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DNS Management

DNS, short for Domain Name System, is often described as the "phonebook of the internet". Every website and mail server has a technical address made of numbers, but people do not want to remember strings of numbers. They want to type a name, like yourbusiness.nl. DNS records are what quietly translate that name into the correct technical destination, every single time someone visits your site or sends you an email.

The good news: SitePack sets up and maintains everything your website and email need. This guide explains what is happening behind the scenes, and how to work with the records yourself if you ever need an extra one.

Where to find your DNS records​

  1. Go to Settings → Domains in your SitePack Admin.
  2. Click the cog (Manage) next to the domain you want to look at.
  3. Scroll to the DNS records card on the domain details page.

The card lists every record for that domain, and at the bottom you will find the nameservers the domain uses. Nameservers are the servers that publish your records to the rest of the internet; you generally never need to touch them.

Domains whose DNS is managed elsewhere

SitePack can only manage the DNS records of a domain that runs on SitePack's own nameservers. That is the same thing that lets SitePack issue and renew your SSL certificate (the padlock and https://) and keep the website records pointing at the right place for you. For that reason, the DNS of a domain hosted at another provider cannot be managed here.

When a domain's DNS is handled somewhere else, the card says so instead of showing an editable list. Those records can only be changed at the provider that currently manages the domain. If you want SitePack to take over the DNS, and with it the certificate, move the domain to SitePack (see Domain Management).

Changing DNS records yourself​

Most customers never need to. But if an external service asks you to add a record (to verify ownership of your domain, for example, or to connect a mailing tool), you can do it here.

  1. Open the DNS records card as described above.
  2. Edit an existing record, or click add a record to create a new empty line and fill in its type, name and value.
  3. Remove a record you no longer need with the remove button on its line.
  4. Click Save DNS.

You can work with the following record types:

  • A and AAAA: point your domain to the server where your website lives (an A record for the older style of internet address, an AAAA record for the newer one).
  • CNAME: creates an alias, letting one address point to another, for example connecting www.yourdomain.nl to the same destination as yourdomain.nl.
  • MX: directs incoming email for your domain to the correct mail servers. An MX record also has a priority, a number that says which mail server should be tried first (the lower the number, the higher the priority).
  • TXT: holds plain text, used by services to verify that you own the domain and by email security records such as SPF.
  • SRV: points a service (used by some apps and tools) to the host and port that provides it. Its value is written as priority weight port target, for example 10 5 443 sip.yourdomain.nl.
  • CAA: states which certificate authorities are allowed to issue SSL certificates for your domain, for example 0 issue "letsencrypt.org".

A few things to keep in mind:

  • Some records are locked. The records SitePack needs to show your website cannot be edited or removed, which keeps your site from going offline by accident. When your domain serves a SitePack website, a small lock note at the top of the card reminds you that the record for the domain itself and for www cannot be changed.
  • Saving applies the whole zone. Save DNS publishes all the records of the domain in one go, exactly as they appear in the list at that moment.
  • The change is applied right away, then spreads. SitePack writes the change at the DNS provider the moment you save, and the list refreshes to show the zone exactly as it stands there. Being visible everywhere on the internet still takes longer, because other servers hold on to the previous answer for a while. A few hours is normal.
When in doubt, leave it alone

If you are unsure about a specific record, it is best to leave the SitePack defaults in place. They are configured to keep your site and mail working, and an incorrect record can take your website or email offline.

What SitePack checks before you save​

To stop a small typo from taking your website or email offline, SitePack checks each record the moment you add it and again when you click Save DNS. If something is off, it does not save; instead it shows a short message explaining what to fix. The checks are:

  • The name belongs to your domain. A record has to sit on your own domain (or a name below it). A name that points somewhere else is refused.
  • The value fits the type. An A record needs a valid IPv4 address (like 93.184.216.34) and an AAAA record a valid IPv6 address. A CNAME or MX has to point to a host name, not to an IP address.
  • A CNAME has its own rules. You cannot put a CNAME on the domain itself (use an A record there), and a CNAME cannot point to itself or share its name with any other record.
  • An MX needs a priority. Fill in a number between 0 and 65535, where the lower number is tried first.
  • TXT stays within length. A TXT value can be up to 4096 characters.
  • SRV and CAA follow their format. The message shows an example (10 5 443 sip.yourdomain.nl for SRV, 0 issue "letsencrypt.org" for CAA) if the value does not match.
  • No duplicates. The exact same record cannot appear twice in the list.

You do not need to memorise any of this. Just add the record your other service asked for, and if the wording is not quite right, the message tells you what to change.

Records SitePack manages for you​

To keep your website and email both secure and reliably delivered, SitePack automatically manages several important background records so you never have to configure them by hand:

  • SSL/TLS certificates: these encrypt the connection between your website and its visitors (and secure your mail connections too), which is what enables the padlock icon and https:// in a browser's address bar. SitePack both issues these certificates and renews them before they expire.
  • SPF (Sender Policy Framework): a record that tells other mail servers exactly which servers are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain. Without it, your legitimate emails are more likely to be flagged as spam, or worse, someone else could impersonate your domain.
  • DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): adds an invisible digital signature to every email you send, proving to the receiving mail server that the message genuinely came from your domain and was not altered or forged along the way.

Together, SPF and DKIM are the main defences against "spoofing" (someone sending fraudulent email that appears to come from your domain), and both directly affect whether your real emails land in an inbox or a spam folder.

Frequently asked questions​

What does DNS actually do, in simple terms?​

DNS translates the easy-to-remember name of your website (like yourbusiness.nl) into the technical address computers use to find it, similar to how a phonebook translates a name into a phone number.

Do I need to configure DNS records myself?​

No. SitePack configures and maintains every record your website and email need, including the SSL certificate, SPF and DKIM. You only open the DNS records card when another service asks you to add a record of its own.

Why can't I edit some of the records?​

The records SitePack needs in order to serve your website are locked. That protects you from accidentally taking your own site offline. Every other record on the list can be changed or removed.

I saved a change but nothing happened. What now?​

Give it time. After Save DNS it can take a while, sometimes a few hours, before the new record is visible everywhere, because servers around the world keep the previous answer for a period.

Can I manage the DNS of a domain hosted at another provider?​

Not from here. SitePack manages DNS only for domains that run on its own nameservers, which is also what keeps your SSL certificate and website records working automatically. For a domain whose DNS lives at another provider, the card is read-only and you make changes at that provider. Moving the domain to SitePack hands both the DNS and the certificate over to us; see Domain Management.

It says my record is not valid. Why?​

Before saving, SitePack checks that every record makes sense, so a typo is caught here instead of quietly breaking something later. The message names the record and what is wrong, for example an address that is not a valid IP, an MX without a priority, or a CNAME placed on the domain itself. Correct the field it points at and save again. See What SitePack checks before you save for the full list.

What is the difference between an A record and a CNAME?​

An A record points your domain directly to the server where your website is hosted. A CNAME creates an alias that points one address to another, for example making sure both www.yourdomain.nl and yourdomain.nl lead visitors to the same place.

What are nameservers?​

They are the servers that publish your domain's DNS records to the rest of the internet. They are listed at the bottom of the DNS records card for reference. For a domain managed by SitePack, they are already set correctly.