Note

The screenshots on this page show the panel in Spanish, because they are captured once, from the Spanish interface. Your panel shows the same screens with the English labels used in this text — the buttons are in the same place.

Your DNS at another provider: what to add and how to write it there

What you get: your website and email with us while your DNS stays where it already is (Cloudflare, your registrar, another host), without changing the name servers. The panel knows where your DNS is and gives you the records written the way your provider asks for them, with their status right away.

Before you start

There are two ways to run your DNS, and both work:

  • With our name servers (ns1.hostbrid.com and ns2.hostbrid.com): we set everything up and you do not have to touch anything. It is the easiest way; Point your domain here explains it.

  • With the provider you already use: you create a few records there yourself. That is what this guide explains.

Steps

  1. For your website: in the Hosting Panel, on your site’s row, click DNS. If your domain uses another provider’s DNS, at the top you will see “DNS at …” with its name, a button to open its panel and where the records are inside it.

  2. For email: open Email. For each domain with its DNS elsewhere there is a table with the email records.

  3. Read “Before you start”: these are your provider’s pitfalls (for example, in Cloudflare email has to go with the grey cloud).

  4. Create each record at your provider by copying the Name and the Value with their buttons. They are already written the way it wants them: with or without “@”, with or without the domain after it, with or without a trailing dot. If the name says “Leave it empty”, leave that field blank.

  5. Click Check again. Each row says whether it is OK, Missing, Different value (and which one) or Two SPF records.

    Records to create in Cloudflare, with the status of each one

What you need

For your website, two records: an A on the main domain pointing to the server’s IP and a CNAME on www pointing to your domain. On the main domain it has to be an A: DNS does not allow a CNAME there.

For email, four: the MX pointing to mail.hostbrid.com, the SPF, the DKIM signature (the key is yours: the panel shows it with Show my DKIM key) and the DMARC. The exact values are in Email on your domain without moving your DNS.

If it is a subdomain (tienda.mitienda.example), the records are created in the mitienda.example zone and the name starts with the subdomain: the root is tienda and the www, www.tienda. The panel already gives them to you that way.

Optional records

Below the required ones, the panel shows two optional groups. Everything works without them; with them it is more convenient:

  • FTP, SSH and webmail on your domain: ftp, sftp and ssh are A records to the server IP (so you can move one without touching the others) and webmail (only if you have email here) is a CNAME to your domain. They let you type ftp.yourdomain.com in FileZilla instead of an IP. ftp, sftp and ssh cannot use the Cloudflare proxy: leave them on the grey cloud.

  • Let email apps set themselves up: autoconfig and autodiscover (A, only if the website is also here) and the SRV records _imaps._tcp, _submission._tcp and _submissions._tcp, which point to our mail server mail.hostbrid.com.

A missing optional record does not prevent the All set message.

What is already in your DNS and gets in the way

Even if you add ours correctly, there are things you already had that break the result. The panel looks for them and, when it finds one, tells you what to change in a box above the table:

  • CAA: if your domain has a CAA that does not authorise letsencrypt.org, we cannot issue your website certificate and the browser will warn that it is not secure. Add 0 issue "letsencrypt.org" without deleting the existing ones.

  • AAAA (IPv6): our server does not use IPv6. If your domain has an AAAA, anyone connecting over IPv6 will see the old website. Delete it; there is no need to create another.

  • Cloudflare orange cloud: for the website it is fine and is shown as Correct, with proxy. It does not work for FTP, SFTP and SSH: switch them to DNS only. Webmail and autoconfiguration do work with the proxy.

  • CNAME on the main domain: it cannot coexist with the MX or the TXT. Delete it and set the A.

  • MX of another server: part of the email would not arrive. Keep only ours.

  • Two SPF records, or one that does not include us: the panel gives you the merged value to copy.

  • An A record to another place (parking page, registrar redirect): edit it instead of creating another.

The check is made on your domain’s name servers, not on a caching resolver: what you see is what is there. If that was not possible, the panel says so and uses a public resolver, which may take a while to reflect your changes.

How to write it at each provider

The same as the panel does, in case you want to have it at hand.

Cloudflare

  • Where: Dashboard › (tu dominio) › DNS › Records › Add record

  • Panel: https://dash.cloudflare.com/

  • Main domain: “@”. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot, exactly as we give them to you.

  • Everything for mail goes as “DNS only” (grey cloud). The proxy (orange cloud) is only for the website.

  • If you have Email Routing turned on, turn it off: it adds its own MX records and its own SPF.

  • Paste the TXT values without quotes: Cloudflare adds them itself.

  • Their documentation: https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/manage-dns-records/how-to/create-dns-records/

GoDaddy

  • Where: Portafolio de dominios › (tu dominio) › DNS › Agregar nuevo registro

  • Panel: https://dcc.godaddy.com/control/portfolio

  • Main domain: “@”. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot, exactly as we give them to you.

  • If the domain is parked or forwarded, the “@” A record points to GoDaddy: remove the forwarding and edit that A record, do not create another.

  • If you connected it to GoDaddy email, its MX records are added automatically: delete them before adding ours.

  • Their documentation: https://www.godaddy.com/help/add-a-txt-record-19232

IONOS

  • Where: Dominios y SSL › (rueda dentada del dominio) › DNS › Añadir registro

  • Main domain: “@”. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot, exactly as we give them to you.

  • It comes with default records: an A record to its product and MX records to mx00/mx01.ionos.com. Edit or delete them.

  • If an MX record “belongs to a service” of IONOS, turn that service off first or it will not let you change it.

  • Their documentation: https://www.ionos.es/ayuda/dominios/configurar-registros-txt-y-srv/anadir-modificar-o-eliminar-registros-txt/

OVHcloud

  • Where: Web Cloud › Dominios › (tu dominio) › Zona DNS › Añadir una entrada

  • Main domain: empty. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): ending in a dot (mail.hostbrid.com.).

  • It comes with OVH MX records (mx0…mx4.mail.ovh.net) and an SPF with include:mx.ovh.com: delete those MX records and edit that SPF.

  • Their documentation: https://docs.ovhcloud.com/en/guides/web-cloud/domains/dns-zone-edit

DonDominio

  • Where: Área de cliente › Dominios › (tu dominio) › Zona DNS › +Crear

  • Main domain: empty. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot, exactly as we give them to you.

  • The zone comes with an ANAME at the root and a www CNAME to their hosting: delete the ANAME and create the A record.

  • It already has an SPF and some MX records: edit the SPF and delete the MX records before adding ours.

  • Their documentation: https://www.dondominio.com/en/help/33/what-are-dns-of-dondominio/

Arsys

Namecheap

Namecheap (hosting with cPanel)

Amazon Route 53

Google Cloud DNS or Squarespace Domains

  • Main domain: empty. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot, exactly as we give them to you.

  • These servers are used by Google Cloud DNS and Squarespace Domains (formerly Google Domains), and they are written differently.

  • In Google Cloud DNS: the main domain with an empty name (not “@”), targets ending in a dot and TXT values in quotes.

  • In Squarespace: “@” for the main domain, no trailing dot and no quotes; first delete the “Squarespace Defaults”.

  • Their documentation: https://docs.cloud.google.com/dns/docs/records

Squarespace Domains

Hostinger

Gandi

Porkbun

  • Where: Domain Management › (tu dominio) › DNS › Add Record

  • Main domain: empty. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot, exactly as we give them to you.

  • Delete the parking records (pixie.porkbun.com) at the root, www and “*”, and the forwarding MX records fwd1/fwd2.porkbun.com.

  • Their documentation: https://kb.porkbun.com/article/231-how-to-add-dns-records-on-porkbun

STRATO

Raiola Networks (cPanel)

  • Where: cPanel › Dominios › Zone Editor › Administrar › Añadir registro

  • Main domain: the full domain. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot, exactly as we give them to you.

  • cPanel creates an MX record to its own server: delete it, and in “Email Routing” choose “Remote Mail Exchanger”.

  • Their documentation: https://raiolanetworks.com/ayuda/cambiar-servidores-dns-dominio/

Webempresa

  • Where: WePanel › Dominios › Editor de Zonas DNS › Añadir registro DNS

  • Main domain: the full domain. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot.

  • For the main domain, type the full domain, not “@”.

  • It already has its own SPF and DKIM: edit its SPF and merge it with ours, and delete its MX records.

  • Their documentation: https://guias.webempresa.com/preguntas-frecuentes/editar-los-registros-dns-dominio-cpanel/

SiteGround

  • Where: Site Tools › Domain › DNS Zone Editor › Create New Record

  • Main domain: empty. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot, exactly as we give them to you.

  • It comes with three MX records to its antispam (mx10/20/30.antispam.mailspamprotection.com): delete them.

  • The SPF is edited in Site Tools › Email › Authentication, not as a loose TXT; and there is already a DMARC: edit it, do not create another.

  • Their documentation: https://www.siteground.com/kb/manage-dns-records-site-tools

Wix

  • Where: Domains › ⋯ › Manage DNS Records › + Add Record

  • Main domain: empty. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot, exactly as we give them to you.

  • Leave the main domain name empty (Wix does not use “@”).

  • Wix reserves “www” for its website: if your website is here, first change the nameservers or disconnect the Wix site.

  • Their documentation: https://support.wix.com/en/article/managing-dns-records-in-your-wix-account

Vercel

DigitalOcean

  • Where: Networking › Domains › (tu dominio) › Create new record

  • Panel: https://cloud.digitalocean.com/networking/domains

  • Main domain: “@”. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot, exactly as we give them to you.

Hetzner

Azure DNS

Name.com

  • Where: My Domains › (tu dominio) › Manage DNS Records

  • Main domain: empty. Other names: only the front part (www, _dmarc).

  • Targets (CNAME and MX): no trailing dot, exactly as we give them to you.

  • If you have “Email Forwarding” turned on, remove it: it adds its own MX records.

  • Their documentation: https://cs.name.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004729247-Adding-an-MX-Record

If your provider is not here, the panel gives you a general guide. On a hosting with cPanel the records are in Zone Editor; with Plesk, in DNS Settings.

Common problems

I don’t know where my domain’s DNS is

Open DNS on your site or the Email page: if it is elsewhere, at the top it says “DNS at …” with the provider’s name. If it says “DNS at another provider”, we have not recognized it, but the records work just the same.

It says “Different value”

The record exists but points somewhere else, usually your provider’s default. Below it you can see what is there now: edit that record instead of creating another one next to it.

It says “Two SPF records”

A domain can only have one record starting with v=spf1. Merge the two into one, for example v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com mx a:mail.hostbrid.com ~all, and delete the other.

I added the record and it still says it is missing

DNS changes take a while to show up: usually minutes, sometimes hours. Check the name too: if your provider already adds the domain and you pasted it in full, it ends up repeated (www.tudominio.tudominio).

I use Cloudflare with the orange cloud

For your website, that is fine: set SSL/TLS to Full (strict). Everything for email goes with the grey cloud (DNS only).

It warns me about a CAA, an AAAA or an MX that I did not add

These are records the domain already had (from its previous provider, a parking page or another service). Each warning says which one and what to do; then press Check again.

I would rather not touch anything

Change the name servers to ns1.hostbrid.com and ns2.hostbrid.com at your registrar, or transfer the domain to us: Point your domain here explains it.