DNS records are the address book of your domain. They tell browsers where your website lives and tell mail servers where to deliver your e-mail. One wrong value can take a site offline. Understanding the basics helps you fix problems quickly.
How DNS works in short
When someone types your domain, their device asks a DNS resolver for its address. The resolver checks the nameservers of your domain and reads the records stored there. The answer is cached for a while, based on the TTL value. That is why changes can take minutes or hours to appear everywhere.
The DNS records you will use most
- A record points a name to an IPv4 address.
- AAAA record points a name to an IPv6 address.
- CNAME record makes one name an alias of another name.
- MX record lists the servers that receive your e-mail.
- TXT record holds text, such as SPF, DKIM or verification codes.
- NS record names the nameservers in charge of the domain.
Editing DNS records safely
Write down the current values before you change anything. Edit one record at a time and wait for it to spread. Lower the TTL a day before a planned move, so the switch happens faster. Never delete MX records unless you are moving e-mail on purpose.
You can check what the world sees with our free DNS lookup tool. It shows the live answer from public resolvers.
Common mistakes
Many problems come from small typos. A missing dot, a wrong IP address or two SPF records will break things. Another common mistake is editing records at the registrar while the domain uses other nameservers. Always edit DNS records where your nameservers point.
Take a minute to verify each change. Your website and inbox will thank you.
A quick example
Imagine a shop called example.com. An A record sends the main domain to the web server. A CNAME record makes www an alias of the main domain. Two MX records send e-mail to the mail servers, with a backup. A TXT record holds the SPF line that lists who may send mail.
With these five lines, the website and inbox both work.
