What Are DNS Records?
DNS (Domain Name System) records are like the phonebook of the internet. When someone types your domain into a browser, DNS records tell their computer where to find your website, email, and other services. Here's what the common ones do.
A Record (Address Record)
Points your domain to an IPv4 address (a string of numbers like 192.0.2.1). This is the most basic record - without it, your domain won't load a website.
Example:
yourdomain.com A 192.0.2.1
When someone visits yourdomain.com, their browser gets sent to that IP address where your site is hosted.
CNAME Record (Canonical Name)
Points a subdomain to another domain name instead of an IP address. Useful when you want www.yourdomain.com to go to the same place as yourdomain.com.
Example:
www CNAME yourdomain.com
You can also point subdomains to services like shop.yourdomain.com -> yourstore.shopy.com.
MX Record (Mail Exchange)
Tells the internet where to deliver emails sent to your domain. Without MX records, [email protected] won't work.
Example:
yourdomain.com MX 10 mail.yourdomain.com
The number (10) is the priority. Lower numbers get tried first. If your primary mail server goes down, email routes to the next lowest priority.
TXT Record (Text Record)
Stores text information for other services to verify. Common uses:
- SPF - tells email servers which IPs are allowed to send email from your domain (stops spoofing).
- DKIM - a cryptographic signature that proves your email wasn't tampered with.
- Domain verification - services like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 ask you to add a TXT record to prove you own the domain.
Example (SPF):
yourdomain.com TXT v=spf1 include:_spf.yourcheaphost.com ~all
NS Record (Nameserver Record)
Shows which DNS servers are the official source of truth for your domain. When you change nameservers (e.g., pointing to Cloudflare or a different host), you're changing the NS records.
Example:
yourdomain.com NS ns8.yourcheaphost.com
NS ns10.yourcheaphost.com
Most of the time, you set NS records at the registrar level, not inside your DNS zone - but you'll see them when viewing your domain's DNS settings.
Quick Reference Table
- A - Domain -> IPv4 address (website hosting)
- CNAME - Subdomain/alias -> another domain
- MX - Domain -> mail server (email delivery)
- TXT - Domain -> arbitrary text (verification, security)
- NS - Domain -> authoritative DNS servers
That's the basics. You can manage all of these from your client area under Domains > DNS Management.
