How do I set up a CNAME record on my domain name?

This article will help you to set up a CNAME record for your domain name.

CNAME stands for ‘canonical name’ and it is a redirection to the zone file of the entered target domain.

You can use CNAME records in several ways. For example, you may have mywebsite.com as your domain name. If you are worried about someone typing your domain wrong, like ww.mywebsite.com or wwww.mywebsite.com, you could set up a catch-all * CNAME record on your domain so that your visitors will still be redirected to the correct location.

You can also set different subdomains of your domain (i.e. mywebsite.com) as CNAMEs with the same target, such as 123reg.multiscreensite.com. The subdomains will then resolve the IP address of the target, which, in this example, would be 123reg.multiscreensite.com.

Creating a CNAME record

Before you begin, you’ll need to ensure your domain is pointed to the 123 Reg nameservers. Otherwise, you will not be able to configure the DNS zonefile.

Please note: it will take between 24-48 hours for any new nameserver (DNS) records to become active. For more information on changing your DNS records, please view the following article: How do I change the nameservers for my domain name?

Step 1 of 6

Start by logging in to your 123 Reg Control Panel.

Step 2 of 6

Next, select Manage All opposite Domains within the ‘All Products and Services’ section.

Step 3 of 6

You will now see a complete list of your purchased domain names. Select the domain you want to update from the provided list.

If you can’t find your domain in this list, you may be able to find it on the Domain Name Overview page within our legacy Control Panel. For more details on this, please read the following article: How do I access and manage my products?

Select Domain

Step 4 of 6

If you’re using our current Control Panel, select DNS in the toolbar.

If you’re using our legacy Control Panel, scroll down to the Advanced Domain Settings section and click Manage DNS.

Step 5 of 6

If you’re using our current Control Panel, you will now see a list of DNS records for your domain. From here, click Add New Record.

If you’re using our legacy Control Panel, select the Advanced DNS tab near the top.

Step 6 of 6

Next, create a new record with the following information:

  1. Type: select CNAME from the drop-down list
  2. Hostname/Name: enter the name of your desired subdomain (such as www). You can also add * which resolves for any subdomain.domain.com address
  3. Value/Destination CNAME: enter the domain name you want the CNAME record to point to. Be sure to add a full stop to the end (i.e. your-domain.co.uk.) or your CNAME record will not work correctly.
  4. TTL: how long the record takes to resolve. This should be measured in seconds, for example, one hour equals 3600 seconds, so your TTL would be 3600. We recommend leaving this as Default.

Once done, click Add or Save to complete the process.

Important: if the hostname is already in use on a different DNS record, do NOT add it to a new CNAME record. Doing so will affect its functionality or result in the removal of the record using this hostname. Our nameservers do not support ‘@’ CNAME records either.

Please note: it will take between 24-48 hours for any DNS records to become active, provided you didn’t also change the nameservers.

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