Nameservers and DNS records explained
What nameservers and A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT and SRV records do, and how to edit DNS records for a domain hosted with FoxFolio Cloud.
Quick answer
Nameservers say which company answers DNS questions for a domain; FoxFolio Cloud’s are ns1.stackdns.com to ns4.stackdns.com. DNS records are the answers: A and AAAA records point to a server, CNAME points one name at another, MX says where email is delivered and TXT holds text such as SPF, DKIM, DMARC and verification codes. Edit records in the DNS tool of your control panel.
Before you start
- A domain that uses FoxFolio Cloud’s nameservers
- Access to the control panel for the service that holds the domain
Applies to: Domains, Cloud Hosting, WordPress Cloud, Managed WordPress, Basic Email.
Common record types
- A CNAME cannot be used on the bare domain itself (for example
example.com), only on names such aswww.example.com. - Records have a time-to-live (TTL) of about an hour, so other networks may keep an old answer for that long after you change it.
| Type | What it does | Example use |
|---|---|---|
| A | Points a name to an IPv4 address | The website at your domain |
| AAAA | Points a name to an IPv6 address | The website over IPv6 |
| CNAME | Makes one name an alias of another name | www pointing at your domain, or a service’s verification name |
| MX | Says which server receives email for the domain | mx.stackmail.com for FoxFolio Cloud email |
| TXT | Holds text read by other services | SPF, DKIM, DMARC and ownership verification |
| SRV | Points a service to a host and port | Some calling and chat services |
Steps
Open the right service
Open the control panel for the service that holds the domain from Services → My Services in your account.
Open DNS management
Choose the DNS management tool for the domain. You will see the current records.
Save a copy first
Copy or screenshot the existing records before editing, so you can put back anything you change by mistake.
Add or edit the record
Choose the record type, enter the name (host), the value exactly as the other service gave it, and save. Leave the TTL at its default unless told otherwise.
Check the result
After a few minutes, check the record with a public DNS lookup tool. Changes reach FoxFolio Cloud’s DNS servers within about a minute; other networks may hold the old answer for up to the TTL.
What you should see
The new or changed record appears in the DNS list and in public lookups, and the service it is meant for (website, email or verification) works.
Troubleshooting and common mistakes
- The DNS tool does not show the domain.
- The domain may not be attached to this service, or its nameservers may point elsewhere, in which case you must edit DNS where the nameservers point.
- A verification record is not detected.
- Check you entered only the host part in the name field; some tools add the domain automatically, which creates
name.example.com.example.com. - Email broke after editing records.
- Compare MX and TXT records with your saved copy and restore the originals. See Mail DNS problems.
When to contact FoxFolio support
Open a ticket if you cannot find the DNS tool, if a record will not save, or if you need a record type the tool does not offer. Include the domain and the exact record you want to add.
Sources
Adapted from the platform vendor’s DNS records, nameserver, mail DNS and TTL documentation.
- What are DNS records? (opens in a new tab) — 20i documentation
- 20i nameservers (opens in a new tab) — 20i documentation
- Mail DNS records (opens in a new tab) — 20i documentation
- Default TTL (opens in a new tab) — 20i documentation
- DNS when a domain is assigned to hosting (opens in a new tab) — 20i documentation