How to Add DNS Records on Hostnali

Complete Guide — Domains & DNS

Last updated: July 2026  |  Category: Domains & DNS  |  Read time: ~10 minutes

This guide explains how to manage DNS records for your domain registered with Hostnali. Whether you have a domain only or a domain with a hosting plan, this guide covers everything you need to know.

1. Which DNS Manager Should I Use?

Before adding any DNS records, identify which situation applies to you. Using the wrong interface will mean your records do not take effect.

⚠ Important:  Do not manage DNS records in both the Hostnali DNS Manager and cPanel Zone Editor for the same domain. Use one or the other only. If your domain has a hosting plan, always use cPanel. If it is domain-only, use the DNS Manager in the client area.

ℹ Nameservers:  For domain-only clients using the Hostnali DNS Manager, your domain must point to ns1.hostnali.net and ns2.hostnali.net. For hosting clients using cPanel, your domain must point to the nameservers in your hosting welcome email.

2. Understanding DNS Record Types

Before adding any DNS record, it helps to know what each type does.

A Record (Address)

Points your domain or subdomain to an IPv4 address. This is the most common record — it is what makes yourdomain.com load a website.

Example: yourdomain.com → 91.200.176.13

AAAA Record (IPv6 Address)

Same as an A record but points to an IPv6 address. Used when your server supports IPv6.

Example: yourdomain.com → 2001:db8::1

CNAME Record (Alias)

Creates an alias pointing one subdomain to another domain name. Commonly used to point www to the root domain, or to connect a subdomain to a third-party service. Cannot be used on the root domain (@).

Example: www → yourdomain.com

MX Record (Mail Exchanger)

Tells the internet which mail server handles email for your domain. Without a correct MX record, emails sent to you@yourdomain.com will not be delivered. Requires a priority number — lower number means higher priority.

Example: @ → mail.yourdomain.com  (priority 10)

TXT Record (Text)

Stores plain text information. Used for email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), domain ownership verification for Google, Microsoft, and other services.

Example: @ → "v=spf1 include:mail.example.com ~all"

The @ Symbol — What It Means

When you see @ in the Host/Name field, it means the root domain — i.e. yourdomain.com itself with no subdomain. You can enter @ or leave the field blank; both have the same effect.

• @ = yourdomain.com
• www = www.yourdomain.com
• mail = mail.yourdomain.com
• blog = blog.yourdomain.com

3. Managing DNS Records — Domain-Only Clients

If you have a domain registered with Hostnali but no active hosting plan, manage your DNS records through the DNS Manager in the client area.

⚠ Before You Begin:  Your domain must be pointed to ns1.hostnali.net and ns2.hostnali.net for DNS records entered here to take effect. All domains registered through Hostnali use these nameservers by default. If you have changed your nameservers, update them back first — see Section 6.

Step 1 — Enable DNS for Your Domain

DNS management is not enabled automatically. You must activate it once per domain before adding any records.

Step 1: Log in to the Hostnali Client Area

Go to clients.hostnali.com and log in with your email address and password.

Step 2: Go to My Domains

From the top navigation, click Domains → My Domains. You will see all domains under your account.

Step 3: Click on Your Domain

Click the domain name you want to manage. This opens the domain details page.

Step 4: Click DNS Manager in the Sidebar

In the left sidebar, find the Manage panel. Click DNS Manager from the list of options (alongside Overview, Nameservers, Registrar Lock, etc.).

Step 5: Click Enable DNS

You will see an information box explaining how DNS Manager works, and an Enable DNS button in the top right. Click Enable DNS.

Step 6: Confirm Zone Creation

After clicking Enable DNS, the page reloads and shows a green success message: "DNS enabled. Zone created." The DNS records table will now appear, empty and ready for your first record.

Step 2 — Add a DNS Record

Once DNS is enabled, the Add Record form appears at the top of the DNS Manager page.

Understanding the Form Fields

Step 1: Select the Record Type

Click the Type dropdown and select the record type you need (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, or TXT).

Step 2: Enter the Host / Name

Type only the subdomain prefix — not the full domain. Leave blank or type @ for the root domain. Type www for www.yourdomain.com, mail for mail.yourdomain.com, and so on.

Step 3: Enter the Value

Enter the destination for this record. See Section 5 for exact values for common use cases.

Step 4: Set the TTL

Leave this at the default 3600 unless you expect to make further changes soon, in which case use 300.

Step 5: Set Priority (MX only)

If you selected MX, enter a priority number. Use 10 for your primary mail server. Leave blank for all other record types.

Step 6: Click Add Record

Click the + Add Record button. The page reloads and your new record appears in the table with a green success message.

Step 3 — Edit an Existing Record

You can edit the value and TTL of any record without deleting and recreating it.

Step 1: Find the Record

Scroll to the DNS records table and locate the record you want to change.

Step 2: Click Edit

Click the Edit button in the Actions column. The row expands into an editable form. The Type and Host/Name are locked — only Value and TTL can be changed.

Step 3: Update the Value and/or TTL

Make your changes. If you need to change the Type or Host/Name, you must delete and recreate the record.

Step 4: Click Save or Cancel

Click Save to apply changes, or Cancel to discard them. A success message confirms the update.

Step 4 — Delete a Record

⚠ Deleting records is permanent.  Once a DNS record is deleted it is removed from our nameservers immediately. Any services that depend on it (website, email, third-party tools) will stop working until the record is recreated. Make sure you no longer need it before deleting.

Step 1: Find the Record

Locate the record you want to delete in the DNS records table.

Step 2: Click Delete

Click the red Delete button in the Actions column.

Step 3: Confirm Deletion

A popup asks "Are you sure you want to delete this record?" Click OK to confirm or Cancel to go back.

Step 5 — Disable DNS

???? Warning:  Disabling DNS removes your entire zone and all records. Your domain stops resolving until you re-enable DNS and add all records again, or switch to different nameservers. Only do this if you are intentionally migrating away from Hostnali's nameservers.

To disable DNS, click the red Disable DNS button in the top right of the DNS Manager page and confirm when prompted.

4. Managing DNS Records in cPanel — Hosting Clients

If your domain has an active hosting plan with Hostnali, manage your DNS inside cPanel using the Zone Editor. This is the correct method for all hosting clients.

✅ Why Hosting Clients Use cPanel:  When you activate a hosting plan, Hostnali automatically creates a DNS zone for your domain in cPanel with correct A records, MX records, and other entries already configured for your hosting account. Managing DNS in cPanel keeps everything in sync automatically.

Accessing the Zone Editor in cPanel

Step 1: Log in to cPanel

Access cPanel using the link in your hosting welcome email, or from the Hostnali client area: Services → My Services → [Your Hosting Plan] → Login to cPanel.

Step 2: Find Zone Editor

In cPanel, scroll to the Domains section and click Zone Editor. Or use the search bar at the top of cPanel and type Zone Editor.

Step 3: Select Your Domain

If you have multiple domains, click Manage next to the domain whose DNS you want to edit. This opens the full Zone Editor for that domain.

Adding Records in cPanel Zone Editor

Step 1: Click Add Record

In the Zone Editor, click the + Add Record button. A dropdown appears with quick options for A, CNAME, MX, and TXT records, or Add Record for a full form with all types.

Step 2: Fill In the Record Details

The fields work similarly to the DNS Manager. Note that cPanel uses the full hostname including your domain (e.g. www.yourdomain.com.) with a trailing dot — cPanel adds this automatically.

Step 3: Click Add Record to Save

Click Add Record. The record appears in the zone immediately. cPanel shows a green confirmation bar.

ℹ AutoSSL Note:  When you add a domain to cPanel, AutoSSL automatically issues a free SSL certificate within minutes, provided your domain DNS is already pointing to your hosting server. You do not need to add any TXT records for SSL — cPanel handles this automatically.

Editing and Deleting Records in cPanel

To edit an existing record:

1. Scroll through the zone records table to find the record.
2. Click the Edit link on the right side of that row.
3. Update the fields as needed and click Edit Record to save.

To delete a record:

4. Find the record in the table.
5. Click the Delete link on the right side of that row.
6. Confirm when prompted. The record is removed immediately.

⚠ Do Not Delete Auto-Generated Records:  cPanel creates several records automatically when a domain is added to hosting (A records, MX records, mail records, etc.). Deleting these can break your website or email. Only delete records you added yourself or that you are certain are no longer needed.

5. Common DNS Tasks — Step-by-Step Examples

Below are the most common DNS tasks with exact values to enter.

Point Your Domain to a Website (A Record)

Use this when you want yourdomain.com and/or www.yourdomain.com to load a website hosted at a specific IP address.

Set Up Email for Your Domain (MX Record)

Use this when you want to receive emails at you@yourdomain.com using an external email service such as Google Workspace, Zoho Mail, or Microsoft 365.

Example — Google Workspace:

Check your email provider's documentation for their exact MX record values. Most providers give you 2–5 MX records with different priority values — add each one separately.

Add an SPF Record (TXT Record)

SPF tells receiving mail servers which servers are authorised to send email on behalf of your domain. Without it, your outgoing emails may be marked as spam.

Replace include:_spf.yourmailprovider.com with the SPF string your email provider gives you. You can only have one SPF record per domain — if one already exists, edit it rather than adding a new one.

Add a DMARC Record (TXT Record)

DMARC protects your domain from being used in email spoofing and phishing attacks.

Start with p=none (monitor mode). Once SPF and DKIM are confirmed working, change to p=quarantine or p=reject for stricter enforcement.

Verify Domain Ownership (TXT Record)

Services like Google Search Console, Microsoft 365, and Mailchimp require you to prove you own the domain.

Copy the verification string exactly from the service's setup screen. Do not modify it.

Point a Subdomain to a Different Server (A or CNAME)

Use this to point a specific subdomain (such as shop.yourdomain.com or blog.yourdomain.com) to a different server or platform.

ℹ A vs CNAME:  Use an A record when you know the exact IP address. Use a CNAME when pointing to another domain name (e.g. Shopify, Wix, or a hosted platform that gives you a domain to point to). CNAME records cannot be used on the root domain (@) — only on subdomains.

6. Checking and Updating Your Nameservers

Your domain's nameservers determine which DNS system is used. If your nameservers are wrong, your DNS records will not work regardless of what you set them to.

What Nameservers Should I Have?

How to Check Your Current Nameservers

Step 1: Go to My Domains

Log in to the client area and navigate to Domains → My Domains → [Your Domain].

Step 2: Click Nameservers

In the domain sidebar, click Nameservers. This shows the nameservers currently registered for your domain.

How to Update Your Nameservers

Step 1: Go to Nameservers

From the domain sidebar, click Nameservers.

Step 2: Select Use Custom Nameservers

Choose the option to use custom nameservers.

Step 3: Enter the Nameservers

Enter the correct NS1 and NS2 values for your setup (see table above).

Step 4: Save Changes

Click Change Nameservers. Changes take 30 minutes to 48 hours to propagate globally.

7. DNS Propagation — How Long Does It Take?

After adding, editing, or deleting a DNS record, the change does not appear instantly across the internet. This delay is called DNS propagation.

Why Does It Take Time?

When you update a DNS record, the change is applied on our nameservers immediately. However, DNS resolvers around the world cache DNS information for a set period (the TTL value). Until that cache expires, some users may still see the old record.

Typical Propagation Times

How to Check Propagation Status

Use these free tools to check whether your DNS change has propagated:

• org — checks propagation from multiple locations worldwide
• com — useful for MX records and email-related DNS
• net — simple global DNS lookup tool

???? Tip:  If you know you are about to make an important DNS change (such as migrating your website to a new server), lower your record's TTL to 300 seconds (5 minutes) at least one hour before making the change. This reduces propagation time significantly. Raise the TTL back to 3600 after the migration is complete.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

I added an A record but my website is still not loading. What should I do?

First confirm your domain is pointed to the correct nameservers (Section 6). Then wait for propagation — it can take up to 48 hours. Use dnschecker.org to check propagation status by region. Also verify the IP address in your A record is correct by contacting whoever hosts your website.

I have hosting but I don't see a DNS Manager link in my domain sidebar.

If your domain has an active hosting plan, manage DNS inside cPanel → Zone Editor instead. The DNS Manager in the client area is for domain-only clients. If you are a domain-only client and the link is not showing, try refreshing the page or contact our support team.

Can I have both an A record and a CNAME for www?

No — a hostname can only have one record type. Use either an A record (pointing to an IP) or a CNAME (pointing to a domain name) for www, but not both. If you already have one and want to change to the other, delete the existing record first.

How many MX records can I have?

You can have multiple MX records for the same domain, each with a different priority number. Most email providers give you 2–5 MX records to add. Enter each one separately with the priority number specified by your provider.

My email is not working after adding MX records. What's wrong?

Check the following in order:

7. Confirm propagation has completed — MX changes can take up to 48 hours.
8. Make sure you entered the MX value exactly as provided by your email provider.
9. Confirm you also added any required TXT records (SPF, DKIM) your provider specified.
10. Verify your domain is pointing to the correct nameservers.
11. If everything looks correct and email is still not working after 48 hours, contact our support team.

Can I delete all my DNS records and start over?

Yes — delete records individually, or use the Disable DNS button to remove the entire zone and start fresh. If you disable and re-enable DNS, you will start with an empty zone and need to add all records again from scratch.

What is the difference between TTL 300 and TTL 3600?

TTL is measured in seconds. TTL 300 means DNS resolvers cache the record for 5 minutes. TTL 3600 means 1 hour. Use a lower TTL when you expect to make changes soon. Use a higher TTL for stable records that rarely change.

I accidentally deleted an important record. Can I recover it?

Unfortunately, deleted DNS records cannot be recovered — there is no undo function. You will need to recreate the record manually. If you are unsure what records you had, check the documentation of the service that used them (email provider, website host, etc.) for the correct values.

Still need help? Open a support ticket at clients.hostnali.com/submitticket.php

Hostnali Webhost Limited — support.hostnali.com