DNS Records for Email

MX (Mail Exchanger) records tell other servers where to deliver email for your domain.

Example:

yourdomain.com  MX  10  mail.yourdomain.com
yourdomain.com  MX  20  backup.yourdomain.com

The number (10, 20) is priority, lower numbers are tried first. MX records are only needed if you receive email at your domain.

TXT records store text data including email authentication:

SPF Record

yourdomain.com  TXT  "v=spf1 include:amazonses.com -all"

DKIM Record

selector._domainkey.yourdomain.com  TXT  "v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIGf..."

DMARC Record

_dmarc.yourdomain.com  TXT  "v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:..."

These are critical for deliverability. Missing or misconfigured records cause authentication failures.

CNAME (Canonical Name) records create aliases. For email, they're used for:

Custom tracking domains

track.yourdomain.com  CNAME  tracking.emailprovider.com

Custom return-path domains

bounce.yourdomain.com  CNAME  bounce.emailprovider.com

Using your own domain for tracking links improves deliverability and looks more professional than provider domains.

When you add or change DNS records, the changes need to propagate across the internet. This typically takes:

• ●Minutes to hours for most changes
• ●Up to 48 hours in worst cases (rare)

TTL (Time To Live) affects this. Lower TTL = faster propagation but more DNS queries. When making changes:

• ●Lower TTL before making changes
• ●Make changes
• ●Verify propagation
• ●Raise TTL back to normal

Use tools like Transmit's DNS Checker to verify your records are propagating correctly.