DNS records control where your domain points — your website, your email, and any verification or authentication codes required by third-party services. This guide walks you through identifying where your DNS is managed and making the change you need.
Step 1: Where is your domain's DNS hosted?
Your domain's nameservers (NS) determine who manages its DNS. This is separate from where your domain is registered.
Check your nameservers
If your domain is registered with WHC:
Log in to your Client Area.
Go to Domains > My Domains.
Click Manage for the domain.
Your nameservers are listed in the Nameservers section.
Domain registered somewhere else, or not sure where? Use a free WHOIS lookup tool such as who.is. Enter your domain name and look for the Name Servers in the results.
A — DNS is hosted with us
Your DNS is hosted with us if your nameservers end in whc.ca, wpdns.ca, web-dns1.com or mywhc.ca. For the full list by service, see what are your DNS (or nameservers)?
Continue to Step 2 below.
B — DNS is not hosted with us
If your nameservers point elsewhere (e.g., Cloudflare, GoDaddy, another host), DNS changes must be made with that provider. We can't edit records we don't host.
If you'd like to simplify things by managing DNS and hosting in one place, you can point your domain's nameservers to us. For domains registered at WHC, here's how to change nameservers for your domain. If your domain is registered elsewhere but you have a service with us, you can still have WHC host your DNS. The nameservers to use depend on your service — see what are your DNS (or nameservers)?
Step 2: What are you trying to do?
Identify the purpose of your change — the record type follows from that.
Goal | Record type | Example |
Point your domain/website to a host or builder (Wix, Shopify, another server) | A (or CNAME for subdomains) | Point |
Route your email to a provider | MX | Point email to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 |
Verify domain ownership for a third-party service | TXT | Microsoft 365 domain verification, Google Search Console |
Authenticate outgoing email (reduce spam/spoofing) | TXT (SPF, DKIM) / sometimes CNAME | SPF record, DKIM selector record |
Point a subdomain to another service | CNAME |
|
Something else / not sure | — | See note below |
Not sure which record you need? Tell us what you're trying to accomplish (e.g., "I want my email to go through Google" or "Microsoft is asking me to add a verification record") and we'll identify the exact record and value for you. Chat with us now!
Step 3: Making the change
Before you change anything: don't delete or overwrite existing records unless you're sure they're not in use — this can take down your website or email unexpectedly. If in doubt, ask us first.
If your DNS is parked with us (no active hosting/cPanel)
Manage records through the Client Area:
Log in to your Client Area.
Go to Domains > My Domains.
Click Manage for the domain.
Click the gear icon to open the domain's settings.
Click DNS Zone Editor.
The DNS Zone Editor opens.
To update a record:
Find the record you want to update (for example, the main A record of your domain) and click the Edit button.
Edit the details of the DNS record.
Click Publish Changes in the bottom-right corner.
Depending on which DNS record you're updating, make sure you have the correct information. Different types of DNS records require different details. If you're unsure, chat with us.
To delete a record:
Find the record you want to delete (for example, the main A record of your domain) and click the Delete button.
Confirm the deletion by clicking Yes, delete.
To add a record:
Click + Add record.
Select the type of record and enter the details.
Click Publish Changes in the bottom-right corner.
If you have hosting with us (cPanel)
Manage records through the Zone Editor:
On a Reseller, Cloud or Dedicated server: each website has its own cPanel account. Follow the steps below in the cPanel account of the domain you want to change. Server administrators can also edit any domain's records from WHM, under DNS Functions > DNS Zone Manager.
Open Zone Editor under the Domains section.
To update a record:
Find the record you want to update (for example, the main A record of your domain) and click the Edit button.
Edit the details of the DNS record, then click Save Record.
To delete a record:
Find the record you want to delete (for example, the main A record of your domain) and click the Delete button.
Confirm by clicking Continue.
To add a record:
Click + Add Record. You can click it several times to add several records at once.
Fill in the details of the record. Make sure you choose the right record type.
Click Save Record (for a single record) or Save All Records (when adding several records at once).
Step 4: Propagation
DNS changes aren't instant. They can take anywhere from a few minutes up to 24–48 hours to propagate fully, depending on the record's TTL (Time to Live) and caching by ISPs and other DNS resolvers worldwide. See understanding DNS propagation for details.
You can check propagation status with a public tool such as whatsmydns.net.
Until propagation completes, some visitors may see the old record and others the new one — this is normal and temporary.
If a service (e.g., Microsoft, Google) checks for verification too soon, simply wait and retry — no need to re-add the record.