Understanding your DNS: records & nameservers
DNS is the internet’s address book. It’s what turns your domain name into the actual servers that answer for your website and email. A few record types cover almost everything.
Every domain has a small set of DNS records, managed at whichever provider holds your nameservers. Change a record and the internet gradually starts using the new value — that lag is called propagation.
The records you’ll actually meet
| A / AAAA | Points a name to a server’s IP address (A = IPv4, AAAA = IPv6). This is what sends visitors to your website. |
|---|---|
| CNAME | Points a name to another name (an alias). Common for www pointing at your root domain, or a domain pointing at a hosting platform. |
| MX | Says which mail servers receive email for your domain. Website changes don’t touch these — email and web are independent. |
| TXT | Holds text used for verification and email security — SPF, DKIM and DMARC all live here, as do “verify you own this domain” records. |
| NS | The nameservers — which provider is authoritative for the domain (see below). |
Nameservers: where your DNS lives
Your registrar is where you bought the domain; your nameservers decide which provider actually answers DNS questions for it. They can be the same company or different ones.
Moving DNS to a new provider (say, to Cloudflare) means changing the nameservers at your registrar to the ones the new provider gives you. Until that switch finishes, the old provider’s records are still in charge — so recreate your records at the new provider first, then flip the nameservers.
MX and email TXT records (SPF/DKIM/DMARC) before you switch, or inbound mail can stop.
TTL & propagation — why changes aren’t instant
Each record has a TTL (time-to-live) — how long other servers are allowed to cache it. A record with a 1-hour TTL can take up to an hour to update everywhere; some resolvers stretch it further, which is why big changes can take up to 24–48 hours to fully settle.
300 (5 minutes) a day ahead. The switch then propagates fast, and you can raise it back once things are stable.
Common tasks
Point a domain at a website
Set an A record to the server’s IP, or a CNAME to the hosting platform’s address. Add one for www too so both work.
Set up email
Add the MX records your mail provider specifies, plus their SPF/DKIM TXT records so your mail is trusted.
Verify ownership of a service
Many services ask you to add a specific TXT record to prove the domain is yours. Paste it exactly, save, and give it a few minutes before clicking verify.
Checking what’s live
To see what the world currently sees (not your browser cache), use a lookup tool. On a terminal: dig yourdomain.com or dig MX yourdomain.com. Prefer a browser? Any “DNS checker” site shows a record’s value across regions so you can watch propagation.
FAQ
I changed a record but still see the old site
That’s propagation plus local caching. Give it up to the record’s TTL, and try a private/incognito window or flush your DNS cache. A DNS-checker tool confirms whether the new value is actually live.
Can I have two SPF records?
No — a domain may have only one SPF TXT record. If you use more than one mail service, merge their include: entries into a single record.
Will changing website records affect my email?
Not on their own. Email follows MX (and its TXT) records; your A/CNAME for the website are separate. Just don’t drop the mail records when moving providers.