Overview
DNS records control where your website loads from and where your email is delivered. Most website and email issues are DNS issues.
Core website records
A Record
- Points a hostname to an IPv4 address.
- Used for: yourdomain.com → server IP
AAAA Record
- Points a hostname to an IPv6 address (optional, only if used).
CNAME Record
- Points one hostname to another hostname.
- Used for: www → yourdomain.com
Email routing record
MX Record
- Controls where incoming email is delivered.
- If you change MX records, you change email delivery destination.
Text record (many uses)
TXT Record
- Used for verification and email authentication.
- SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are published as TXT.
Email authentication (deliverability)
SPF (TXT)
- Declares which servers are allowed to send email for your domain.
DKIM (TXT)
- Publishes a key so receivers can verify email signatures.
DMARC (TXT)
- Sets policy for failed authentication and enables reporting.
Where SMTP2GO fits
SMTP2GO is a sending relay. If you send mail through SMTP2GO:
- SPF must authorize SMTP2GO
- DKIM should be enabled and published using SMTP2GO-provided records
- DMARC should be added after SPF/DKIM are correct
Common safe patterns
Website on Dprime Hosting + Email on Dprime Hosting
- A/CNAME point website to hosting
- MX points to hosting mail
- SPF/DKIM/DMARC configured
Website on Dprime Hosting + Email on Google/Microsoft
- A/CNAME point website to hosting
- MX remains Google/Microsoft
- SPF/DKIM/DMARC configured for the email provider (and SMTP2GO if used)
Common mistakes
- Proxying mail records in Cloudflare (breaks mail)
- Multiple SPF records (SPF must be one record)
- Publishing strict DMARC too early (start with monitoring)
If you need help
Open a ticket with:
- Domain name
- DNS provider
- Email provider
- Whether you send using SMTP2GO
