Engineering Glossary · DNS Records
The A Record Is How You Choose Which Box Answers
You are about to move a site and you would rather not find out whether the new server works by pointing live traffic at it.
The short answer
An A record maps a hostname to an IPv4 address, which makes it the record that decides which physical machine answers for your site. AAAA does the same job for IPv6, and between them they are the last step of a resolution before a connection opens.
The practical consequence for anyone moving a site is that you never have to guess. curl can be told to resolve a hostname to a specific address, so you can request your real domain from the new server, with the correct Host header and the correct virtual host selected, while public DNS still points everyone else at the old one.
By the HostingFast team · Reviewed 12 August 2026
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In a zone it is the plainest record there is: ask for the name, get an address back. Everything else — aliases, mail routing, verification strings — eventually resolves down to one of these, because a packet needs somewhere real to go.
Attach two A records to one name and traffic alternates between the addresses. That is a crude form of load spreading and, far more often, the classic accident: an edit that adds a record instead of replacing one, producing a site that flips between the old server and the new for reasons nobody can reproduce.
Testing the destination before you commit
The command that removes the risk from a migration is curl with an explicit resolve override: point your real hostname at the new server's address for that one request. The server sees the correct Host header, selects the right virtual host, and returns the page it would return in production.
Do the same for HTTPS and you also confirm the certificate on the new box covers the name, which is the second most common thing to go wrong at cutover. A hosts-file entry achieves something similar for a browser session, but the curl version is scriptable and leaves nothing behind to forget about.
Proving which machine answered
After the change, you want evidence rather than an impression. Resolve the name and compare the address you get with the one you set, and check any server identifier your platform exposes in the response headers.
If different people are seeing different servers, that is a cached answer somewhere in the middle, or a leftover second A record. Both are diagnosable in a minute; neither is worth an afternoon of guessing.
Where the A record fits in a partial move
You do not have to move a whole zone to move a website. Point the A record at your new server and leave MX, TXT and everything else exactly where they are, and the site relocates while mail and verification stay untouched.
The reverse is the trap. Move the whole zone by switching nameservers without rebuilding the mail and verification records first, and the site works perfectly while email quietly stops arriving. Decide which of the two moves you are making before you start.
What you point at on this platform
Your account's address is shown in the panel, and a single A record aimed at it is enough to serve the site. Free SSL is issued for every hostname you attach and renews itself before expiry, so HTTPS is not a separate task after the cutover.
If you would rather not do the cutover yourself, our engineers migrate an existing site free of charge — files, databases and mailboxes — usually inside 24 hours, and the old site keeps serving until you have reviewed the copy.
Entries that survive contact with a terminal
We wrote this reference for people who would rather test a claim than trust it, so the tests are in the text alongside the definitions.
SSH, Git and Composer are available on the developer-focused plans, so a deployment can be a command rather than a drag-and-drop.
- 100+ entries, each with a way to verify it
- Cutover techniques, not just definitions
- Wired into CNAME, DNS and IP Address
- Written by the engineers who run migrations
Why HostingFast
Standard on every plan
Test before you switch
The resolve-override trick means a destination server is proven before any visitor touches it.
A Record, at cutover
This entry is organised around the migration where the record actually matters.
Evidence after the change
How to demonstrate which machine answered rather than assuming the right one did.
Partial moves explained
Relocating a website without dragging mail and verification records along with it.
The duplicate-record failure
Why a site flips between two servers, and the thirty-second check that proves it.
Continues into its neighbours
CNAME Record, IP Address and DNS carry on from here.
Quick Start
From order to online
- 1
Note the destination address
Take the account's IP address from the panel. Everything that follows is a test against that specific number.
- 2
Request the real hostname from the new box
Use a resolve override so curl sends your production Host header to the new address. Check both the page body and the certificate.
- 3
Lower the TTL a cycle in advance
Drop the TTL on the record at least one full old-TTL period before the cutover, or the change will run on yesterday's timer.
- 4
Verify, then clean up
After the switch, resolve the name and confirm there is exactly one address in the answer. A leftover second record is the usual cause of a site that flips.
Built In
Loaded onto every plan
- Account IP address shown directly in the panel
- Free SSL issued for every hostname you attach
- SSH, Git and Composer on the developer-focused plans
- cPanel as standard, with full zone editing
- NVMe SSD storage on every tier
- Daily backups with one-click restores
- Free engineer-run migration of your existing site
- DDoS scrubbing handled out at the network edge
Frequently Asked
What people ask us most often
How do I test a new server before pointing DNS at it?
Use curl with a resolve override so your real hostname is sent to the new address for that request only. The server picks the correct virtual host, you see the production page, and you can confirm the certificate covers the name — all while public DNS still sends everyone else to the old server.
A record or CNAME — which should I use here?
An A record when you are aiming at a specific machine you control, and a CNAME when a provider publishes a hostname precisely so the addresses beneath it can change without telling you. The apex of a domain cannot hold a CNAME, which usually settles the question for the bare domain.
My new A record has not taken effect. What is the order of suspects?
Three, in this order: the previous TTL is still counting down somewhere; the edit went into a zone the domain does not delegate to; or a second, conflicting record survived the edit. Work down that list and there is very little left to find.
What control panel do accounts run on?
cPanel — the panel most tooling and most documentation already assumes. Tutorials match your screen, backups restore onto any other cPanel host, and the skills carry with you. Plesk and DirectAdmin are available on specific plans if you prefer either.
Keep reading
IP Address
The address itself, and how to separate network time from server time.
DNS (Domain Name System)
The resolution chain that ends at this record, timed and traced.
How to Create an SPF Record
Publishing a sender policy properly, with the lookup limit explained.
Web Hosting
cPanel hosting on NVMe with LiteSpeed, free SSL and a migration included.
Domain Names
Find, register and transfer domains — first year free with annual hosting.
Changing hosts? Run through our checklist first.
A straightforward sequence for a switch your visitors never feel: which files move first, how to shift email across without losing a single message, the right moment to repoint DNS, and the two mistakes behind almost all the downtime we get asked to rescue.
Cut over with proof, not hope.
Every plan carries the things other hosts bill as extras, plus support that answers when you need it.
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