Donaldson R F
DNS, Security & Integrations
Configure DNS A Record
Point your domain (or a subdomain) to the right server with a correctly configured A record.
The Problem
Your domain needs to point to a specific server's IP address, and a wrong or missing A record means visitors get a "can't find this site" error or, worse, land on someone else's server.
About this problem
An A record is the most basic building block of DNS — it maps a hostname directly to an IPv4 address. Most of the time these are set once and forgotten, but they need re-doing correctly whenever you change hosting, launch a new subdomain, or discover the record was copied wrong from an old setup guide.
Mistakes here are usually simple but costly: a typo in the IP, a record left pointing at an old server after a migration, or confusion between the root domain (@) and www needing separate records.
What's Included
- Confirming the correct destination IP address with you or your host
- Creating or correcting the A record at your DNS provider
- Checking TTL is set sensibly for how often you expect to change it
- Verifying the record resolves correctly from multiple locations after publishing
What's NOT Included
- Provisioning the server the record points to
- Fixing issues caused by a DNS provider's own outage
- Ongoing DNS management beyond this one record
How It Works
- Confirm the exact IPv4 address the domain or subdomain needs to point to.
- Check for any existing conflicting A, CNAME or ALIAS records on the same hostname that need removing first.
- Create or update the A record with a sensible TTL.
- Wait for propagation and verify resolution using DNS lookup tools from several geographic locations.
- Confirm the destination server actually responds correctly once DNS is pointing at it.
In practice: you buy the service, send over whatever access or details the job needs, I investigate and do the work, and you confirm it's resolved before we call it done.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is an A record used for?
- It points a domain or subdomain directly to a server's IPv4 address, so when someone visits your domain, their browser knows exactly which server to connect to.
- Why isn't my domain working after I added an A record?
- Usually it's still propagating (can take up to 48 hours, though often much faster), there's a conflicting record on the same hostname, or the IP address itself is wrong.
- What's the difference between an A record and a CNAME record?
- An A record points to an IP address directly. A CNAME points to another hostname instead, which then resolves to an IP — useful when the target IP might change without you managing it.
- Can I have more than one A record for the same domain?
- Yes, multiple A records on the same hostname is normal for load balancing across several servers, but every IP listed needs to actually be ready to serve your site.
- How long does a DNS A record take to update?
- It depends on the TTL (time-to-live) set on the previous record and ISP caching, typically anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours, though most changes are visible within a few hours.
- Will changing my A record affect my email?
- Not directly — email delivery is controlled by MX records, not A records, so changing where your website points doesn't break email unless you also change MX records by mistake.