Someone has told you to add a CNAME record to your domain. So, what is a CNAME record? It makes one name an alias of another name. Type the first name and you land wherever the second one leads. An A record works differently. It points a name straight at a server’s numeric address.

The instruction reads like jargon, and that’s the risk. A record entered wrongly, or an existing one overwritten, can leave your site or your email unreachable for the customers who depend on them. So don’t guess. Before anyone changes anything, ask which record type, which name and which value to enter — and ask in writing.

What Is a CNAME Record?

A CNAME record identifies the name it sits on as an alias and gives the matching canonical name, according to the original DNS specification, RFC 1034. Canonical name is the technical term for the real name an alias leads to. The record says, in effect: this name stands in for that one.

Here’s an illustration, with made-up names. Say www.yourbusiness.com is set as an alias of a name your host hands you, something like yourhost.example. Anyone who types the first name is led to wherever the second one leads.

DNS is the internet’s lookup system. In plain words, it connects a web address to the place that serves it. Each entry in it is called a record. Every record has a type, a name and a value. Those three pieces are what you want from the provider, in writing.

How Is a CNAME Different From an A Record?

The line is drawn in a DNS provider’s own reference on record types. That reference describes A and AAAA records as mapping a domain name to one or more internet addresses. It describes CNAME records as mapping a domain name to another, canonical, domain name. One points at an address. The other points at a name.

That difference shows up in the value you type. An A record holds the numeric address itself. A CNAME holds another name, and that name’s own record supplies the address. So a CNAME leads wherever the other name leads. If the address behind that other name changes, your alias follows it, and you don’t retype anything. Either way, the value has to be the exact name the provider gave you.

There’s a practical reason a provider might ask you for one. Spilt Media’s post on what a CDN does for site speed says that with some content delivery networks, setup means creating a CNAME record on a subdomain, such as cdn.yourbusiness.com, that points to the CDN’s network.

Can a CNAME Sit on Your Bare Domain?

That’s a question for whoever runs your DNS, and the specification shows why it matters. RFC 1034 says that where a CNAME record is present at a name, no other data should be present at that name. Its words are: “If a CNAME RR is present at a node, no other data should be present”.

An RR there is a record, and a node is a name. The word is should, not must. Even so, a name that already carries other records is a poor fit for a CNAME under that rule. Your bare domain — the address with no www in front — is the case to ask about. Put the question to your provider: will they accept a CNAME on it? And ask whether the host can give you an address to use in an A record instead.

What Should You Ask Before Anyone Changes a Record?

Ask for the record type, the name and the value in writing, and find out who controls your domain’s settings. Spilt Media’s post on migrating WordPress to new hosting safely tells you to screenshot or export the records you already have — A, CNAME, MX for email and TXT for verification, as it lists them.

That same post says a change takes 15 minutes to 48 hours to spread worldwide. The steps below are habits worth keeping, not rules from the specification or the reference page.

  • Ask who manages your domain’s DNS: the registrar you bought the name from, the host that serves the site, or another provider entirely.
  • Ask for the exact record type, name and value in writing, so there’s a reference to check against afterward.
  • Export or screenshot the records that exist before anyone edits them.
  • Change one record at a time, and note the time you made each change.
  • Check afterward that your email and verification records are still in place.

If the change seems to have no effect, wait out the spread window that post describes before deciding it failed. Then ask whoever made the change to recheck the value against what the provider sent, character for character. Keep that exchange in writing as well.

Frequently Asked Questions About CNAME Records

Does a CNAME record point to an IP address?

Not directly. A CNAME maps a name to another name, which that provider’s reference calls the canonical domain name, and RFC 1034 describes the same alias relationship. An A record is the one that maps a name to internet addresses. The alias leads to a name, and that name’s own record supplies the address. So the value you type for a CNAME is a name.

How long does a DNS change take to show up?

Spilt Media’s post on migrating WordPress hosting safely says that after you change DNS records, it takes 15 minutes to 48 hours for the change to spread worldwide. During that window, some visitors reach the updated setup while others still land on the old one. So no visible change right after an edit doesn’t prove the edit was wrong; give it the window first.

Can one name have a CNAME and other records?

RFC 1034 says that where a CNAME record is present at a name, no other data should be present at that name. The wording is should, not must, so read it as the specification’s guidance and not as a guarantee about what any provider’s system does. Ask your provider how theirs handles it. If the name in question also carries mail or verification records, say so when you ask.

Who handles the DNS change when a site moves to another host?

Spilt Media’s managed WordPress hosting page says its team handles the complete migration process, including DNS, and that it coordinates the DNS switchover during off-peak hours. Whoever moves your site, ask them to put in writing which records they will change and which ones stay, email records included.

Next Steps Before Anyone Touches Your DNS

Spilt Media’s managed WordPress hosting page says its team handles the complete migration process, including DNS, SSL, email configuration and thorough testing, and coordinates the DNS switchover during off-peak hours to minimize disruption.

You asked what is a CNAME record; the short answer is an alias, and the useful follow-up is who’s changing it and to what. Get the type, the name and the value in writing before anyone edits a thing.

If you’d rather hand that question to someone else, book a consultation with Spilt Media. The conversation is about who manages your domain settings and how the site is hosted and looked after.