Set up your email resource records.

This guide explains how to add MX, DKIM, SPF or SRV records to a Squarespace-managed domain, or a third-party domain connected to a Squarespace website via Nameserver Connect. 

Tip: If you're not sure which of these applies to you, visit Nameserver Connect vs. DNS Connect for domain connections to learn if your domain is using DNS Connect or Nameserver Connect.

Note: Our scope of support for DNS records is limited. We can help with showing you where to add records to your DNS settings. We can’t provide technical advice about DNS records or information about how DNS records work with other services. If you need more help, you can get peer-to-peer help in the Domains section of the Squarespace Forum or contact the service you're trying to connect, using our sample message.

Before you begin

To start editing your DNS records, you'll open your domains dashboard and click the domain name. If you have multiple Squarespace domains, you'll manage their DNS records separately.

MX records

An MX record tells servers where to route your email. In Squarespace, you’ll need to add MX records if you’re using a third-party custom email address with your Squarespace-managed domain. If you're having trouble adding specific records to your domain's settings, try our troubleshooting steps.

Squarespace automatically adds Google’s MX records to Squarespace-managed domains. If you have a third-party domain and you want to use Google Workspace (previously G Suite) with your Squarespace site, review Adding Google Workspace MX records instead of this guide. If your custom email address isn’t working, visit Troubleshooting Google Workspace for steps on how to resolve this issue.

Usually, you’ll enter multiple MX records for one domain. Your email provider should provide the priorities to enter for each record.

If you’re using Google Workspace or Zoho Mail, save time by using our preset records instead. If you’re adding any other MX records, add the custom records manually in the Custom Records field.

Option 1 - Add Google Workspace or Zoho Mail preset records

• If you signed up for a Google Workspace account through Squarespace, you don’t need to add the Google Workspace MX records — we do this for you automatically when you create your Google Workspace account. If you removed them, you can add them back with the preset.
• If you’re using Zoho Mail with your Squarespace domain, you’ll add the preset when you link the account.
• For more about using presets, visit Accessing your Squarespace domain's DNS settings.

Option 2 - Add custom records manually

1. Click DNS, and then click DNS Settings.
2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
3. Click Add record.
4. In the Type dropdown menu, select MX.
5. In the Host field, enter @ (If you’re adding records to a subdomain, enter the subdomain here instead).
6. In the Priority field, enter the priority number for your provider. You can enter any number from 0 through 255.
7. In the Data field, enter the mail server you’re directing to. This is usually a URL.
8. Click Save to add the record to your settings.

Repeat this process for all the MX records you need to add, changing the priority for each record as needed.

DKIM and SPF records

DKIM and SPF records are types of TXT records that authenticate your email account and prevent people from sending unauthorized emails from your account. If a third-party provider asks you to add a DKIM or SPF record to your Squarespace domain, you'll add it as a TXT or CNAME record. For many providers, DKIM is sufficient for their systems, but some may require an SPF record too.

You'll need a DKIM or SPF record from your provider to add to the Data field. SPF records start with v=spf1.

To add a DKIM or SPF record:

1. Click DNS, and then click DNS Settings.
2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
3. Click Add record.
4. In the Type dropdown menu, select TXT or CNAME.
5. In the Host field, enter the host or name information from your provider. If no host or name information is listed, enter @ in this field.
6. In the Data field, enter the DKIM or SPF record from your provider.
7. Click Save to add the record to your settings.

Merge SPF records

You can only add one SPF record to a Squarespace domain. To add multiple SPF records, merge the records into one.

Note: If you’re seeing a “Custom records not saved” error message, delete your SPF records from your DNS settings before adding new SPF records.

To merge SPF records:

1. Look in your custom domain's DNS settings for one or more TXT records with @ host pointing to a v=spf1 value. These are SPF records.
2. Pick one of these SPF records to keep.
3. In the other SPF record or records, copy everything between v=spf1 and the final ~all, ?all, or -all in the record data.
4. Paste the information from the record or records into the data field for the record you're keeping before the final ~all, ?all, or -all but after the existing data. There should be a space between each record's information.
5. Look at how the other SPF record or records end. If any of them end in -all, change this to ~all. Otherwise, leave it as ~all.
6. Delete all the SPF records except the one you decided to keep and add data to, then save changes.

Here's an example: 

When you create your merged SPF record, replace "fancymail.com" and "businessmail.com" with your third-party provider's addresses. If you aren't sure what address they use, contact your providers for more help.

Note: If you have email forwarding setup, and also need to add multiple SPF records, contact us for further assistance.

SRV records

An SRV record, or a Service Record, helps your domain connect to email or other services.

Step 1 - Get information from your provider

Get the following values from the service you're connecting, and copy them somewhere easily accessible. You'll need them for Step 2.

Step 2 - Add SRV record

Create a custom record in your DNS settings using the values from Step 1:

1. Open your domains dashboard.
2. Click the domain name. If you have multiple Squarespace domains, you'll manage their DNS records separately.
3. Click DNS, and then click DNS Settings.
4. Scroll down to Custom Records.
5. Click Add record.
6. In the Type dropdown menu, select SRV.
7. In the Host field, delete the @ placeholder and enter the Service and Protocol, separated by a period. For example: _service._protocol
8. In the Priority field, enter the Priority or TTL number, if you have one. If you don’t have a Priority or TTL, leave this blank.
9. In the Data field, enter the Weight, Port, and Target, with a single space between each one. For example: 1 100 target.test.com
10. Click Save to add the record to your settings.

Troubleshooting

For help resolving DNS record issues, visit Troubleshooting issues with DNS records.