What is a DNS record?

A single instruction that tells the internet where to find something for your domain. Each record has a type that says what it is for — A points a name at a web server, MX points mail at a mail server, TXT holds verification text — and together they make up your domain's DNS zone.

How long does a DNS change take to work?

Usually 15 to 60 minutes. The record's TTL sets how long resolvers are allowed to cache the old answer, so a record with a 1-hour TTL can serve the old value for up to an hour after you change it. Full worldwide propagation occasionally takes up to 48 hours because some providers cache longer than the TTL asks them to.

What is the difference between an A record and a CNAME?

An A record points a name directly at an IP address. A CNAME points a name at another name, which is then looked up in turn. Use an A record when you have an IP address, and a CNAME when your host gives you a hostname to point at. You cannot put a CNAME on the root of your domain — use an A record, or your host's ALIAS equivalent if it offers one.

Why did my email stop working after I changed my DNS?

Almost always because the MX records went with it. Switching nameservers replaces your entire zone, MX records included, so mail stops routing until they are re-created. Note your existing MX records before any nameserver change, or ask our support team to migrate the zone for you.

What are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC?

Three TXT records that prove your mail is genuinely yours. SPF lists which servers may send as your domain, DKIM adds a cryptographic signature to each message, and DMARC tells receiving servers what to do when a message fails those checks. Without them, a growing share of your legitimate mail lands in spam.

Do I need to manage DNS myself?

No. DNS management is free on every domain registered with us, and our support team will make the changes for you if you would rather not. Tell us what you are trying to connect and we will set the records.

DNS Records Explained: MyDomains.tech Knowledge Base

DNS is the internet’s address book. Your domain name means nothing on its own — DNS records are what turn it into an actual destination, and the handful below are the ones you will meet in practice.

You can edit all of these from your client area on any domain registered with us, and DNS management is included free.

A record

Points a name at an IPv4 address. This is the record that makes your website load.

example.com.      A     203.0.113.10
www.example.com.  A     203.0.113.10

Your hosting provider gives you the IP address to use. The AAAA record is the same thing for IPv6 addresses, and many setups have both.

CNAME record

Points a name at another name rather than at an address.

www.example.com.  CNAME  example.com.
shop.example.com. CNAME  shops.myshopify.com.

Use a CNAME when a service hands you a hostname to point at instead of an IP. The advantage is that if that service changes its IP addresses, your record keeps working.

One firm rule: a CNAME cannot live on the root of your domain (example.com with nothing in front). The DNS specification forbids it. Use an A record there, or the ALIAS/ANAME equivalent if your DNS host offers one.

MX record

Routes email for your domain to a mail server. Each record carries a priority number, and lower numbers are tried first.

example.com.  MX  0   smtp.google.com.
example.com.  MX  10  backup-mail.example.net.

MX records are the ones most often lost by accident, because changing nameservers replaces the whole zone. If you use email on a domain, write your MX records down before you change anything else about its DNS. Our guide to connecting a domain to hosting covers this trap in more detail.

TXT record

Holds arbitrary text. In practice it does two jobs.

Domain verification. Services like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace ask you to add a TXT record to prove you control the domain before they will send mail as it.

Email authentication. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are all TXT records:

SPF lists the servers allowed to send mail as your domain
DKIM publishes the key that signs your outgoing mail
DMARC tells receiving servers what to do with mail that fails the other two

These are no longer optional. Major providers increasingly treat unauthenticated mail as suspect, so a domain without them sees legitimate messages land in spam.

NS record

Names the nameservers authoritative for your domain — the servers that answer with everything above. If your domain is with us and you want us to manage its DNS, these are:

ns1.mydomains.tech
ns2.mydomains.tech

Nameservers sit a level above the rest of your records: change them and you change which server the whole zone is read from, which is why the change is all-or-nothing rather than record-by-record.

TTL

Every record carries a time to live in seconds — how long resolvers around the world may cache the answer before asking again. A TTL of 3600 means an hour.

TTL is why DNS changes are not instant, and it is also the lever that makes a planned migration painless: lower the TTL to 300 a day before you move something, make the change, then put it back. Resolvers will already be checking every five minutes when the switch happens.

A worked example

A small business with a website on our hosting and email on Microsoft 365 has a zone that looks roughly like this:

example.com.        A      203.0.113.10        (the website)
www.example.com.    CNAME  example.com.        (www goes to the same place)
example.com.        MX     0  <M365 mail host> (mail to Microsoft, not the web server)
example.com.        TXT    "v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com -all"

The important thing that layout shows: web traffic and mail are routed independently. Your site can live on one provider and your mail on another, and neither has to know about the other.

Putting it into practice

Two guides apply this to the jobs people actually do with it: connecting a domain to our hosting, and connecting one to Squarespace, Shopify, or Wix if your site is built on a hosted platform.

Need help?

Getting a record wrong takes a site or a mailbox offline, so there is no shame in not doing it yourself. Tell us what you are connecting and we will set the records for you.