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CNAME and A Records - brought to you by sdesign1 - Domains specialists

When it comes to hosting and configuring domains, there are a lot of questions often arise. Should I enter an A record for my domani? Or should I use a CNAME value? This article gives an overview of what you need in what circumstances.

A brief overview

CNAME and A Records are all part of an overall topic called DNS (Domain Name System) - this is the process of turning domain names into IP addresses. Every website can be accessed by typing in an IP address as opposed to a domain, but who would type in 196.102.112.204 as opposed to a simple domain such as mydomani.com?

A Record

An A Record is used when you want to point to a domain to an IP Address. This is the most common way of pointing your domain to somewhere that has a dedicated IP address.

CNAME Record

This is used when you want to point your domain to a an alias of your domain. For example, if you wanted www.mydomain.com to point to myhosting.domain.com - then you'd use a CNAME record. This is often used when your website does not have a dedicated IP address - therefore you cannot use an A Record.

Implementation on your hosting control panel

If you want to use an A Record, you can simply go and set one up when you manage your DNS settings. By having an "@" A Record with an IP Address. It is also common practise to have a "www" A Record pointing to an IP Address.

If you want to use a CNAME Record, you should see a "www" CNAME for your alias. You cannot use an "@" CNAME record.

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