The DNS zone is your domain's directory: it says where to find your website, where to deliver your mail, and how to prove you own the place. You edit it in the DNS zone tab of your domain, under My services.
Which types of DNS record can I create?
Eight record types are offered, each with an explanation shown under the type selector:
- A — points a name at an IPv4 address. This is your website's record.
- AAAA — the same in IPv6.
- CNAME — makes a name an alias of another. Not possible at the apex of the domain.
- MX — names the server that receives the domain's mail. It carries a priority: the lowest number is tried first.
- TXT — free text: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, ownership verification for a third-party service.
- NS — delegates a subdomain to other nameservers.
- SRV — publishes the location of a service. It needs a priority, a weight, a port and a target.
- CAA — restricts which authorities may issue a certificate for your domain.
The Nom field is @ for the domain itself, or a subdomain such as www. The expected value changes with the type: an IPv4 address for an A, a hostname for a CNAME, text for a TXT.
What is the TTL of a DNS record for?
The TTL — time to live — says how long other servers keep the answer in memory. Seven values are offered, from 1 minute to 24 hours, with 1 hour as the default.
The practical rule: lower the TTL to 5 minutes at least a day before a migration, make the change, verify it, then restore a high value. A 24-hour TTL means a mistake can stay visible to some visitors for a whole day, even after you fix it.
How do I set up my DNS zone in one click with a template?
The Models section applies a complete configuration without typing anything. Records are added, never overwritten.
- Web and mail hosting — site,
wwwand mail delivery on the same IP address. The form asks for the server IP, pre-filled with the one already in place. It creates theArecords for the domain,wwwandmail, the matchingMXand a basic SPF record. - Google Workspace — Google's
MXand SPF records. - Microsoft 365 — Microsoft's SPF and
autodiscoverrecords. - DMARC protection — a cautious
_dmarcrecord, sending reports to your address.
Why is my CNAME record refused?
The interface refuses certain combinations, not out of excessive caution but because they break a domain:
- No CNAME at the apex. It would mask your nameservers and your mail. Use an
Arecord. - A CNAME does not coexist with other records sharing the same name. Delete those first.
- A name that is already an alias cannot be anything else. A name is an alias, or it is not.
How do I edit my DNS zone without breaking my site?
The tab helps you work cleanly: a search box by name or value, type filters with a count for each, a Copy value button on every row, and Export zone to download a complete zone file — worth doing before any large change, as it doubles as a backup.
Some deletions ask for a firm confirmation, and rightly so:
- deleting an
MXstops the domain receiving mail; - deleting an apex
AorAAAAmakes the site unreachable.
How long does DNS propagation take?
Changes take effect immediately on our servers. What takes time is everyone else's memory: every DNS server in the world keeps the previous answer until its TTL expires.
In practice, expect anything from a few minutes to a few hours depending on the TTL of the old value. To follow the change:
dig +short yourdomain.com A
dig +short yourdomain.com MX
dig @ns1.by-hoster.net yourdomain.com AThe third command queries our server directly: if it returns the new value, your change is recorded and the rest is only a matter of patience.
On Windows, nslookup yourdomain.com does the same job. Also flush your own machine's DNS cache: ipconfig /flushdns on Windows, sudo resolvectl flush-caches on Linux.
What happens if my domain uses external nameservers?
A banner appears at the top of the tab when your domain uses external nameservers: your records are kept but are not used until delegation returns to us. Editing the zone here will then have no visible effect.