How do I set up a CNAME record on my domain name?
This article will help you to set up a CNAME record for your domain name.
CNAME stands for ‘canonical name’ and it is a redirection to the zone file of the entered target domain.
You can use CNAME records in several ways. For example, you may have mywebsite.com as your domain name. If you are worried about someone typing your domain wrong, like ww.mywebsite.com or wwww.mywebsite.com, you could set up a catch-all * CNAME record on your domain so that your visitors will still be redirected to the correct location.
You can also set different subdomains of your domain (i.e. mywebsite.com) as CNAMEs with the same target, such as 123reg.multiscreensite.com. The subdomains will then resolve the IP address of the target, which, in this example, would be 123reg.multiscreensite.com.
To add a CNAME record to your domain, you’ll first need to ensure your domain is pointed to the 123 Reg nameservers. Otherwise, any configurations you’ve made to the DNS through our Control Panel will not take effect.
You will need to set your DNS at your nameserver provider. For more information on how to do this, please view the following article: How do I change the nameservers for my domain name?
Please note: it will take between 24-48 hours for any nameserver changes to become active.
Once this has been done, simply follow these instructions:
Creating a CNAME record
Before you begin, you’ll need to ensure your domain is pointed to the 123 Reg nameservers. Otherwise, you will not be able to configure the DNS zonefile.
Please note: it will take between 24-48 hours for any new nameserver (DNS) records to become active. For more information on changing your DNS records, please view the following article: How do I change the nameservers for my domain name?
From there, select your desired domain from the drop-down menu within the Manage Active Products section and click Manage.
Alternatively, you can scroll down to the Domain names section and select the relevant domain name from the drop-down menu. Once selected, click Manage.
Scroll down to the Advanced Domain Settings section and click Manage DNS.
Select the Advanced DNS tab near the top.
On the next page, create a new record with the following information:
- In the Type field, select CNAME from the drop-down list
- In the Hostname field, enter the name of your desired subdomain (such as www). You can also add * which resolves for any subdomain.domain.com address
- In the Destination CNAME field, enter the domain name you want the CNAME record to point to
Once done, click Add to save the new record.
Important: we do not support @ CNAME records on our domaincontrol nameservers. Furthermore, CNAME records must be terminated with a full stop, or they will not work correctly.
Please note: it will take between 4-8 hours for any DNS records to become active, provided you didn’t also change the nameservers.