Add or edit an A record
Connect your domain to your website by adding an A record to your DNS zone file when your domain is using GoDaddy nameservers. A records, or address records, are the most fundamental type of DNS record and are used to indicate the IP address of a domain. The most common A record is for the root domain, like mycoolnewbusiness.com, and typically connects the domain to a website.
Changes to an existing A record could cause your website or email service to stop working properly.
- Sign in to your GoDaddy Domain Portfolio. (Need help logging in? Find your username or password.)
- Select an individual domain to access the Domain Settings page.
- Select DNS to view your DNS records.
- Select Add New Record and then select A from the Type menu.
- Enter the details for your new A record.
- Name: The hostname or prefix of the A record, without the domain name. Enter @ to put the record on your root domain, or enter a prefix, such as blog or shop, to create a subdomain that points to an IP address. The Name must follow these guidelines:
- Periods (.) are allowed but not as the first or last character
- Consecutive periods (…) are not allowed
- Cannot begin or end with a hyphen (-)
- 63 characters in a row not separated by a period (.)
Example: 63characters.63characters.coolexample.com
- 255 characters maximum
- Value: The IP address the record corresponds to. This is commonly the IP address for a hosting account.
- Select Add another value to add more IP addresses to this record.
- TTL (Time to Live): The amount of time the server should cache information before refreshing. The default setting is 1 hour.
- Name: The hostname or prefix of the A record, without the domain name. Enter @ to put the record on your root domain, or enter a prefix, such as blog or shop, to create a subdomain that points to an IP address. The Name must follow these guidelines:
- (Optional) Select Add More Records to add multiple DNS records at the same time. If you change your mind, select
Delete to remove any records that haven't been saved yet. - Select Save to apply your settings.
- If your domain has Domain Protection, you'll need to verify your identity. If you've had 2-step verification (2SV) turned on for at least 24 hours, enter the code we sent via SMS, or enter the code from your authenticator app. Otherwise, enter the one-time password we sent to your registrant email address.
- Select
Edit next to the record you'll be editing. - Enter the details for your A record.
- Name: The hostname or prefix of the record, without the domain name. Enter @ to put the A record on your root domain, or enter a prefix, such as blog or shop, to create a subdomain that points to an IP address. The Name must follow these guidelines:
- Periods (.) are allowed but not as the first or last character
- Consecutive periods (…) are not allowed
- Cannot begin or end with a hyphen (-)
- 63 characters in a row not separated by a period (.)
Example: 63characters.63characters.coolexample.com
- 255 characters maximum
- Value: The IP address the record corresponds to. This is commonly the IP address for a hosting account.
- Select Add another value to add more IP addresses to this record.
- TTL (Time to Live): The amount of time the server should cache information before refreshing. The default setting is 1 hour.
- Name: The hostname or prefix of the record, without the domain name. Enter @ to put the A record on your root domain, or enter a prefix, such as blog or shop, to create a subdomain that points to an IP address. The Name must follow these guidelines:
- Select Save to apply your settings.
- If your domain has Domain Protection, you'll need to verify your identity. If you've had 2-step verification (2SV) turned on for at least 24 hours, enter the code we sent via SMS, or enter the code from your authenticator app. Otherwise, enter the one-time password we sent to your registrant email address.
Most DNS updates take effect within an hour, but could take up to 48 hours to update globally.
Related steps
- Delete an A record from your zone file if you no longer need it.
- Ready to build your own website? Take a look at our do-it-yourself Websites + Marketing features.
More info
- Create a template to quickly assign DNS records to your domains.
- Keep your domains organized with folders and preset profiles.
