How to add or edit DNS records in cPanel

In cPanel, open Domains and click Zone Editor, find your domain in the list, click Manage, then click + Add Record. Choose the record type, fill in Name, TTL and the record value, and save.

Before you start

• Your domain must be using our nameservers for any of this to take effect: ns1.serverworld.uk, ns2.serverworld.uk, ns3.serverworld.uk and ns4.serverworld.uk. If the domain points at a registrar's DNS or a third party service instead, Zone Editor changes do nothing at all.
• Log in as the cPanel user that owns the domain. A record added under the wrong account edits the wrong zone.
• There is no undo. Before changing anything, take a screenshot of the existing records so you can put them back.

Step 1: Open the zone

1. Log in to cPanel and go to the Domains section.
2. Click Zone Editor.
3. Find your domain and click Manage in the Actions column. This shows every record in the zone. Long zones page at 100 records, so use the Filter list at the top to show only A, MX, TXT and so on.

The quick A Record, CNAME Record and MX Record links on the previous screen do the same job with fewer fields, if that is all you need.

Step 2: Add the record

Click + Add Record, pick the type, and fill in the fields. Two things catch nearly everyone:

• cPanel appends the domain to whatever you type in Name when you click out of the box. Type _dmarc, not _dmarc.example.com, or you will end up with _dmarc.example.com.example.com.
• @ is not valid here. Where an external service tells you to use @, type your domain name instead.

Leave TTL at 14400 (four hours) unless you have been given a specific value. Save, and look for the confirmation message near the top of the page.

A and AAAA

A points a name at an IPv4 address. AAAA does the same for IPv6 and only works if the target actually has an IPv6 address. If you created a subdomain through the Domains interface, its record already exists: do not add a second one.

CNAME

Points one name at another name. It cannot be used on the root domain, only on a subdomain such as shop or mail. That is a DNS rule, not a cPanel limit.

MX

Set Priority and Destination. Priority is an order of preference, not a score, and the lowest number is tried first. Write down the existing MX values, then delete them before adding the new ones. Leaving the old ones in place causes split delivery.

Then go to Email and Email Routing, select the domain, and set it explicitly. Local Mail Exchanger if mail stays on your Hostworld account, Remote Mail Exchanger if it now goes elsewhere. Automatically Detect Configuration reads the local zone only and does not re-check after DNS changes, so do not rely on it.

TXT, SPF, DKIM and DMARC

Use TXT for domain verification strings. Copy the string in, save it, and only then click Verify at the other service.

Do not hand-build SPF or DKIM here. Use Email Deliverability in cPanel instead, which generates and repairs both correctly. A domain may only ever have one SPF record: if you need another provider included, merge it into the existing record rather than adding a second one.

For DMARC, click the arrow beside + Add Record and choose the DMARC option. Start at p=none so you are monitoring rather than blocking your own mail. It is stored as a TXT record, so that is where you will find it afterwards.

SRV and CAA

SRV points a service at a host and port. Use exactly the service, protocol, priority, weight, port and target values your provider gave you, combining the protocol into the Name field if the form expects it. CAA lists which certificate authorities may issue certificates for your domain, so a wrong one will block AutoSSL renewals weeks later.

Step 3: Edit or delete an existing record

Find the record on the Manage screen, click Edit in the Actions column, change the values and confirm the save. To remove one, click Delete and confirm. Leave the default records for the domain and www alone unless you know why you are changing them.

Avoid the reset option in this interface. Resetting the zone deletes custom records, and while it tries to preserve TXT records, nothing else is safe.

If it does not work

• Nothing changed. Check the domain's nameservers at your registrar. If they are not ns1 to ns4.serverworld.uk, the live DNS is somewhere else and your edits are sitting in a zone nobody is reading.
• Still seeing the old value. Propagation is governed by the old record's TTL, not the new one. At 14400 that is up to four hours. Lower the TTL first, wait out the old one, then change the record.
• TXT, CAA or SRV missing from the dropdown. Those types are a package permission. Open a support ticket and we will enable them.
• Outbound mail rejected with 550 5.7.1. Usually a second SPF record. Delete the duplicate and merge the includes into one.

What next

If your domain is not on our nameservers yet, or you are not sure where its DNS actually lives, start with our domain and DNS guides. For SPF, DKIM and DMARC in more depth, including what to do once DMARC reports start arriving, see our email guides. If you have broken a record and cannot get it back, open a support ticket with the domain name and what changed.