What Are 3rd Party Domains and Amazon Route 53?

When building websites, you need a domain name—the address people type to visit your site, like "example.com." There are many companies where you can buy domain names. These are called 3rd party domain providers. Some popular ones are GoDaddy and Namecheap.

What is Amazon Route 53?

Amazon Route 53 is a service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) that helps manage your domain’s DNS (Domain Name System). DNS translates your domain name into the IP address that computers use to find your website. With Route 53, you can connect your domain to your website, no matter where you bought the domain.

How Do You Use Route 53 With 3rd Party Domains?

Even if you bought your domain from a 3rd party, you can still use Amazon Route 53 to manage it. Here’s how:

1. Buy your domain from a 3rd party like GoDaddy.

2. Set up Route 53 in AWS and create a Hosted Zone for your domain.

3. Update your domain’s nameservers in your 3rd party provider's settings to point to Route 53.

This way, you can use the powerful DNS features of Route 53, like routing traffic to different servers or managing complex setups, while keeping your domain with another provider.

In short, even if you bought a domain elsewhere, you can use Amazon Route 53 to manage it easily.