Secure a .at domain before your website is ready: a practical timeline
Your name is settled but the website is not ready? Plan early .at registration, domain costs, account access, email and the later connection.
Read guide ↗The essentials
A parking page is a temporary display at an already registered domain name. It is not your own website, and it does not mean the name is available. First check the domain in your account, obtain your website service’s connection instructions and change only the necessary records in the active DNS zone. Preserve the records used by existing email services.
What a parking page means – and what it does not
You open your new address and see a notice saying the domain is registered with atdomain.at rather than your own content. For a domain that has not been set up, this can be a temporary parking page. It supplies neither your finished home page nor a mailbox. An unused address can still be taken, so do not buy the name again simply because no finished website appears. Confirmed registration and the status in your account are what matter. If a previously published website has suddenly disappeared, investigate the existing connection as a change or fault rather than treating it as a new registration.
Plan domain registration separately from the website launchExplore .at domains and their managementCheck the correct domain and the existing order first
Sign in and select the full domain name with the correct extension. Check that registration has completed and whether any specific account notice still requires action. Connecting a website does not complete a pending contact-email confirmation. Follow the instructions in your account and the relevant message separately. If the order is still processing, track that existing order; a second purchase will not speed it up. Keep the order reference when asking about an unclear status. Do not send account passwords or private confirmation links to other people. Registration, email confirmation and website setup are separate checks with different purposes.
Check the domain and order in your accountFollow the steps after registrationGet complete connection instructions from your website service
Your website needs a service that supports your own domain. Add the address there using its instructions, then obtain the exact details for both the main domain and www: record type, hostname, destination and any separate verification value. An A record needs an IPv4 address, an AAAA record needs the appropriate IPv6 address and a CNAME needs a destination hostname. Do not paste a complete https URL with a page path into a field that expects a hostname. Clarify incomplete instructions before saving. At atdomain.at you receive domain management; website hosting and email mailboxes are not included. Do not assume the temporary parking display replaces either of those services.
Understand the difference between an A record and a CNAMEManage a domain independently of hosting
Do not reset website and email records together
Before changing anything, make an inventory of the existing DNS records and their values. Connecting a website does not require a blanket deletion of the whole zone. Preserve the records used by your current email service and any required verifications. The table helps interpret instructions; it supplies no settings to copy. Changing nameservers is an additional change to which DNS service is authoritative and needs its own complete plan. Do not choose that route simply because you need one website record. Keeping the task focused makes it easier to compare before and after, and to test website access and email independently.
| Task | What to check | What to preserve |
|---|---|---|
| Connect a website | Specified web records for the main domain and www | Independent email and verification records |
| Keep existing mailboxes | MX and required SPF, DKIM and DMARC values | The existing email service’s complete instructions |
| Change nameservers | New authoritative zone with every required record | A copy of the previous configuration |
Set up only the intended website connection in your account
Open the website-setup area for the selected domain. With our default nameservers, manage DNS records in your account. With custom nameservers, make changes in their genuinely active DNS service; a value saved in a different zone will not alter your website. Enter the checked connection details and review them before saving. When you configure a suitable website connection for the main domain or www with us, we remove the associated parking configuration that we created automatically. This does not mean deleting your own redirects or all other customer records. Resolve conflicting web destinations deliberately rather than adding several different targets in the hope that one will work.
Open your domain’s website connectionIdentify the active DNS serviceTest the main domain, www and HTTPS separately
After the change, open your address both without www and with www. Check that each displays the intended website and that its secure https connection works without certificate warnings. DNS records alone do not supply your website content or certificate; the website service must also have assigned the address correctly. Do not bypass a browser security warning. An old parking page can remain in a cache, but waiting is not an explanation for every fault. Compare the saved settings with the instructions and, if useful, test from a second network. Avoid repeatedly changing the configuration while you are trying to understand the result.
Check DNS connection and HTTPS separatelyUnderstand why DNS answers can update at different times
If the parking page still appears
Record the exact address opened, the time of the change and what you observed. Check that you selected the right domain and edited the active zone. Ask the website service whether the custom domain is fully connected there. A working www address does not prove the main domain works as well. Send our support a concise description and, when useful, a sanitised screenshot. Hide private access details and verification tokens. An unfamiliar or unexpected redirect needs its own investigation; do not enter account credentials on an unknown page. Keep following the existing order rather than making another purchase. Clear evidence is more useful than several speculative DNS changes.
Ask for help with specific detailsPlan the main domain and www togetherTrack the paid term even before the website is finished
A new standard .at domain currently costs €12.99 total for the first year; renewal costs €15.99 total per additional year. For new .at domains we also offer three years of prepaid coverage for a €39.00 total payment: registration and two annual renewals without further payment. This saves €5.97 compared with €44.97 in annual payments at today’s prices. The full paid-through date and the annually updated technical expiry are different account details. The package does not apply to transfers or existing-domain renewals. Arrange further renewal in good time afterwards at the offered price; there is no automatic card charge. Displaying a parking page does not extend the paid coverage.
Compare current total prices and prepaid coveragePlan the term and renewal in good timeFurther sourcesnic.at: distinguish domain names from technical services ↗RFC 1034: DNS records and cached answers ↗RFC 9110: HTTPS and certificate verification ↗
