CNAME records, A records, and redirects each play a unique role in directing web traffic. Understanding their differences is essential for configuring your domain and website effectively.
A Records
An A record is the actual DNS record. The name is resolved to a corresponding IP address.
An example of an A record:
www.no-ip.com resolves to 204.16.252.112
CNAME Records
CNAME records (short for Canonical Name) map your hostname to another hostname. It is useful for pointing many hosts to the same place and updating them easily.
An example of a CNAME Record:
www.no-ip.com to www.noip.com
Even though the domains are different, they still go to exactly the same place and follow the same DNS rules that are in place.
Redirects
Redirects are like CNAME records in a way, but different. Use a redirect if you want one domain to redirect to another.
An example of this is:
www.yourwebsite.com redirects to yourblog.blog.com, or by redirecting a short URL to one that is long.
Learn More About DNS Records
Did you find this article comparing Redirects vs. CNAME and A Records helpful? Click through to our Knowledge Base to read more articles and guides on the different types of DNS records.