{"id":141,"date":"2026-05-26T23:06:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T06:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hostandtech.com\/kb\/domains\/understanding-dns-records-a-cname-mx\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T23:06:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T06:06:13","slug":"understanding-dns-records-a-cname-mx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hostandtech.com\/kb\/domains\/understanding-dns-records-a-cname-mx\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding DNS Records: A, CNAME, and MX Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Overview<\/h2>\n<p>DNS records are the instructions that tell the internet where to send traffic for your domain. When someone types your domain into a browser, DNS records are what route that request to the right server. When your email stops delivering, nine times out of ten a DNS record is either missing, wrong, or hasn&#8217;t finished propagating yet.<\/p>\n<p>This article focuses on the three record types you&#8217;ll deal with most often: <strong>A records<\/strong>, <strong>CNAME records<\/strong>, and <strong>MX records<\/strong>. Each has a specific job, and mixing them up is a very common cause of broken websites and email. I&#8217;ll explain what each one does, when to use it, and what to watch out for during DNS setup.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you&#8217;re pointing a new domain to a Host &amp; Tech <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostandtech.com\/shared-hosting\/\">Shared Hosting<\/a> account, setting up a subdomain for a staging environment, or configuring email delivery for your business, you&#8217;ll need a solid understanding of these records before you touch anything in your DNS zone.<\/p>\n<h2>Prerequisites<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Access to your domain registrar&#8217;s DNS management panel, or your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, or WHM)<\/li>\n<li>Your server&#8217;s IP address (for A records) \u2014 find this in your hosting welcome email or control panel dashboard<\/li>\n<li>Your mail server hostname (for MX records) \u2014 provided by your email host or listed in cPanel under <strong>Email Routing<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>An understanding that DNS changes are not instant \u2014 allow up to 48 hours for full propagation, though most changes resolve within 1\u20134 hours<\/li>\n<li>Editor access to the DNS zone \u2014 registrar-level access if your nameservers point externally, or cPanel\/WHM access if you&#8217;re using Host &amp; Tech nameservers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>A Records<\/h2>\n<p>An <strong>A record<\/strong> (Address record) maps a hostname to an IPv4 address. It&#8217;s the most fundamental DNS record type. When someone visits <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">example.com<\/code>, their browser queries the A record to find out which IP address to connect to.<\/p>\n<p>A records are also how you point subdomains to specific servers. A staging environment, a separate app server, or a dedicated mail server \u2014 all of these typically get their own A records.<\/p>\n<h3>Example A Records<\/h3>\n<div class=\"ht-code-snippet\"><button class=\"ht-code-snippet__copy\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Copy code\"><\/button><span class=\"ht-code-snippet__feedback\">Copied to clipboard<\/span><\/p>\n<pre class=\"ht-code-snippet__code\" id=\"code-block-1\"><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">example.com.        A    192.0.2.10\nwww.example.com.    A    192.0.2.10\nstaging.example.com A    192.0.2.55<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<p>The first two records point the root domain and <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">www<\/code> subdomain to the same server. The third points a staging subdomain to a different IP entirely \u2014 a common setup when running a separate dev environment on a VPS.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcdd <strong>Note:<\/strong> If your domain uses an IPv6 address, that&#8217;s handled by an <strong>AAAA record<\/strong>, not an A record. They work the same way but for IPv6 addresses. Don&#8217;t delete your A record just because you&#8217;ve added an AAAA record \u2014 most networks still rely on IPv4.<\/p>\n<h3>Setting an A Record in cPanel<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Log in to cPanel and go to <strong>Domains &gt; Zone Editor<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Manage<\/strong> next to the domain you want to edit.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>+ Add Record<\/strong> and select <strong>A<\/strong> from the type dropdown.<\/li>\n<li>In the <strong>Name<\/strong> field, enter the hostname (e.g. <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">staging<\/code> \u2014 cPanel will append the domain automatically).<\/li>\n<li>In the <strong>Address<\/strong> field, enter the IPv4 address.<\/li>\n<li>Set the TTL. The default of <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">14400<\/code> (4 hours) is fine for most setups. If you&#8217;re expecting to change the record again soon, drop it to <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">300<\/code> first so propagation is faster.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Add Record<\/strong> to save.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\u26a0 <strong>Warning:<\/strong> If you edit the A record for your root domain (<code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">@<\/code> or <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">example.com<\/code>) and enter the wrong IP, your entire site goes down. Double-check the IP before saving. You can verify the correct IP using <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">ping example.com<\/code> before making changes so you have the current value noted somewhere.<\/p>\n<h2>CNAME Records<\/h2>\n<p>A <strong>CNAME record<\/strong> (Canonical Name record) is an alias. Instead of pointing a hostname to an IP address, it points it to another hostname. The DNS resolver then looks up that target hostname to find the actual IP.<\/p>\n<p>The most common use case: pointing <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">www.example.com<\/code> to <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">example.com<\/code>, so both work without maintaining two separate A records. Another very common use case is third-party service verification \u2014 Google Search Console, Mailchimp, Zendesk, and many others ask you to add a CNAME record to prove domain ownership or activate a feature.<\/p>\n<h3>Example CNAME Record<\/h3>\n<div class=\"ht-code-snippet\"><button class=\"ht-code-snippet__copy\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Copy code\"><\/button><span class=\"ht-code-snippet__feedback\">Copied to clipboard<\/span><\/p>\n<pre class=\"ht-code-snippet__code\" id=\"code-block-2\"><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">www.example.com.   CNAME   example.com.\nshop.example.com.  CNAME   stores.shopify.com.<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<p>The second example is how a Shopify storefront gets connected to a custom subdomain. The CNAME points to Shopify&#8217;s infrastructure, and Shopify handles everything from there.<\/p>\n<p>\u26a0 <strong>Warning:<\/strong> You <strong>cannot<\/strong> use a CNAME record on your root domain (also called the zone apex \u2014 i.e. <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">example.com<\/code> with no subdomain prefix). The DNS spec doesn&#8217;t allow it. Some DNS providers offer a workaround called CNAME flattening or ALIAS records, but standard CNAME records on the root domain will cause problems. Always use an A record for the root domain.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcdd <strong>Note:<\/strong> You also can&#8217;t have a CNAME record on a hostname that has other record types. For example, if <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">mail.example.com<\/code> already has an A record, you can&#8217;t also add a CNAME for it. Remove the conflicting record first.<\/p>\n<h3>Setting a CNAME Record in cPanel<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>In <strong>Zone Editor<\/strong>, click <strong>Manage<\/strong> next to your domain.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>+ Add Record<\/strong> and select <strong>CNAME<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>In the <strong>Name<\/strong> field, enter the subdomain (e.g. <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">www<\/code> or <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">shop<\/code>).<\/li>\n<li>In the <strong>CNAME<\/strong> field, enter the target hostname. Make sure to include the trailing dot if your DNS editor requires fully qualified domain names \u2014 e.g. <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">stores.shopify.com.<\/code> \u2014 though cPanel handles this automatically.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Add Record<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>MX Records<\/h2>\n<p><strong>MX records<\/strong> (Mail Exchanger records) tell other mail servers where to deliver email for your domain. Without correct MX records, email sent to <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">you@example.com<\/code> has nowhere to go.<\/p>\n<p>MX records always point to a <strong>hostname<\/strong>, never to an IP address directly. That hostname then needs its own A record. This is a detail a lot of people get wrong \u2014 setting the MX record to an IP address won&#8217;t work and will silently fail for many sending servers.<\/p>\n<p>MX records also include a <strong>priority value<\/strong> (lower number = higher priority). If you have a backup mail server, you&#8217;d set it with a higher priority number so mail only goes there if the primary is unavailable.<\/p>\n<h3>Example MX Records<\/h3>\n<div class=\"ht-code-snippet\"><button class=\"ht-code-snippet__copy\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Copy code\"><\/button><span class=\"ht-code-snippet__feedback\">Copied to clipboard<\/span><\/p>\n<pre class=\"ht-code-snippet__code\" id=\"code-block-3\"><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">example.com.   MX   10   mail.example.com.\nexample.com.   MX   20   mail2.example.com.<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you&#8217;re using Google Workspace, your MX records will look different \u2014 Google provides its own set of hostnames and priority values during setup. Same goes for Microsoft 365. Always use the exact values your email provider gives you.<\/p>\n<h3>Setting an MX Record in cPanel<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>In <strong>Zone Editor<\/strong>, click <strong>Manage<\/strong> next to your domain.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>+ Add Record<\/strong> and select <strong>MX<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>In the <strong>Priority<\/strong> field, enter the numeric priority (e.g. <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">10<\/code>).<\/li>\n<li>In the <strong>Destination<\/strong> field, enter the mail server hostname provided by your email host.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Add Record<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>If you&#8217;re migrating email to a new provider, remove the old MX records after adding the new ones. Leaving multiple conflicting MX records in place causes unpredictable delivery.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\u26a0 <strong>Warning:<\/strong> In cPanel, also check <strong>Email &gt; Email Routing<\/strong> and make sure it&#8217;s set to <strong>Remote Mail Exchanger<\/strong> if your email is hosted externally (e.g. Google Workspace, Microsoft 365). If it&#8217;s left on <strong>Local Mail Exchanger<\/strong>, cPanel will try to deliver mail locally and it&#8217;ll never reach Google or Microsoft&#8217;s servers. This catches a lot of people off guard.<\/p>\n<h2>Common Issues &amp; Troubleshooting<\/h2>\n<h3>Site Not Loading After Changing A Record<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Cause:<\/strong> DNS propagation delay, or your local machine is still caching the old record.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fix:<\/strong> First, check if the new record has propagated globally using a tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/dnschecker.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dnschecker.org<\/a>. If it shows the new IP elsewhere but not on your machine, flush your local DNS cache. On Windows: <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">ipconfig \/flushdns<\/code>. On macOS (Sonoma\/Ventura\/Monterey): <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder<\/code>. On Linux (systemd-resolved): <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">sudo systemd-resolve --flush-caches<\/code>. That command clears the OS-level DNS cache, which is the actual cause of the stale result you&#8217;re seeing.<\/p>\n<h3>Email Not Delivering After Switching to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Cause:<\/strong> MX records updated but cPanel&#8217;s Email Routing is still set to Local Mail Exchanger, so the server intercepts inbound mail before it ever reaches Google or Microsoft.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fix:<\/strong> In cPanel, go to <strong>Email &gt; Email Routing<\/strong>, select your domain, and switch it to <strong>Remote Mail Exchanger<\/strong>. Save. This is separate from the DNS zone and is a step the official migration guides for both Google and Microsoft tend to bury or skip entirely.<\/p>\n<h3>CNAME Record Not Working for Root Domain<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Cause:<\/strong> You&#8217;ve tried to add a CNAME record for the root domain (<code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">example.com<\/code> with no subdomain), which the DNS specification does not permit at the zone apex.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fix:<\/strong> Use an A record for the root domain pointing to the target server&#8217;s IP. If you need CNAME-like behaviour at the root (common when using CDNs like Cloudflare or load balancers), use a DNS provider that supports CNAME flattening or ALIAS records.<\/p>\n<h3>MX Record Pointing to an IP Address Instead of a Hostname<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Cause:<\/strong> Someone entered an IP directly in the MX destination field. This is invalid per RFC 5321.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fix:<\/strong> Create an A record for a mail hostname (e.g. <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">mail.example.com<\/code> pointing to your mail server IP), then set your MX record destination to that hostname (<code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">mail.example.com<\/code>). Delete the MX record with the raw IP.<\/p>\n<h3>DNS Changes Not Taking Effect Even After 48 Hours<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Cause:<\/strong> The domain&#8217;s nameservers are still pointing to the old registrar or DNS provider, so your updated records are never actually being served.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fix:<\/strong> Run <code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">whois example.com<\/code> or check your registrar panel to confirm which nameservers the domain is using. If they&#8217;re not pointing to your current hosting provider&#8217;s nameservers, the records you&#8217;re editing have no effect. Update the nameservers at your registrar first, then make DNS changes. Nameserver propagation can itself take up to 48 hours.<\/p>\n<h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n<div class=\"ht-faq-section\">\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<div class=\"ht-faq-item\">\n<h3 class=\"ht-faq-question\">What&#039;s the difference between an A record and a CNAME record?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"ht-faq-answer\">\n<p>An A record maps a hostname directly to an IP address. A CNAME record maps a hostname to another hostname, which then resolves to an IP. Use A records for root domains and anything that needs to point to a specific server IP. Use CNAME records for subdomains you want to alias to another hostname, especially when that target IP might change \u2014 since you&#8217;d only need to update one A record instead of many.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ht-faq-item\">\n<h3 class=\"ht-faq-question\">How long does it take for DNS changes to propagate?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"ht-faq-answer\">\n<p>Most DNS changes propagate within 1\u20134 hours, though the official maximum is 48 hours. The actual time depends on the TTL value set on the record before you changed it \u2014 a TTL of 86400 (24 hours) means resolvers can cache the old value for up to a day. If you&#8217;re planning a migration, lower your TTL to 300 (5 minutes) at least a few hours before making changes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ht-faq-item\">\n<h3 class=\"ht-faq-question\">Can I have multiple MX records for one domain?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"ht-faq-answer\">\n<p>Yes, and it&#8217;s a good practice if you want a backup mail server. Set your primary server with a lower priority number (e.g. 10) and your backup with a higher one (e.g. 20). Mail delivery attempts the lowest priority number first. Note that many third-party email providers like Google Workspace require you to use only their MX records and remove any others, so check your provider&#8217;s setup docs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ht-faq-item\">\n<h3 class=\"ht-faq-question\">Why does my email break every time I update my A record?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"ht-faq-answer\">\n<p>If your mail server is on the same IP as your web server and you change that A record, your MX record&#8217;s target hostname also changes \u2014 which breaks mail. I&#8217;d recommend keeping mail on a dedicated hostname with its own A record (e.g. mail.example.com) rather than relying on the same hostname as your website. That way, moving your site to a new server doesn&#8217;t accidentally take down your email.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ht-faq-item\">\n<h3 class=\"ht-faq-question\">Where do I manage DNS records if my domain is registered elsewhere but hosted with Host &amp; Tech?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"ht-faq-answer\">\n<p>It depends on where your domain&#8217;s nameservers are pointed. If you&#8217;ve updated your nameservers at your registrar to point to Host &amp; Tech&#8217;s nameservers, you manage DNS through cPanel&#8217;s Zone Editor. If your nameservers still point to your registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.), you manage DNS there instead. You can confirm which nameservers are active by running &#8216;whois yourdomain.com&#8217; or checking with your registrar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not sure what A, CNAME, and MX records actually do \u2014 or why changing the wrong one broke your email? This article breaks down each DNS record type with real hosting examples so you can manage your DNS setup with confidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[184,183,181,104,182,186,58,185],"class_list":["post-141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-domains","tag-a-records","tag-cname-records","tag-dns-records","tag-dns-setup","tag-domain-management","tag-email-dns","tag-mx-records","tag-zone-editor"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Understanding DNS Records: A, CNAME, and MX Explained<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn what A, CNAME, and MX DNS records do, when to use each, and how to configure them correctly for your domain. 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