The Domain Name System, commonly known as DNS, is essential for your online identity. Each domain name relies on DNS to manage how users locate your site and how emails are directed to you. You can liken your domain name to a street address, while DNS serves as your navigation system. If the GPS fails to give accurate directions, visitors will struggle to find your location. Consequently, if your DNS settings are incorrect, your website and email services won’t function properly.
When you enter a domain name into your web browser, DNS operates to locate the details for that domain. While domains provide an easy way for us to recall how to access a website, behind that user-friendly name, computers communicate with each other through numerical values. These numbers constitute Internet Protocol, or IP addresses, which serve as your website’s street address linked to your domain name.
When you enter a domain name in your browser’s address bar to access a website, your computer seeks the corresponding IP address of that site to display the content. This process illustrates DNS functionality — you input the street address (the domain name), DNS retrieves the directions by using the IP address (similar to GPS), and the internet processes the loading of the website you want to visit.
To reach your desired destination, DNS relies on three essential components: nameservers, zone files, and records. Nameservers store the zone file, while the zone file contains the records. The records specify the physical location of your website or the source of your email through IP addresses, but they won’t function properly unless the nameservers are configured correctly.
To manage the DNS, you can add, edit or delete DNS records within your DNS Manager.
- A record: The primary DNS record used to connect your domain to an IP address that directs visitors to your website.
- Subdomain: Any DNS record that’s on a prefix of your domain name such as blog.coolexample.com. A subdomain can be created using an A record that points to the IP address (the most common), a CNAME that points to a URL, or even an MX record.
- CNAME: A type of record that also adds a prefix to your domain name and is sometimes referred to as a type of subdomain. A CNAME can’t point to an IP address. It can only point to another domain name or URL address. For example, you can create a CNAME for store.coolexample.com that points to a different URL, such as a store built with Shopify.
- MX record: Manages your email address and makes sure your email messages get to your inbox. Different email services use different MX records, and email with Secure Server is automatically set up for you.
- TXT record: Allows you to verify domain ownership and setup email-sender policies.
- SPF record: A type of TXT record that lets you set up email sender policies. This is an advanced type of DNS record.
- NS record: Contains information about your nameservers. Use these records to identify which nameservers you should use if your domain is not registered with Secure Server, but you want to manage your DNS with us. This is an advanced custom DNS record.
Changing Nameservers for Domains
Nameservers serve as the main controller for your DNS, and if the nameserver settings are incorrect, your website and email services may not function properly. To learn how to adjust the nameserver settings with domain registrars, refer to the video tutorial. Free Domain Name Registration with Freenom.
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