I'm helping move a small organization's public website from an existing managed platform to Wix, while keeping a separate portal and billing system working. The domain is registered with Network Solutions, but its authoritative nameservers are AWS Route 53 nameservers managed by the current website provider. Network Solutions only lets us change the nameservers for the entire domain; it does not let us edit individual DNS records.
The desired setup is for the root domain and www to point to Wix, portal.examplehockeyclub.org to remain with the existing platform, and members.examplehockeyclub.org plus existing email records to remain unchanged. The current provider configured the portal subdomain on their side and asked us to add these delegation records:
portal NS ns1.crossbar.org
portal NS ns2.crossbar.org
portal NS ns3.crossbar.org
portal NS ns4.crossbar.org
My understanding is that these NS records must be added to the authoritative parent zone for examplehockeyclub.org in Route 53. Since the current provider controls that hosted zone and I do not have access to the AWS account, it seems they would need to add the records or provide access.
Is that correct? Should the provider add the delegation records, and would it be safer long term to move the main DNS zone to an account we control, then delegate only portal.examplehockeyclub.org to them? I also want to know the safest way to connect the root domain and www to Wix without disrupting email, billing, or other existing records.
3 Answers
Long term, I would put the main DNS zone in an account your organization controls, whether that is Route 53 or another reputable DNS provider. Then you can manage Wix, email, verification records, and future services without depending on the website vendor. After the move, keep portal delegated to the provider with the four NS records. The important part is to recreate and verify the existing records before changing the domain’s authoritative nameservers, then lower TTLs and monitor the transition.
For the Wix migration, use Wix’s domain-pointing method rather than switching the whole domain to Wix nameservers. Add only the required apex A records and the www CNAME in the authoritative zone, while leaving MX, SPF, verification TXT, the billing subdomain, and other records intact. Before changing anything, document or export the complete existing zone and verify every required record.
Yes, the delegation belongs in the parent zone for examplehockeyclub.org—the Route 53 zone that is currently authoritative. Network Solutions is only acting as the registrar here, so changing settings there would replace the nameservers for the entire domain and would not add a portal record. Whoever controls the parent Route 53 zone must add those four NS records or give you access to do it.
That also means the current provider should either make the change or acknowledge that they cannot support the requested delegation. You cannot reliably work around their control from the registrar.
Moving nameservers to Wix would require recreating all of the existing DNS records there. Missing an MX or authentication record could interrupt mail, so it is much riskier unless you have a complete inventory and a carefully planned cutover.