DNS records explained: A, CNAME, MX, TXT

What a DNS record is

A DNS record is a line with a name, a type and a value. The name says which part of the domain the record applies to, the type says what the record does, and the value says where it points. In your DomainSpace dashboard, open the domain and choose DNS records. For the bare domain (no prefix) enter the name @; for a prefix, enter for example www.

The examples below use the made-up domain example.si and the address 203.0.113.10, which is reserved for documentation and does not point to a real server. Replace them with the values your hosting provider gives you, and always check what your provider asks for in each record.

A and AAAA: where the website points

An A record connects a name to an IPv4 address, an AAAA record to an IPv6 address. Use them when your hosting provider gives you the numeric address of a server.

CNAME: one name points to another name

A CNAME record says that a name is just another name for something else. It is often used for www: the provider gives you a name, for example shop.hosting.example.net, and you point the prefix at it.

The rule (RFC 1034) is that a name with a CNAME may not have any other data. That is why a CNAME is usually not possible for the bare domain (@), which also needs records for email. Use an A record for @.

MX: where email is delivered

An MX record names the server that accepts the domain's email. Each one has a priority: the one with the lowest number is tried first. You get the values from your email provider.

The full procedure is in the guide Email on a .si domain.

TXT: text for verification and email protection

A TXT record holds free-form text. Providers use it to check that the domain is yours, and email systems use it to protect against forged messages (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

A domain may have only one SPF record. If you already have one, add the new provider to it instead of creating a second.

TTL and waiting for changes

TTL says how long other servers remember an answer. A shorter TTL means changes spread faster; a longer one means fewer queries. Changes can take from a few minutes to several hours to spread, and some providers' documentation mentions up to 24 or 48 hours.

Common mistakes

• You add a new A record but the old one stays, so the site sometimes points at the wrong server. Delete the old value before adding the new one.
• You enter the full name (www.example.si) instead of @ or www. In the editor, enter only the prefix: @ for the bare domain, or for example www.
• You add a second SPF record instead of merging it into the first.
• For email, you change the MX records before creating mailboxes with the new provider: new messages then arrive at an address that does not exist yet.
• You change records while the domain is on Cloudflare: you edit them there, not with us.

If you want to manage DNS in your own Cloudflare account, the dashboard offers a one-step setup that copies the records and then switches the nameservers.

Nameservers: where your records live

Records only count on the nameservers the domain uses. By default these are the servers that manage the records in the dashboard. If you move DNS to Cloudflare, the nameservers become Cloudflare's and you edit the records there. Records left at the old place have no effect, so before switching always check that all the records exist at the new one too.

How to check that a record works

You can read records with the dig command or an online DNS tool. It returns the value the internet currently sees, not the one you entered:

dig +short A example.si
dig +short MX example.si
dig +short TXT example.si

If you see the old value, wait for the TTL to expire and try again. If the right one is still missing, compare it character by character: a stray space or a missing part of the value is a common mistake.