DNS is your domain's address book — it tells the internet where to send visitors and where to deliver your email. Most business owners only ever touch four record types. Here's what each one does, in plain English.
A record — points a name to a server
An A record maps your domain (or a subdomain) to a server's IP address, like 216.198.79.1. Use it to point your root domain at a web host. (Its cousin, the AAAA record, does the same thing for newer IPv6 addresses.)
CNAME — points a name to another name
A CNAME is an alias: it points one name at another, like www → yourhost.example.com. It's common for subdomains that should follow another host — www, or autodiscover for email. One rule: you generally can't put a CNAME on your root/apex domain.
MX — where your email goes
MX (mail exchange) records route incoming email to your mail provider — Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and so on. Each has a priority number, and lower numbers are tried first. Get these wrong and email simply stops arriving, so change them carefully.
TXT — text records for verification and security
TXT records hold free-form text used to verify domain ownership and to secure your email. Your email-security records — SPF, DKIM, and DMARC — live here. They're worth understanding on their own; see SPF, DKIM & DMARC explained.
Two concepts that save you grief
- TTL (time to live): how long a record is cached before servers re-check it. Lower it before a planned change so the change takes effect quickly.
- Propagation: DNS changes aren't instant everywhere — they roll out as caches expire, anywhere from a few minutes to a day.
The golden rule: never delete a record you don't understand — especially MX and TXT records tied to email. When in doubt, add the new record alongside the old one, test, and only then remove. We're happy to review your DNS before you change anything.