How to Create DNS Records in WHM

DNS (Domain Name System) records are essential components of the internet’s infrastructure, translating human-readable domain names into machine-readable IP addresses. This process enables users to access websites and services using familiar names instead of numeric addresses. There are various types of DNS records, each serving a unique purpose. If you host your nameservers on a cPanel server, there may come a time when you need to adjust or create DNS records for one or more of the domains you host. While cPanel can be used to easily edit records for individual accounts, editing each one individually could become time-consuming, especially if you have many accounts on your server. Thankfully, using WHM, you can create and edit DNS records for all accounts on the server at once. If you’re a WHM user looking for information on managing DNS records on your server, then this tutorial is for you.

If you don’t have access to WHM, or if you’re more familiar with cPanel and prefer to use it for modifying DNS records, you can do so using cPanel’s DNS Zone options. For instructions on creating and editing DNS zones in cPanel, check out our article on How to Create DNS Records in cPanel.

Creating DNS Records in WHM

Finding the Domain’s DNS Records

To create DNS records using WHM, follow these steps:

1. First, you will need to log in to the WHM control panel using your username and password. You can access your WHM panel on your cPanel server by entering the following URL into your web browser,

   https://(my server’s IP address):2087

   or, if A records have already been propagated for your server, you can use

   https://mydomain.com:2087.

2. Once logged into WHM, navigate to Home -> DNS Functions -> DNS Zone Manager. This will open a new page.
3. On the new page that opens, you will see a list of all the zones already on the server. Find the domain you wish to edit, select it, and click the “Manage” button.
   *Note: If you have a large number of accounts on your server, you can use the text box to filter domains.

   

4. After selecting your desired domain and clicking the “Manage” button, a new page will open where you can edit and create records.

   

Creating and Editing DNS Records 

1. Starting at the top of the page as per the previous section, you will see all the records currently in place for your selected domain. If you need to edit any of these records, you can do so here by pressing the “Edit” button to make the required changes.
   1. By default, cPanel will include records for DKIM and SPF, unless set otherwise on the server, but will list these records as TXT files.
2. To add additional DNS records, proceed to press on the “Add Record” button at the top of the page and select the desired record type.

   

3. A new line will be created with the record type of choice for you to fill it out as needed.

   If you are looking to add SPF or DKIM records to the domain, you must select the TXT option. Then, fill out the records with the appropriate information during creation.

   1. If you are unsure what type of record you need to create or are unclear about their inherent differences, check the terminology section in our DNS Configuration Guide.
   2. One of the most common mistakes in creating or editing records is not including the trailing ” . ” at the end of the record. All records with top-level domains should include the trailing period at the end of their domain names.

      

4. Once you’ve added/edited a record, click “Save Record” to finalize the changes.

   A prompt will display at the top right of the webpage for a successful change alert. If the change fails, it will show an error message, as demonstrated in the two images below.

   

   

5. At this point the DNS records are set and ready to go. 

Further Assistance

For any further assistance involving DNS records within WHM, do not hesitate to reach out to the Hivelocity Support team. You can contact them via chat, support ticket, or by phone at 888-869-4678.