Common DNS Terms and Definitions

A Record

An A Record points a domain or subdomain to an IP address. You can think of the IP address as the street address for where your website is hosted.

Example:

yourstudio.com points to 104.26.3.2

A Records are commonly used to connect your main domain to your website host.

Learn More: How To Add an A Record in PhotoBiz

CNAME Record

A CNAME Record points a subdomain to another domain name instead of pointing it directly to an IP address.

Example:

www.yourstudio.com points to yourstudio.com

CNAME Records are often used for the www version of your domain or for third-party services that provide a specific hostname.

Learn More: How To Add a CNAME Record in PhotoBiz

MX Record

MX stands for Mail Exchange. MX Records tell the internet where email for your domain should be delivered.

For example, if you use PhotoBiz Mailbox, your MX Records point to the mail servers used for your PhotoBiz email service.

If MX Records are incorrect, messages sent to your domain email address may not arrive.

Learn More: How To Add MX Records in PhotoBiz

TXT Record

A TXT Record stores text-based information in your DNS. TXT Records are often used for verification and email authentication.

Common uses for TXT Records include:

• Verifying your domain with Google
• Verifying your domain with Meta or Facebook Business tools
• Adding SPF records for email authentication
• Adding DKIM records for email authentication
• Adding DMARC records for email policy and reporting
• Connecting marketing or CRM tools

TXT Records do not usually send visitors to a website. They are most often used to prove domain ownership or help email services confirm that your messages are legitimate.

Learn More: How To Add a TXT Record in PhotoBiz

Nameservers

Nameservers control where your DNS records are managed. This is one of the most important DNS concepts to understand.

Your domain can only use one active set of nameservers at a time. Wherever those nameservers point is where DNS changes must be made.

For example:

• If your nameservers point to PhotoBiz AWS, which is PhotoBiz’s current DNS management option, you can manage DNS records inside your PhotoBiz account.
• If your nameservers point to Rackspace, DNS updates must be made through PhotoBiz Support.
• If your nameservers point to GoDaddy, DNS updates must be made at GoDaddy.
• If your nameservers point to another provider, DNS updates must be made through that provider.

Changing a DNS record is different from changing nameservers. DNS records control individual services, while nameservers control where all DNS records are managed.

TTL

TTL stands for Time To Live. It tells the internet how long a DNS record may be cached before checking for an updated version.

For example:

A TTL of 3600 means the record may be cached for up to 1 hour.

Even when a DNS change is entered correctly, it can take time for the update to appear everywhere. This is called DNS propagation. Some DNS changes may begin working quickly, while others can take up to 48 hours to fully update across the internet.