How to edit DNS zone (A, CNAME, TXT) in cPanel (not in WHM) as End User (Domain Owner)

Recently cPanel Inc. introduced Simple and Advanced DNS Zone Editor for the domain owner (server’s end user). It was introduced for cPanel version 11.25 (Release 42213).

cPanel provided two types of editor. One is simple editor another one is advanced editor. Using simple editor, domain owners can manage A and CNAME records. However, TXT records can also be managed using Advanced DNS Zone Editor. The reseller or server owner may enable anyone or both for the domain owners.

How to manage DNS records from cPanel control panel?

Adding A record:

Login to your cpanel account

Click on the Simple DNS Zone Editor icon from the Domains section

Now enter the name in the Name box and IP Address in the Address box.  Click Add A Record. From now, all requests to the given name will be pointed to given IP address.

CNAME Records

In the same way, you can create name alias (CNAME).  Put the values in respective box and click Add CNAME Record.

Advanced DNS Zone Editor

Using the Advanced DNS Zone Editor, you can also create A, CNAME and TXT records.

Enter the name in the Name field.

Type the record’s time to live in the TTL text box.

Time to live specifies how long a particular record should be kept in memory, in seconds, before it should be refreshed.

Select a record type:

* An A record is the DNS record that is responsible for mapping hostnames to IP addresses. The A record is essential because it allows DNS servers to identify and locate your website and its various services on the Internet. Without an A record, your visitors will not be able to access your website, FTP servers, or email accounts.
Remember: cPanel will have configured your DNS records so that visitors will be able to resolve your website and its services (FTP, Email, etc.). A records should only be added when you add a service that is not provided by cPanel or your web host.
* CNAME record stands for “canonical name record.” This record creates an alias, allowing a querying server to continue the DNS lookup under the new name.
* A TXT record is a text record that contains certain information that will be read by querying servers. These can carry useful data for the SPF or DomainKeys email authentication systems.

Click Add Record.

Resetting a Zone

Resetting a zone will erase any modifications you have made to your zone records, either using Advanced DNS Zone Editor feature or using the Simple DNS Zone Editor.  It will attempt to save TXT entries.  Before using this feature, be sure to write down any changes you may want to save.

To reset your DNS zone files to the defaults:

• Click the checkbox next to Are you sure you want to erase all entries and revert to the default state?
• Click Reset Zone File.

Related posts:

1. How to point a sub-domain to a different IP Address or Server?
2. Adding/Editing Zone Records using Webmin
3. Setting up DNS using Webmin (Quick Guide)
4. Creating/editing a master zone using Webmin
5. DNS Records Types