DNS records tell the internet where to send traffic for your domain: which server hosts the website, which server receives the email, and which third-party services are allowed to act on your behalf. This guide explains each record type in plain terms, shows how to edit them in cPanel, and lists the exact values you need for the most common tasks.
You edit records in cPanel's Zone Editor only if the domain uses Fast Hive nameservers (
ns1.fasthive.com / ns2.fasthive.com). If the domain points at another provider's nameservers, edits made here have no effect - make them wherever the nameservers point instead.
The record types you will actually use
| Type | What it does | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| A | Points a name to an IPv4 address | Sending your domain to your web server |
| AAAA | Same, but IPv6 | Modern dual-stack hosting |
| CNAME | Points a name to another name | www, and verifying third-party services |
| MX | Names the mail servers for the domain | Routing inbound email |
| TXT | Free-form text used by other systems | SPF, DKIM, DMARC, domain verification |
| SRV | Advertises a service on a host and port | VoIP, chat, autodiscover |
| NS | Delegates the zone to nameservers | Rarely edited by hand |
| CAA | Restricts which authorities may issue certificates | Hardening SSL issuance |
Editing records in cPanel
- Log in to cPanel from My Products & Services.
- Under Domains, open Zone Editor.
- Find your domain and click Manage to see the full zone, or use the quick + A Record, + CNAME Record and + MX Record buttons.
- To change an existing record, click Edit beside it, adjust the value, and click Save Record.
- To add one, click + Add Record, choose the type, and fill in the fields.
Field-by-field: what to type
Name
Use @ for the domain itself, or the subdomain label such as www, shop or mail. cPanel often displays the fully qualified form with a trailing dot, for example www.yourdomain.com. Both mean the same thing.
TTL
Time to live, in seconds - how long resolvers may cache the answer. Use 3600 (one hour) day to day, and drop it to 300 a day or two before a planned change so the switchover is quick.
Priority (MX only)
Lower numbers are tried first. A primary mail server usually gets 10, a backup 20.
Common tasks, with exact values
Point the website at your Fast Hive server
Type: A Name: @ TTL: 3600 Value: your.server.ip.address
Type: CNAME Name: www TTL: 3600 Value: yourdomain.comCreate a subdomain such as blog.yourdomain.com
Type: A Name: blog TTL: 3600 Value: your.server.ip.addressIf the subdomain should be served by your Fast Hive account, add it in cPanel under Domains as well, which creates the document root and the DNS record together.
Route email to an external provider
Type: MX Name: @ Priority: 10 Value: mail-provider-host-1.example.net
Type: MX Name: @ Priority: 20 Value: mail-provider-host-2.example.netDelete any leftover MX records first, and then set cPanel's Email Routing for that domain to Remote Mail Exchanger. Otherwise the server keeps mail locally and it never reaches your provider.
Verify a domain for a third-party service
Type: TXT Name: @ TTL: 3600 Value: (the exact string the service gives you)Paste the value verbatim. Do not add quotation marks unless they were part of what you were given, and do not delete verification records afterwards - many services re-check them periodically.
Publish an SPF record
Type: TXT Name: @ Value: v=spf1 +mx +a ~allYou may have only one SPF record per domain. If you send through additional services, merge them into a single record rather than adding a second one.
Restrict certificate issuance with CAA
Type: CAA Name: @ Flags: 0 Tag: issue Value: letsencrypt.orgVerifying a record has taken effect
nslookup -type=A yourdomain.com 8.8.8.8
nslookup -type=MX yourdomain.com 8.8.8.8
nslookup -type=TXT yourdomain.com 8.8.8.8Querying 8.8.8.8 bypasses your ISP's cache. If the new value appears there but not in your browser, flush your local DNS cache and wait for the old TTL to expire.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Edits in Zone Editor change nothing | The domain is not using Fast Hive nameservers, so a different provider is answering. Check with nslookup -type=NS yourdomain.com. |
| "Record already exists" | A name cannot have both a CNAME and another record type. Delete the conflicting record first. The root @ can never be a CNAME. |
| Email is being delivered locally instead of to the external provider | Email Routing is still set to Local Mail Exchanger. Change it to Remote Mail Exchanger in cPanel. |
| Mail from your domain is failing SPF checks | Two SPF records are published. Merge them into one; multiple SPF records are invalid and cause a permanent error. |
| A TXT value is being truncated | Long values such as DKIM keys are split into chunks. Paste the whole string and let cPanel handle the splitting rather than editing the chunks by hand. |
| Website is fine, subdomain is not | The DNS record exists but the subdomain was never added in cPanel, so there is no document root for it. |
| Change made hours ago is still not visible | The previous TTL has to expire before resolvers re-query. If it was set to 86400, that can be a full day. |
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a CNAME on my root domain?
No. The DNS specification does not allow a CNAME at the zone apex. Use an A record for @ and reserve CNAMEs for subdomains.
How many records can I have?
There is no practical limit for normal use. The constraints are structural - one SPF record, no CNAME alongside other records for the same name.
What happens if I delete the wrong record?
Whatever depended on it stops working, typically within the old TTL. Recreate it from your screenshot and it recovers. This is why the screenshot matters.
Do I need an AAAA record?
Only if your server has an IPv6 address and you want IPv6 visitors reaching it directly. It is optional, not required.
Can Fast Hive set records up for me?
Yes. Open a ticket with Technical Support, tell us what you are trying to connect, and paste the values the third-party service gave you. We will add them correctly.
