A and AAAA records are the most fundamental DNS records. They point domain names to IP addresses where your website is hosted.
What is an A Record?
An A (Address) record maps a domain name to an IPv4 address.
example.com. IN A 192.168.1.1 www.example.com. IN A 192.168.1.1
What is an AAAA Record?
An AAAA (Quad-A) record maps a domain name to an IPv6 address.
example.com. IN AAAA 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
AAAA records are becoming more important as IPv6 adoption grows.
Adding an A Record in cPanel
- Go to Zone Editor
- Click Manage for your domain
- Click + A Record
- Enter:
- Name: Subdomain (e.g., "blog") or leave empty for root domain
- Address: The IPv4 address (e.g., 192.168.1.1)
- TTL: Time to live (default 14400 is fine)
- Click Add Record
Common A Record Configurations
| Name | Points To | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| @ (or blank) | Server IP | Root domain (example.com) |
| www | Server IP | www.example.com |
| blog | Server IP | blog.example.com |
| shop | Different IP | shop.example.com |
| Mail server IP | mail.example.com |
Multiple A Records
You can have multiple A records for the same name (round-robin DNS):
example.com. A 192.168.1.1 example.com. A 192.168.1.2
Traffic is distributed between the IPs. Used for basic load balancing.
Finding Your Server IP
- Log into cPanel
- Look at the right sidebar
- Find Shared IP Address
- Or check your welcome email
When to Use A vs CNAME
| Use A Record | Use CNAME |
|---|---|
| Root domain (@) | Subdomains pointing to another hostname |
| When you have a specific IP | When pointing to a service (CDN, cloud) |
| Mail servers (with MX) | Aliases to main domain |
Troubleshooting A Records
Website not loading after change
- Wait for DNS propagation (up to 48 hours)
- Check IP address is correct
- Verify domain is added to server
- Clear browser cache and try again
Check current A record
Use online tools or command line:
nslookup example.com dig example.com A