Skip to content

GLOSSARY

What is A record?

DEFINITION

An A record is a DNS entry that points a name, such as yourcompany.com or www.yourcompany.com, to an IPv4 address, which is the numeric address of a server. When someone visits your domain, the A record is what tells their browser which server to ask for the page.

The name and address pair is the whole record. A related type, the AAAA record, does the same job for the newer IPv6 address format. If your site moves to a new host, the A record is usually the one that changes. Why it matters: When a site moves hosts, a stale A record is the most common reason visitors still see the old version.

Explained in

    Related terms

    Rated by our clients

    Don't take our word for it.

    Some of the businesses we have worked with

    Your cookies, your call

    We use only the cookies this site needs to work. If you say yes, we also turn on Google Analytics to see what works, and our live chat, which records how you use the site so we can help you faster. Nothing optional runs until you choose. See our cookie policy.