Pointing a domain to your website: DNS records explained

DNS is the internet's address book. When you connect a domain to a website or email service, you are editing DNS records.

1. The records you will meet

• **A / AAAA:** points a name to an IPv4 / IPv6 address — for example your web server.
• **CNAME:** points a name to another name, such as www pointing to your main domain or a service's hostname.
• **MX:** tells other mail servers where to deliver email for your domain.
• **TXT:** holds text used for verification and email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

2. Find who hosts your DNS

DNS is managed wherever the domain's nameservers point — your registrar, your host or a DNS service. Make changes there.

3. Change records safely

1. Write down the current records before changing anything.
2. Lower the TTL a day before a planned change so it takes effect quickly.
3. Change only the records you need — editing MX records accidentally will stop email.
4. Test the website and email after the change.

4. Allow for propagation

Resolvers cache records for the TTL period, so some visitors may see the old address for a while after a change.

Register and manage domains on MavenHost (opens in a new tab), or ask us to handle the set-up.