Connect a Network Solutions domain (Advanced DNS)

Did you buy your domain at Network Solutions, or does Network Solutions manage its DNS? This guide shows, step by step, where to create in Network Solutions 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.
• Network Solutions' help: to use the Advanced DNS Manager, your nameservers must be Network Solutions' managed nameservers. If the domain uses another provider's nameservers (Cloudflare, your web host…), edit the records there.

Step 1. Open your DNS records at Network Solutions

1. Open your domain

   Sign in to Network Solutions, go to Domains and select your domain.

2. Open Advanced DNS Records

   In the Advanced Tools section, click Manage next to Advanced DNS Records.

3. Add or edit a record

   Click + Add Record to create one, or the pencil icon to edit an existing one. Confirm with Add (or Edit).

Step 2. Point www to your academy (CNAME)

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

Choose CNAME, pick www in the Refers to drop-down and paste your academy address in Alias to. For another subdomain, such as learn, choose Other Host and type it.

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

• By default the domain's A record points to Network Solutions' parking page IP (205.178.189.129, according to its help). If you serve the root from Acatudy, edit that record with the pencil icon.
• Delete any other A, AAAA or CNAME record on www, and any web forwarding set on www.

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 Network Solutions.

Create the A record on the root

If you set up Web Forwarding for the domain (Domains → Advanced Tools), 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:

Network Solutions states that CNAME records can only be created for third-level domains (like www), and it doesn't document ALIAS records, so use the A record: edit the existing @ A record instead of adding a second one.

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

   Network Solutions' default TTL is 7200 seconds (2 hours) and its help says Advanced DNS changes can take up to 2 hours. Nameserver changes take 24 to 48 hours.

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 Network Solutions.

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, pick Other Host and type the host without your domain. Network Solutions' help doesn't say whether it appends the domain or accepts the underscore: if the record won't save, open a ticket and we'll verify the domain another way.

Common problems at Network Solutions

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 Network Solutions (see Support and response times).

Official documentation and related guides

Network Solutions official documentation consulted for this guide:

• Manage DNS and Advanced DNS records
• What is web forwarding?
• Manage custom nameservers
• How to manage domain connections

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