Skip to main content

Adding custom DNS records to your Squarespace Domain

John

You can use your Squarespace Domain’s Advanced DNS settings panel to edit its DNS records. In most cases, you'll only need to edit these records if you're using a third-party service that needs access to your domain.

Note: This guide is for Squarespace Domains. If you’re using a third-party domain for your Squarespace site and need to edit DNS settings, you'll edit the records in your account with your provider. For help, follow your provider’s instructions.

A records

An A record points a domain name to the IP address of the hosting server.

If you’re using an A record to point a Squarespace subdomain, follow the steps in our pointing guide.

To add an A record:

  1. Open Advanced DNS Settings for the domain.
  2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
  3. In the Record field of a blank row, select A from the drop-down.
  4. In the Host field, enter the host record you’re pointing.
  5. Leave the Priority field blank.
  6. In the Data field, enter the IP address you’re pointing to.
  7. Click Add to save the record to your settings.

AAAA records

An AAAA record points a domain name to an IP address. You'll need an AAAA record to point to a specific IPv6 address of a server.

To add an AAAA Record:

  1. Open Advanced DNS Settings for the domain.
  2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
  3. In the Record field of a blank row, select AAAA from the drop-down.
  4. In the Host field, enter the host record you’re pointing.
  5. Leave the Priority field blank.
  6. In the Data field, enter the IPv6 address you’re pointing to.
  7. Click Add to save the record to your settings.

CNAME records

A CNAME record points a subdomain — which is anything that appears before your root domain, including “www” — to another domain name. CNAME records should always point to a URL. The URL can't contain special characters such as slashes (/) or colons (:).

You might need to add a CNAME record if:

  • You’re running special services (such as an FTP)
  • A third-party service requires a CNAME to verify domain ownership

If you’re using a CNAME record to point a Squarespace subdomain, follow the steps in our pointing guide instead.

  1. Open Advanced DNS Settings for the domain.
  2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
  3. In the Record field of a blank row, select CNAME from the drop-down.
  4. In the Host field, enter the host record.
Note: Always enter the host record here. Leaving the field blank or entering @ will override other blank records and can disrupt your domain or email service.
  1. Leave the Priority field blank.
  2. In the Data field, enter the name you’re pointing to.
  3. Click Add to save the record to your settings.

MX records

An MX record tells servers where to route your email. In Squarespace, you’ll need to add MX records if you’re using a third-party custom email address with your Squarespace Domain.

In most cases, you’ll enter multiple MX records for one domain. Your email provider should provide the priorities to enter for each record. 

If you’re using G Suite or Zoho Mail, save time by using our preset records instead. If you’re adding any other MX records, use the Custom Records section.  

Option 1 - Add G Suite or Zoho Mail preset records

  • If you signed up for a G Suite account through Squarespace, you don’t need to add the G Suite MX records — we do this for you automatically when you create your G Suite account. If you removed them, you can add them back with the preset. 
  • If you’re using Zoho Mail with your Squarespace Domain, you’ll add the preset when you link the account. 
  • For more about using presets, visit Advanced DNS settings.

Option 2 - Add custom records manually

  1. Open Advanced DNS Settings for the domain.
  2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
  3. In the Record field of a blank row, select MX from the drop-down.
  4. In the Host field, enter @. (If you’re adding records to a subdomain, enter the subdomain here instead.)
  5. In the Priority field, enter the priority number for your provider.
  6. In the Data field, enter the mail server you’re directing to. This will usually be a URL.
  7. Click Add to save the record to your settings.

Repeat this process for all the MX records you need to add, adjusting the priority for each record as needed.

TXT records

Use a TXT record to add special text to a hostname. Some providers may ask you to add a TXT record to help verify your domain or email. The TXT field has a 255 character limit, which is 1024 bits.

To add a TXT record:

  1. Open Advanced DNS Settings for the domain.
  2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
  3. In the Record field of a blank row, select TXT from the drop-down.
  4. In the Host field, enter the host name.
  5. Leave the Priority field blank.
  6. In the Data field, enter the TXT record value. This is a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.
  7. Click Add to save the record to your settings.
Tip: If your TXT record is longer than 255 characters, you can split it into two records. Follow the steps above to add up to 255 characters of the record, then repeat to add the remaining characters. 

SPF records

An SPF record is a type of TXT record that authenticates your email account and prevents people from sending unauthorized emails from your account. If a third-party provider asks you to add an SPF record to your Squarespace Domain, you'll add it as a TXT record.

You'll need an SPF record from your provider to add to the Data field. This starts with v=spf1.

To add an SPF record:

  1. Open Advanced DNS Settings for the domain.
  2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
  3. In the Record field of a blank row, select TXT from the drop-down.
  4. In the Host field, enter @.
  5. Leave the Priority field blank.
  6. In the Data field, enter the SPF record from your provider.
  7. Click Add to save the record to your settings.

SRV records

An SRV record, or a Service Record, helps your domain connect to email or other services.

Step 1 - Get information from your provider

Get the following values from the service you're connecting, and copy them somewhere easily accessible. You'll need them for Step 3. 

Value Type

Definition and Tips

Service
  • The service name of the SRV record
  • Usually begins with an underscore, like _smtp or _sip

Protocol
  • The protocol that the service uses
  • Usually begins with an underscore, like _tcp or _tls

Priority (optional)
  • How long the server should cache this information
  • Usually a number without commas, like 2000 or 43200
  • Might also be called the TTL
  • If your provider didn’t assign a Priority or TTL, leave this blank

Weight
  • The weight of the SRV record, which determines the target to contact first
  • Should be a single-digit number, like 1 or 5

Port
  • The port number for the service
  • Usually a number, like 80 or 5060

Target
  • The host providing the service
  • Should be a URL, like server.test.com

Step 2 - Add SRV record

Create a custom record in your Advanced DNS settings using the values from Step 1:

  1. Open Advanced DNS Settings for the domain.
  2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
  3. In the Record field of a blank row, choose SRV from the drop-down.
  4. In the Host field, delete the @ placeholder and enter the Service and Protocol, separated by a period. For example: _service._protocol
  5. In the Priority field, enter the Priority or TTL number, if you have one. If you don’t have a Priority or TTL, leave this blank.
  6. In the Data field, enter the Weight, Port, and Target, with a single space between each one. For example: 1 100 target.test.com
  7. Click Add to save the record to your settings.

Troubleshooting

The record isn't saving

Replace placeholder values

When adding a custom record, ensure you replace the gray placeholder values in the Host and Data fields. These placeholders are examples of the correct format for your reference, but they aren't real. If you add the record without replacing these two fields, the record won't save properly.

The Priority field, however, is optional. You can save a record without entering a Priority.

Check the Host field for the correct format

If you’re adding custom records, your domain name is automatically added after any Host value. 

For example, if your provider asks you to use a Host value of mail.yourdomain.com, you only need to enter mail in the Host field. Squarespace will automatically add .yourdomain.com, even though it’s not visible in the panel.   

If your provider asks you to enter your domain without a value in front of it, like yourdomain.com, enter @ in the Host field.

Note: It’s not possible to enter two CNAMEs with the same Host value.

Check the Data field for the correct format

If you see an "Invalid IP address" or "Host name error" message, review the Data field to ensure the information is entered correctly. Remove any periods at the end of the value, as our system isn't able to save records formatted this way. 

Error message in AAAA records: Not a valid IPv6 address

If you're adding an AAAA record, ensure that you've added the fully expanded version of the IPv6 address to the Data field. You'll know you're using a shortened address if you see a "Not a valid IPv6 address" error in Advanced Settings, or if you see a double colon in the address instead of a single one.

For example, here are both versions of the same IPv6 address:

  • Incorrect, shortened address: 2620:12a:8000::3
  • Correct, expanded address: 2620:12a:8000:0:0:0:0:3

Comments

0 comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Powered by Zendesk