When using your domain name in conjunction with a third-party service, it is a common requirement to first demonstrate ownership, or control, of the domain name in questions. Typically, this is done by adding a unique and publicly accessible DNS record to the domain name. This adding of a DNS record can only be performed by someone who is in control of the domain name itself.

DNS is the service that connects domain names to other services like website hosting and email. If you already have DNS services associated with your domain name, you'll want to go through that service provider to set up your domain verification DNS record.

You can easily tell who your DNS provider is for this domain by performing a WHOIS search for your domain and making note of the three nameservers listed near the bottom of the search results.

If the nameservers associated with your domain are already those of Webnames.ca, proceed to the next steps below.

If the nameservers are not from Webnames.ca, hopefully you can discern from their names which company is providing them, as a next step you'll want to search online or contact that company directly for instructions on how to add your domain verification records to your domain's DNS.

Please visit the following page in your Webnames account. If you have more than one domain with us, locate it in the list, and expand the services pane if necessary to reveal the four service management buttons for your domain

If you have a Manage button under DNS, then your domain already has paid DNS Hosting services.

Click the Manage button to access your DNS Hosting settings.

Skip to the next section Configuring DNS Hosting and Domain Validation

Website Hosting includes a form of DNS Hosting. If your domain has a Manage button under Web Hosting, then the Website Hosting can be used to host your domain validation DNS record.

Click the Manage button to access your Web Hosting settings.

On the subsequent page scroll down to the lower right and click LOGIN under the Hosting Control Panel heading.

If you have an +Add button under both DNS and Web Hosting, then your domain does not have any type of Webnames DNS Hosting, and this service will need to be purchased.

Click the +Add button under DNS to view our available DNS Hosting Plans.

DNS Hosting plans are available at https://www.webnames.ca/dns/dns-hosting. For basic DNS Hosting needs, including features such as domain verification, our Advanced DNS Hosting will be adequate.

Most domain verification is performed via either a CNAME or TXT record. The party that has asked you to verify your domain likely provided instructions that contain one or two long strings of characters. These will be used to create your DNS verification record, and might be referred to as LABEL/HOST/HOSTNAME and DESTINATION/TARGET/VALUE.

In the Google verification example below we see Google providing a user with a single string of text within the context of creating a TXT record at their "domain name provider".

In our DNS Hosting interface, this value would then be then be pasted in like this:

Perform a similar copy and paste of the values based on the instructions provided to you by your service provider.

Click the Apply button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

Once applied, follow the subsequent instructions provided to you in order to complete verification of your domain name.

In the Google verification example below we see examples of these two values in the context of creating a CNAME record.

In the Google verification example below we see Google providing a user with a pair of strings (CNAME Label and CNAME Destination) within the context of creating a CNAME record.

In our DNS Hosting interface, these two values would then be pasted in like this:

Perform a similar copy and paste of the values based on the instructions provided to you by your service provider.

Click the Apply button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

Once applied, follow the subsequent instructions provided to you in order to complete verification of your domain name.

Most domain verification is performed via either a CNAME or TXT record. The party that has asked you to verify your domain likely provided instructions that contain one or two long strings of characters. These will be used to create your DNS verification record, and might be referred to as LABEL/HOST/HOSTNAME and DESTINATION/TARGET/VALUE.

In the Google verification example below we see Google providing a user with a single string of text within the context of creating a TXT record at their "domain name provider".

In our Website Hosting interface, this value would then be then be pasted in like this:

Perform a similar copy and paste of the values based on the instructions provided to you by your service provider.

Click the OK button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

Once applied, follow the subsequent instructions provided to you in order to complete verification of your domain name.

In the Google verification example below we see Google providing a user with a pair of strings (CNAME Label and CNAME Destination) within the context of creating a CNAME record.

In our Website Hosting interface, these two values would then be pasted in like this:

Perform a similar copy and paste of the values based on the instructions provided to you by your service provider.

Click the Apply button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

Once applied, follow the subsequent instructions provided to you in order to complete verification of your domain name.