Namecheap

Give me access to your domain

Namecheap lets you hand out one narrow permission on one domain instead of your password. Check one box and I can point your domain at your new site. I still cannot move the domain, renew it, or spend your money, and you can take the access back any time without asking me.

Takes about 5 minutes.

Sign in to namecheap.com as the owner
Use the Sign In option in the header of namecheap.com. It has to be the account that owns the domain. Namecheap only lets the owner share access, so if someone else registered the domain for you, they have to do this part.
If the domain has expired, renew it first. Namecheap will not let you share an expired domain.
Click Domain List, then Manage
Domain List is in the left sidebar. Find the domain your new site is going on and click the Manage button on that row.
namecheap.com
DashboardDomain List
yourbusiness.com
Manage
your-other-domain.com
Domain List sits in the left sidebar. Each domain has its own Manage button on the right of its row.
Open the Sharing & Transfer tab and find Share Access
There is a row of tabs across the top of the domain page. Click Sharing & Transfer, then scroll down until you see the section headed Share Access.
yourbusiness.com
Domain ListManageSharing & Transfer
Share Access
New Manager
Add
Sharing & Transfer is one of the tabs across the top. Share Access is a section partway down that page.
Type my email into the New Manager field and click Add
Paste the address I sent you into the box labeled New Manager, then click Add. A dialog opens called New Domain Manager. The permissions live in there.
Check one permission. Leave everything else alone.
Leave the Manager's Access control on the setting it opens with, the one that lets you pick permissions one at a time. Expand Advanced DNS. Check DNS / Host Records, then check Manage Host Records underneath it.
Namecheap describes that permission as letting managers add, remove and edit host records. That is the entire job. Check those two and nothing else.
Do not check Change DNS Type
It sits directly beside the box you want, and Namecheap describes it as letting the manager move your DNS to a different host. That is the switch that can take your email down with it. I do not need it to put your site live. If a build ever genuinely requires it, I will call you first and explain why.
Leave the Services and Sharing & Transfer groups untouched as well. Those cover renewing the domain, auto renewal, domain privacy, the parking page, email forwarding, and the domain lock. The domain lock is the setting that stops a domain being transferred away from you. None of it has anything to do with putting a website online.
New Domain Manager
Manager's Access
Advanced DNS
DNS / Host Records
Manage Host Records
Change DNS Type
Services
Sharing & Transfer
Namecheap Password
Confirm
Manage Host Records is nested two levels down, under Advanced DNS then DNS / Host Records. Everything grayed out here stays unchecked.
Type your own Namecheap password, then click Confirm
The dialog will not save until you enter your own password in the field labeled Namecheap Password. That is Namecheap checking it is really you, on Namecheap's own screen. I never see it.
Never send that password to me or to anyone else, including anybody who says they are me. If you cannot remember it, reset it before you start. This is the step where people stall.
That is your part done
Namecheap emails the invitation to my account and I accept it. After that your domain shows up in my Namecheap list carrying that one permission and nothing else, and we both get a notice. The invitation link expires after seven days, so if you have not heard from me the same day, text me and I will chase it.
If you own more than one domain, repeat it
Namecheap shares one domain at a time and says there is no bulk option, so several domains means running through this several times. Only share the domain the new site is going on. The others are none of my business.
How to take the access back
Same place. Sharing & Transfer, then Share Access. Click Manage next to Domain Manager. If the invitation is still pending, choose Cancel. If I have already accepted, open the Edit dropdown, choose Remove, then click Done.
You do not need my permission and you do not owe me a reason. Do it the day the site goes live if that is what you want.

What that one permission actually lets me do

You are handing a stranger a key. Here is exactly what it opens, in plain terms.

I can add, edit and delete the host records on that one domain. That covers the two records that point your domain at your new site. It also means I could point your domain somewhere else. That is real access, and it is the reason to remove me when you no longer want me in there.
I cannot change your nameservers. That is the separate Change DNS Type permission you left unchecked.
I cannot transfer the domain to another registrar, take the transfer lock off, or change who owns it.
I cannot renew it, switch off auto renewal, buy anything, or see your card.
I cannot see or touch any of your other domains. This is granted per domain.
I cannot sign in as you, read your email, or reset your password.

Your email keeps working, and here is why

The one thing that can break email

MX records are what make email arrive. On Namecheap they live in a separate section called Mail Settings, on the Advanced DNS tab. The records I add live in Host Records, further up the same page. Adding them does not touch Mail Settings, so your email carries on working while the site goes live.

What breaks email is a nameserver change. Namecheap states it plainly: switch nameservers and your existing records do not come across. Every one of them has to be entered again at the new place. If nobody wrote the mail records down first, email stops, and nobody notices until a customer says they never got a reply. I have seen it happen. That is why Change DNS Type stays unchecked and why I use the two record method instead.

One more catch if you use Namecheap's free email forwarding. That service only exists while you are on Namecheap's own nameservers. Move the nameservers and the forwarding itself is gone, not only its records, and re-creating records elsewhere will not bring it back. Tell me if you are using it.

If you would rather do it yourself

Some people would rather not hand out access at all. Completely fair. In that case you add two records and skip everything above. Go to Domain List, Manage, then the Advanced DNS tab. Under Host Records, click Add New Record. You need these two.

Type	Name / Host	Value
A	`@`	the IP address I send you
CNAME	`www`	the hostname I send you

The two values are different for every site, so I send you yours rather than printing them here. Copy them exactly, including any trailing dot.

Things that trip people up here:

Delete any existing records on @ and www first. A newly registered domain arrives pointed at Namecheap's parking page, and those leftover records fight with the new ones. Namecheap names the conflicting types as redirect records, A records and CNAME records on the same host.
Never put a CNAME on @. Namecheap warns it can affect your MX records and therefore your email. The apex uses an A record, which is what my host requires anyway.
Namecheap also offers a record type called ALIAS, which looks like the clever choice for the apex. For this it adds nothing. Use the plain A record.
Namecheap's DNS appends your domain name to some values automatically. After you save the www CNAME, read it back and check your domain has not been stuck on the end of it.
If you see a record type called CAA in the list, leave it there and tell me. It controls which company is allowed to issue the security certificate for your site, and a restrictive one blocks the padlock.
TTL can stay on Automatic. New records normally take about 30 minutes to take effect, so do not panic if the site is not there the second you hit save.

Then send me a screenshot of the saved records and I will confirm they landed correctly.