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Do your DNS records actually point somewhere?

DNS is the layer every other check depends on. If the A or AAAA records are wrong the site is unreachable no matter how good the HTML is, and if the MX records are missing your order emails never arrive.

Runs the free audit, which includes this check where it applies to your site. Nothing is stored.

What this check inspects

Shipwork resolves A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS and TXT records for the host. It reports missing address records as an error and missing name servers as a warning, and it lists load-balanced addresses, the CNAME target, mail exchanges, the SPF record and any domain verification TXT records it finds.

What a failure means

No A or AAAA record is an error: the host cannot be reached. Missing NS records are a warning and usually mean a delegation problem. The rest is context: multiple addresses mean load balancing, a CNAME shows where the host is hosted, and missing MX means the domain does not receive mail.

How to fix it

  1. Make sure the apex and www records agree on which host is canonical.
  2. If the site is behind a CDN, expect a CNAME or CDN-provided address records rather than your own server.
  3. Add MX records if the domain sends or receives mail, and point them at a provider that is configured.
  4. Keep only one SPF record. Two SPF records in TXT is a common misconfiguration that can void both.

A typical failure, worked through

The setupA store moves its site to a new host and updates the A records, but the old SPF record is left in place while a second one is added for a new email provider.

What the check reportsThe DNS check lists both TXT records, and the email-auth check reports that two SPF records exist, which receivers may treat as invalid.

The pointDNS changes have side effects beyond the web host. Check the whole record set after any migration, not just the address.

Questions

Why do I have several A records?
Multiple A records usually mean load balancing or several CDN edge addresses. That is normal. Zero A and zero AAAA records is the problem.
What is a CNAME for?
It points one hostname at another, which is how a subdomain is attached to a platform or CDN. It cannot be used at the apex of a domain.
Do I need MX records if I only send email?
You need SPF and DKIM to send, and typically MX to receive replies. A sending-only address with no MX cannot receive bounces, which hurts deliverability.

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