A RECORD

An A record is a DNS entry that maps a hostname to an IPv4 address. It is the simplest and most fundamental DNS record type: when example.com has an A record pointing to 76.76.21.21, that is the address browsers look up when someone visits the domain. AAAA records are the IPv6 equivalent. Every domain that serves web traffic has at least one A or AAAA record. You usually edit A records inside the DNS panel of your registrar or DNS provider (Cloudflare, Route 53, Namecheap, Google Domains), and changes propagate worldwide within minutes to a few hours depending on the TTL.

How it works

An A record is one line in a zone file: a hostname, the record type (A), a TTL (cache duration in seconds), and the target IPv4 address. A single hostname can have multiple A records for load balancing; subdomains have their own A records.

Why it matters

When you move a website to a new host, the change is an A record update. When a site goes down because DNS was misconfigured, an A record is usually the cause. Understanding how to read, change and verify A records is the most basic DNS skill.

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