An A (Address) record maps a hostname to an IPv4 address, such as example.com → 203.0.113.10. It is the most basic way to point a domain at a web server. Its IPv6 counterpart is the AAAA record.
You can have multiple A records for the same name to spread traffic across servers, and you can create separate A records for subdomains. The record’s TTL controls how long resolvers cache it.
The root (apex) domain usually needs an A/AAAA record rather than a CNAME, because the DNS standard does not allow a CNAME to coexist with the other records required at the apex. Some DNS providers offer ALIAS, ANAME or “CNAME flattening” as a workaround.
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Related terms
- CNAME record
- A CNAME record makes one hostname an alias of another, such as www.example.com pointing to example.com or to a hosting provider's hostname.
- MX record
- An MX record tells the internet which mail servers accept email for your domain, with priority numbers deciding the order they are tried.
- TXT record
- A TXT record stores text in DNS, widely used for domain ownership verification and email authentication like SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
- DNSSEC
- DNSSEC adds cryptographic signatures to DNS records so resolvers can verify answers are authentic and have not been forged or tampered with.