CNAME? MX Record? If you are as confused as a chameleon in a bag of skittles fear not! DNS (Domain Name System) records are actually pretty easy to understand.
Note: By default, we provide you with our A Record, 220.127.116.11. You don't want to delete it!
A stands for Address. Every website in the world has a specific numerical address called an internet protocol address (IP for short). For example, the IP Address of www.google.com is 18.104.22.168 (you can actually type these numbers into the URL bar of your browser and it will open up Google). However, these numbers would be hard for people to remember so domain names like www.yourwebsite.com were introduced. An A Record simply maps your domain to your IP Address so that when someone types in your domain, they will be forwarded to the correct IP Address.
Note: By default, we provide you with our CNAME Record for www "webtools.reibb.com". You don't want to delete it!
CNAME stands for Canonical Name. You can think of this being as a type of forward. For example, if you have the domains www.myhomedeals.com and myhomedeals.com, and you want both of them to go to the same files you can add www.myhomedeals.com as a CNAME Record that will then go to the same files as myhomedeals.com.
MX stands for mail exchange. This tells where the emails associated with your domain (firstname.lastname@example.org) should be delivered. For example, if you are using G Suite (google's email service) you would enter their MX records. Usually, there are multiple MX records to add redundancy. Think of it like having 5 mailboxes by your house. If the mailman cannot get to the first one because there is a car parked in front of it, they still have 4 other ones where they can put your letter in. At the end of each MX record, there is a number that tells the virtual internet mailman which one to try first (they try the lowered number ones first and only if those fail do they move onto the next).
Adding an MX record:
If you are using G Suite, Microsoft Office 365, or GoDaddy Email Service for your email REI BlackBook does offer DNS Templates for you to use. This will assist you by applying the MX Records. However, if you can have another email provider. They would need to supply their MX records to you. Then you would copy them into the fields.
Note: By default, we provide you with our TXT Record, v=spf1 include:sendgrid.net ~all. This specific one helps the delivery of emails on your behalf from REI BlackBook. You don't want to delete it!
TXT stands for text. This is basically a blank note slot where you can add any information that you want. While you could type "remember mom's birthday" just kidding a more common use is to add verification text from outside parties (like G Suite) so that they can verify that the person that is applying for their services is the rightful owner of the domain.
Adding a TXT Record:
The most common time when you would need to add a TXT Record is when setting up G Suite email. They give you a verification code and you would simply copy this into the TXT field.