Domain Name System (DNS) records are the instructions that live in authoritative DNS servers and provide information about a domain. Think of them as the contacts in your phone book: they tell the internet where to find your website, where to send your email, and more.
Common DNS Record Types
1. A Address Record
The A Record is the most basic and common type. It maps a domain name (like example.com) directly to an IPv4 address.
2. AAAA IPv6 Address Record
Similar to the A record, but for IPv6 addresses. As the internet runs out of IPv4 addresses, AAAA records are becoming increasingly important.
3. CNAME Canonical Name Record
A CNAME Record maps one domain name to another. It's often used for subdomains. For example, pointing www.example.com to example.com.
Note: You cannot put a CNAME record on the root domain (example.com), only on subdomains.
4. MX Mail Exchange Record
MX Records tell email servers where to deliver emails for your domain. You can have multiple MX records with different priorities.
5. TXT Text Record
TXT Records allow you to store text information in DNS. They are heavily used for verification (Google Search Console) and email security (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
How to Check Your Records?
You can verify your DNS configuration using our free tool. It queries global nameservers to ensure your records are propagating correctly.