Owning a domain does not, by itself, make a website load or email arrive. That happens through DNS records: small instructions stored on your domain's nameservers that tell the internet where to send visitors and mail.
This article explains how DNS records work wherever your domain is registered.
In NameFlow: domains registered with NameFlow use OpenProvider's DNS. Open My Domains, choose a domain, and add, edit or delete records there. Each change is prepared first and only applied when you approve it, and changes can be undone.
What a DNS record looks like
Every record has the same basic parts:
| Part | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Name (host) | Which name the record is for. @ means the domain itself |
@, www, blog |
| Type | What kind of instruction it is | A, CNAME, MX, TXT |
| Value (content, target) | Where it points or what it says | 203.0.113.10 |
| TTL | How long other servers may cache it, in seconds | 3600 |
| Priority | MX records only: lower numbers are tried first | 10 |
Explore a few typical sets of records below (sample data):
The records you will use most
- A: points a name to an IPv4 address (your web server).
- AAAA: the same for an IPv6 address.
- CNAME: makes a name an alias of another name, such as
www→cname.vercel-dns.com. - MX: tells the world which servers receive your email.
- TXT: holds text, used for email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and for proving you own the domain.
The full reference, with examples for popular services, is in DNS Record Types Explained.
Adding records your provider asks for
Hosting, email and verification services almost always give you the exact records to add. The steps are the same everywhere:
- Find the DNS settings. Log in where your domain's DNS is managed. That is the provider your nameservers point to, which is usually your registrar unless you changed them. See Understanding Nameservers.
- Copy each record exactly. Match the type, name and value. Watch for two common mistakes:
- Some dashboards add your domain automatically. If you type
www.example.comas the name, you may end up withwww.example.com.example.com. Usually you enter justwww. - Use
@(or leave the name blank, depending on the dashboard) for the domain itself.
- Some dashboards add your domain automatically. If you type
- Save and wait. New records usually work within minutes. Changes to existing records can take longer (see below).
- Verify. Use the provider's "verify" button, or check with a public tool such as whatsmydns.net.
Example: connecting a website host
A host like Vercel typically asks for two records:
@ A 76.76.21.21
www CNAME cname.vercel-dns.com
Example: setting up email
An email provider such as Google Workspace asks for MX records plus a TXT record for SPF:
@ MX 1 aspmx.l.google.com
@ MX 5 alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
@ TXT "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all"
Always use the values your provider gives you; they change over time.
Why changes take time (propagation)
DNS answers are cached all over the internet. A record's TTL says how long a cached copy may be reused. If a record had a TTL of 3600 (one hour), some visitors keep seeing the old value for up to an hour after you change it.
- New records: usually visible within minutes.
- Changed records: up to the old TTL.
- Nameserver changes: can take up to 24 to 48 hours.
Tip: before a planned change, lower the TTL to 300 (five minutes), wait for the old TTL to pass, make the change, then raise the TTL again.
Troubleshooting
The website does not load. Check that there is an A record (or CNAME) for both @ and www, and that the values match your host's instructions.
"CNAME not allowed at root." The domain itself (@) cannot have a CNAME. Use the A record your host provides, or an ALIAS/ANAME record if your DNS provider offers one.
Email is not arriving. Check the MX records, and make sure an old provider's MX records were removed.
Only one SPF record allowed. If you use several email senders, combine them into one TXT record: v=spf1 include:a.com include:b.com ~all.
My changes are not showing. Make sure you edited records at the provider your nameservers point to. Records added anywhere else have no effect.