How to create a DNS record

When setting up mechanisms like DMARC, SPF or DKIM you’re typically asked to create a DNS record on your domain name.

The DNS is a directory of names and allows to store information such as pointers to resources on the Internet in it. For example, when setting up DMARC you would typically create a resource record of type TXT (text) that contains the DMARC policy.

Resource records in the DNS are made available by an authoritative nameserver: which one you’re using depends on the DNS provider associated to your domain name. Often, DNS is included as a free service when you buy or renew a domain with a registrar (the company that sells you domains).

Here are some tips:

• Find out whether you’re using the DNS server provided by your domain registrar or an external service (like Cloudflare, Vercel, etc.).
• Look for the page where you manage DNS records, it may be called “DNS records”, “DNS management” or “DNS zone”.
• Refer to these guides for more detailed instructions:
  • Cloudflare (when setting up DNS records for DMARCwise, disable proxying, i.e. the orange cloud)
  • GoDaddy
  • Gandi
  • Namecheap
  • DNSimple
  • ClouDNS
  • Google Cloud DNS
  • AWS Route 53
  • Azure DNS
  • Bunny DNS
  • Vercel

Modifying existing DNS records

If you already have a DNS record such as a DMARC record, most of the time you can just edit its contents without deleting and re-creating the record.

In some cases, for example when switching the DNS record type (e.g. from TXT to CNAME) you may not be able to change the type of the existing record, so you’ll need to remove the record and create a new one.