Connect a Hostinger domain (hPanel DNS Zone Editor)

Did you buy your domain at Hostinger, or does Hostinger manage its DNS? This guide shows, step by step, where to create in Hostinger the records Acatudy asks for.

Before you start

• In Acatudy, go to My academy → General → Details & domain, type your address in Your own domain (for example www.brightpathtutoring.com) and click Add domain. A custom domain is included in Basic and Professional (1 domain) and Institutional (3 domains).
• Open How do I link my domain? on that card and keep it at hand: it shows your CNAME target (like brightpath.acatudy.com) and the IP address for a root domain.
• Hostinger's help says that to modify a domain's active DNS records the domain must use Hostinger nameservers (ns1.dns-parking.com and ns2.dns-parking.com). If it points elsewhere, the DNS zone is managed at that provider.

Step 1. Open your DNS records at Hostinger

1. Open your domain in hPanel

   Sign in to hPanel and go to Domains, then select your domain (Manage).

2. Open DNS / Nameservers

   Open DNS / Nameservers. If the domain is attached to a hosting plan, you can also reach the editor through Websites → your site → Advanced → DNS Zone Editor.

3. Add a record

   Use the form at the top of the DNS records list and click Add Record.

Step 2. Point www to your academy (CNAME)

Add this record (or edit the existing www record if there is one):

Choose CNAME, type www in Name and your academy address in Points to. Hostinger's help: "The domain name is automatically appended, so you do not need to add it manually." If a www CNAME already exists, edit it instead of adding a second one.

Using another subdomain, such as learn? Use it as the name instead of www, and add that same address in Acatudy. With this CNAME no TXT record is needed.

Step 3. Remove records that get in the way

• Hostinger's DNS zone comes with an A record for @ (and one for ftp). Its help asks you to remove conflicting or outdated A and AAAA records before pointing the domain elsewhere.
• If Hostinger CDN is on for this domain, turn it off first: Hostinger warns that changing the www CNAME with the CDN active can affect the site.
• To clean up several records, tick them and use Delete selected.

Don't touch MX, SPF or DKIM records: they run your email.

Step 4 (optional). The root domain

brightpathtutoring.com (without www) and www.brightpathtutoring.com are one domain: if the root also points to Acatudy, it works on its own, redirects (301) to the address you added keeping the path, shares its HTTPS certificate and doesn't count as an extra domain. So you no longer need to forward the root to www from Hostinger.

Create the A record on the root

If you set up a redirect for the root in the Redirects tab, delete it first: it conflicts with the A record. Since www already has the CNAME, the root doesn't need the TXT. Create this record, replacing any existing A record on the root:

Edit the existing A record on @ (with Hostinger CDN off) instead of adding a second one. Hostinger's "CNAME vs ALIAS" article explains that a CNAME created with Name @ is saved as an ALIAS; that works too, but like the A record it needs the TXT, and the A record is simpler.

Prefer the root as your main address? Add brightpathtutoring.com in Acatudy instead of www, create the same A record and the TXT record (see below). If you also create the CNAME on www, www redirects to the root and the TXT isn't needed.

Step 5. Verify in Acatudy and get HTTPS

1. Wait for propagation

   Hostinger's default TTL is 14400 seconds (4 hours) and its help mentions up to 24 hours of propagation. New records usually work much sooner.

2. Verification is automatic

   Acatudy checks pending domains every 10 minutes for 14 days. To check right away, click Verify on the Your own domain card: the badge changes from pending to verified.

3. HTTPS is automatic too

   Once verified, we issue a free Let's Encrypt certificate and renew it for you, usually within minutes (we retry every hour if the DNS isn't ready). There's nothing to install at Hostinger.

4. Check it yourself (optional)

   Run nslookup -type=CNAME www.brightpathtutoring.com in a terminal, or use Google's Admin Toolbox Dig: the answer should be your academy address.

The TXT record (required with an A record on the root)

If you use an A record on the root, Acatudy requires a TXT record to prove the domain is yours (the IP address is shared by all academies). With the CNAME on www you don't need it, not even for the root. The card shows its Host (e.g. _acatudy-verify.brightpathtutoring.com) and Value (acatudy-verify=…).

Choose TXT and paste the value in the TXT value field. Hostinger appends your domain to the name, so remove .yourdomain.com from the Host that Acatudy shows.

Common problems at Hostinger

Still not verified after 24 hours, or verified without HTTPS? Open a ticket in Support from your panel with the domain and a screenshot of your DNS records at Hostinger (see Support and response times).

Official documentation and related guides

Hostinger official documentation consulted for this guide:

• How to manage CNAME records at Hostinger
• How to use Hostinger's DNS Zone Editor
• How to manage A records at Hostinger
• How to manage TXT records at Hostinger
• CNAME vs ALIAS records at Hostinger
• How to redirect a domain without a hosting plan

In Acatudy: Connect your domain: guides by provider (www vs root, nameservers, TTL and troubleshooting) and Connect your own domain.