What is the purpose of an A record?

What is the purpose of an A record?

An A record maps a DNS name to an IPv4 address. It helps clients find infrastructure associated with that name. For example, a hosting provider may instruct you to create an A record for the apex domain of a wedding application.

Understand the fields being configured

A typical DNS editor asks for a record type, name, value, and TTL. For an A record, the value is an IPv4 address. The name identifies the hostname being configured, and the TTL influences how long resolvers may cache the answer.

Providers differ in how they represent the apex name in their forms. Read the form's instructions instead of assuming every editor expects the same notation. Cloudflare's A-record explanation describes the underlying record type.

Keep addresses separate from URLs

An A-record value is not a complete website URL. It does not include HTTPS, a port, or a path such as /dashboard. Those parts belong to other layers of the request.

An A record also does not perform an HTTP redirect from one hostname to another. If visitors should move from the apex domain to www, configure that behavior in the hosting or application routing system. Email delivery relies on its own DNS configuration.

Apply the hosting provider's current value

For a hosted application, use the address provided for the intended domain and project. Inspect existing records for the same hostname before making changes, especially when an older deployment used another provider.

After saving, verify the DNS answer and open the application. If the address resolves but the site still fails, inspect hosting association and certificate status next. This keeps a simple DNS change from becoming an uncontrolled attempt to fix unrelated application problems.