **Zone Editor**.![](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/point-a-domain-to-shopify-01-cpanelzoneeditor.png) 3. Click **Manage** next to the domain you want to connect to Shopify.![Zone Editor domain list with Manage button highlighted](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/point-a-domain-to-shopify-02-zoneeditormanage.png) ### Update the A record 1. Locate the root domain’s **A record** (the record whose **Name** column matches your bare domain, such as `example.com`). 2. Click **Edit** on that row. ![Zone Editor A record row with the Edit button highlighted](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/point-a-domain-to-shopify-03-zoneeditoredit.png) 1. Change the **Record** field to Shopify’s IP address: `23.227.38.65`. 2. Click **Save Record**. ![Zone Editor A record edit form showing Shopify IP address with Save Record button](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/point-a-domain-to-shopify-04-zoneeditorsaverecord.png) ### Update the www CNAME record 1. Scroll to find the **CNAME record** whose **Name** is `www`. 2. Click **Edit** on that row. ![Zone Editor www CNAME row with Edit button highlighted](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/point-a-domain-to-shopify-05-cpanelzoneeditoreditbutton.png) 1. Change the **Record** field to `shops.myshopify.com`. 2. Click **Save Record**. ![Zone Editor CNAME edit form showing shops.myshopify.com with Save Record button](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/point-a-domain-to-shopify-06-zoneeditorshopifycname.png) With both records saved, your DNS is ready. DNS changes propagate across the internet in minutes to 48 hours, but you can proceed to connect the domain in Shopify right away. ## Step 2: Connect the Domain in Your Shopify Dashboard After updating the DNS records, tell Shopify to associate the domain with your store. Shopify will verify the connection automatically. 1. Log in to your Shopify admin dashboard. 2. Go to **Settings** > **Domains**. 3. Click **Connect existing domain**. 4. Enter your domain name (for example, `.com`). Replace `` with your actual registered domain. 5. Click **Next**. 6. Click **Verify Connection** to confirm that Shopify can see the updated DNS records. If Shopify reports that the domain is not verified yet, wait a few hours and try again. DNS propagation usually causes the delay. Shopify also publishes [its own documentation on connecting existing domains](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/domains/add-a-domain/using-existing-domains/connecting-domains) if you need additional context from their side. ## Point a Subdomain to Shopify If you want to use a subdomain (such as `shop..com`) instead of the root domain, the DNS setup differs slightly. You will add or edit a CNAME record for the subdomain rather than changing an A record. 1. [Log in to cPanel](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/cpanel/how-to-log-into-cpanel/). 2. In the **Domains** section, click **Zone Editor**.![cPanel Domains section showing Zone Editor for subdomain setup](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/point-a-domain-to-shopify-07-cpanelzoneeditor.png) 3. Click **Manage** to the right of the parent domain.![Zone Editor domain list with Manage button highlighted for the parent domain](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/point-a-domain-to-shopify-08-zoneeditormanage.png) ### If an A record already exists for the subdomain 1. Find the subdomain’s existing **A record** in the list and click **Edit**.![Zone Editor showing the Edit button next to an existing subdomain A record](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/point-a-domain-to-shopify-09-zoneeditoreditsubdomain.png) 2. Change the record **Type** to **CNAME**. 3. Set the **Record** field to `shops.myshopify.com`. 4. Click **Save Record**.![Zone Editor CNAME edit form for subdomain pointing to shops.myshopify.com](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/point-a-domain-to-shopify-10-zoneeditorsubdomainshopifycname.png) ### If no A record exists for the subdomain Create a new CNAME record from scratch using these values: | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Name | The subdomain (for example, `shop..com`) | | TTL | Leave as default | | Type | CNAME | | Record | `shops.myshopify.com` | Click **Save Record** when done. Then follow the steps in Step 2 above to connect the subdomain to your store in the Shopify dashboard. ## Keep Email Running on InMotion Hosting After Pointing Your Domain Pointing your domain’s A record to Shopify changes where web traffic goes, but it does not have to affect your email. Follow these steps to keep messages flowing to your InMotion mailboxes. 1. In the Zone Editor, locate the `mail` CNAME record. Change its type to **A** and set its value to your server’s IP address. This creates a stable hostname that the MX record can reference. 2. Edit the domain’s **MX record** so that it points to `mail..com`. Because that hostname now resolves to your server IP, mail will route to InMotion regardless of what the root A record says. For more detail on MX records, see [Changing MX Records to Point to InMotion Servers from Third-Party DNS](/support/edu/cpanel/third-party-mx/). 3. In cPanel, open **Email Routing** and confirm the routing mode is set to **Local Mail Exchanger**.![cPanel Email Routing section showing Local Mail Exchanger selected](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/point-a-domain-to-shopify-11-emailroutingsettolocal-1.png) **Note:** DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate worldwide. During that window, some email may route unpredictably. Schedule this change during a low-traffic period if possible. ## Troubleshooting ### Nameservers are not pointing to InMotion If the prerequisite check in the intro showed that the nameservers pointed elsewhere, none of the Zone Editor changes in this guide will take effect. You must update your nameservers to the values for your InMotion Hosting server first. See [Registering a New Domain Name](/support/domain-names/registering-a-new-domain-name/) for guidance on where to find those values. ### Shopify says the domain is not verified DNS propagation is the most likely cause. Wait two to four hours, then click **Verify Connection** again in the Shopify dashboard. If 48 hours pass with no success, return to the Zone Editor and confirm that the A record value is exactly `23.227.38.65` and the www CNAME value is exactly `shops.myshopify.com` with no trailing characters. ### The site still shows the InMotion default page Your browser may be serving a cached version of the old IP address. Clear your browser cache, then test from a different device or network. You can also check propagation progress using a public DNS lookup tool such as [whatsmydns.net](https://www.whatsmydns.net/) to confirm whether the new A record value has reached your location. ### Email stopped working after pointing the domain If you did not complete the steps in the section above, your MX record may still point to a hostname that now resolves to Shopify’s IP address. Return to the Zone Editor, create the `mail` A record pointing to your server IP, update the MX record to target that hostname, and set Email Routing to **Local Mail Exchanger** in cPanel. ## Conclusion Your domain is now pointed to Shopify, with DNS records updated in cPanel’s Zone Editor and the connection confirmed in the Shopify dashboard. If you are also running email through InMotion, the MX and mail A record changes keep your mailboxes intact. If you ever want to move your store’s product data, see [Migrating to WooCommerce from Shopify](/support/edu/wordpress/woocommerce/migrating-to-woocommerce-from-shopify-bigcommerce-volusion/) for a walkthrough of that process.