Adding custom DNS records to your Squarespace-managed domain

Add custom DNS records in the Domains panel to connect your site to the third-party tools you use, like Google Site Verification or Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

If you have a Squarespace domain or a third-party domain connected via Nameserver Connect, you can edit your domain’s DNS records in the DNS Settings panel. You'll only need to edit these records if you're using a third-party service that needs access to your domain.

Note: If your third-party domain is connected via DNS Connect and you need to edit DNS settings, you'll edit the records in your account with your provider. If you need help, follow your provider’s instructions.

A records

An A record points a domain name to the IP address of the hosting server.

If you’re using an A record to point a Squarespace subdomain, follow the steps in our pointing guide.

To add an A record:

1. Open DNS settings for the domain.
2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
3. Click Add record.
4. In the Type drop-down menu, select A.
5. In the Host field, enter the host record you’re pointing.
6. In the Data field, enter the IP address you’re pointing to.
7. Click Save to add the record to your settings.

AAAA records

An AAAA record points a domain name to an IP address. You'll need an AAAA record to point to a specific IPv6 address of a server.

To add an AAAA Record:

1. Open DNS settings for the domain.
2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
3. Click Add record.
4. In the Type drop-down menu, select AAAA.
5. In the Host field, enter the host record you’re pointing to. If you don't have a host value, you can leave the field blank or enter @ to point the AAAA record to your domain.
6. In the Data field, enter the IPv6 address you’re pointing to.
7. Click Save to add the record to your settings.

Tip: If you see an error stating that your IPv6 address is invalid, it may be compressed. Our system only accepts full IPv6 addresses. You can use AAAA record lookup tools (like dnschecker.org) to find the full record.

CNAME records

A CNAME record points a subdomain — which is anything that appears before your root domain, including “www” — to another domain name. CNAME records should always point to a URL. The URL can't contain special characters such as slashes (/) or colons (:).

You might need to add a CNAME record if:

• You’re running special services (such as an FTP)
• A third-party service requires a CNAME to verify domain ownership

If you’re using a CNAME record to point a Squarespace subdomain, follow the steps in our pointing guide instead.

To add a CNAME record:

1. Open DNS settings for the domain.
2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
3. Click Add record.
4. In the Type drop-down menu, select CNAME.
5. In the Host field, enter the host record.

Note: Always enter the host record here. Leaving the field blank or entering @ will override other blank records and can disrupt your domain or email service.

5. In the Data field, enter the name you’re pointing to.
6. Click Save to add the record to your settings.

TXT records

Use a TXT record to add special text to a hostname. Some providers may ask you to add a TXT record to help verify your domain or email. The TXT field has a 255 character limit, which is 1024 bits.

To add a TXT record:

1. Open DNS settings for the domain.
2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
3. Click Add record.
4. In the Type drop-down menu, select TXT.
5. In the Host field, enter the host name.
6. In the Data field, enter the TXT record value. This is a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.
7. Click Save to add the record to your settings.

Splitting TXT records

Several groups in charge of administering the internet require all of the DNS records to be 255 characters or smaller. If your TXT record is longer than 255 characters, split your TXT record into smaller strings of characters to add multiple strings under one TXT record. You can use a third-party online DNS record splitter tool to automatically do this for you.

To split a TXT record manually, like the example below:

v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIIBIjANBabcdefgG9w0ABCDEFGHIJKMIIBCgABCDEFGpABCDFGnA12BzPUV46P3GeOoK2tAB1OCd2iefghi4JkLmnoPQ+EFGnA12BzPUV46P3GeOoK2tAB1OCd2iefghi4JkLi4JkLmnoPQ+3aBc1DEFGHIP12eAB!YJ/ABZfCDmnoPQ+3aBc1DEFGHIP12eAB!YJ/ABZfCDJk2LMNoP12eAB!YJ/ABZfCDuJE4HclTjAjrZkFAAhaHdAAA

Break the record into multiple strings that are under 255 characters, as seen below:

v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIIBIjANBabcdefgG9w0ABCDEFGHIJKMIIBCgABCDEFGpABCDFGnA12BzPUV46P3GeOoK2tAB1OCd2iefghi4JkLmnoPQ+EFGnA12BzPUV46P3GeOoK2tAB1OCd2iefghi4JkLi4JkLmnoPQ+3aBc1DEFGHIP12eAB!

YJ/ABZfCDmnoPQ+3aBc1DEFGHIP12eAB!YJ/ABZfCDJk2LMNoP12eAB!YJ/ABZfCDuJE4HclTjAjrZkFAAhaHdAAA

Individually add each TXT record using the steps above, repeating the steps to add the remaining strings of characters. 

DMARC records

A DMARC record is a type of TXT record that verifies your domain when you send Email Campaigns or other marketing using your custom email address. By adding a DMARC record and allowing mail providers to verify your domain, you can help minimize how often your marketing emails get flagged as spam.

How you add the DMARC record depends on what service you use to send marketing emails:

• If you're sending Email Campaigns, create your sender details and your Squarespace domain will automatically verify. Should you have trouble verifying or accidentally delete the records, you can delete and recreate your sender details to verify.
• If you're sending marketing emails through a third-party service, contact the service provider for the records needed to verify your email address. Add the DMARC record in your DNS settings panel, noting these details:
  
  • In the Type drop-down menu, select TXT.
  • In the Host field, enter _dmarc without your domain at the end. Our system automatically adds your domain.

SPF and DKIM 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 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. For SPF records, this starts with v=spf1.

To add a DKIM or SPF record:

1. Open DNS settings for the domain.
2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
3. Click Add record.
4. In the Type drop-down menu, select TXT.
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.

If your DKIM record is longer than 255 characters, you can split it into multiple records.

Merge SPF records

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

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. Save your changes, then delete all the SPF records except the one you decided to keep and added data to and save again.

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.

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 domain.

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, use the Custom Records section.

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. Open DNS settings for the domain.
2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
3. Click Add record.
4. In the Type drop-down 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.

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 3.

Value Type	Definition and Tips
Service	The service name of the SRV record Usually begins with an underscore, like _smtp or _sip
Protocol	The protocol that the service uses Usually begins with an underscore, like _tcp or _tls
Priority (optional)	How long the server should cache this information Usually a number without commas, like 2000 or 43200 Might also be called the TTL If your provider didn’t assign a Priority or TTL, leave this blank
Weight	The weight of the SRV record, which determines the target to contact first Should be a single-digit number, like 1 or 5
Port	The port number for the service Usually a number, like 80 or 5060
Target	The host providing the service Should be a URL, like server.test.com

Step 2 - Add SRV record

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

1. Open DNS settings for the domain.
2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
3. Click Add record.
4. In the Type drop-down menu, select SRV.
5. In the Host field, delete the @ placeholder and enter the Service and Protocol, separated by a period. For example: _service._protocol
6. 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.
7. In the Data field, enter the Weight, Port, and Target, with a single space between each one. For example: 1 100 target.test.com
8. Click Save to add the record to your settings.

Troubleshooting

The record isn't saving

Replace placeholder values

When adding a custom record, ensure you replace the gray placeholder values in the Host and Data fields. These placeholders are examples of the correct format for your reference, but they aren't real. If you add the record without replacing these two fields, the record won't save properly.

The Priority field, however, is optional. You can save a record without entering a Priority.

Check the Host field for the correct format

If you’re adding custom records, your domain name is automatically added after any Host value.

For example, if your provider asks you to use a Host value of mail.yourdomain.com, you only need to enter mail in the Host field. Squarespace automatically adds .yourdomain.com, even though it’s not visible in the panel.

If your provider asks you to enter your domain without a value in front of it, like yourdomain.com, enter @ in the Host field.

Note: It’s not possible to enter two CNAMEs with the same Host value.

If you receive a “This host is already in use" message, you’re adding information to a Host field that’s already in use by another Host field.

For example, if you try adding "www" to the Host field of a CNAME record and a TXT record, the records won't save. Your domain can only have one record using "www" as the host.

To fix this, consider editing the Host field of the record you're adding so it doesn't conflict.

Check the Data field for the correct format

If you receive an "Invalid IP address" or "Host name error" message, review the Data field to ensure the information is entered correctly. Remove any periods at the end of the value, as our system can't save records formatted this way.

Check for conflicting records

If you receive a "We were unable to save this record due to conflicting records" message, review the DNS settings already in place. This message appears due to conflicting DNS records. 

To fix this, consider editing or deleting the domain's current records. You can also change the custom record you're adding so it doesn't conflict.

Can't change the Priority field

You can only edit the Priority field when creating custom MX or SRV records. If you're adding any other type of custom record, the Priority field appears, but you can't click it.

Error message in AAAA records: Not a valid IPv6 address

If you're adding an AAAA record, ensure that you've added the fully expanded version of the IPv6 address to the Data field. You'll know you're using a shortened address if there's a "Not a valid IPv6 address" error in DNS records, or if there's a double colon in the address instead of a single one.

For example, here are both versions of the same IPv6 address:

• Incorrect, shortened address: 2620:12a:8000::3
• Correct, expanded address: 2620:12a:8000:0:0:0:0:3