How can I point my domain to a DigitalOcean Droplet using the DigitalOcean DNS?

Question

Hi everyone,

I recently set up a Droplet on DigitalOcean, and now I’m trying to point my custom domain to the Droplet using DigitalOcean’s DNS management. What steps should I take to configure the domain properly?

I’ve already registered the domain with an external domain registrar, but I’m not sure how to set the correct DNS records and which ones are necessary for both the website and email. Any advice on the types of records I need (A, CNAME, MX) and how to configure them would be really helpful!

Or shall I use my domain provider to handle my DNS records?

Thanks in advance!

Bobby · Answer

Hey there! 👋 You’re on the right track! Pointing your domain to a DigitalOcean Droplet using DigitalOcean’s DNS is pretty straightforward. First, head over to the DigitalOcean Control Panel and click on “Networking” in the left-hand menu. Then, under the Domains tab, add your custom domain (e.g., yourdomain.com) by typing it in the box and clicking “Add Domain” . You’ll need to point your domain’s nameservers to DigitalOcean’s. Go to your domain registrar’s control panel (where you bought your domain) and update the nameservers to: ns1.digitalocean.com ns2.digitalocean.com ns3.digitalocean.com This might take a little while to propagate, so don’t worry if it’s not instant. Next, in the DigitalOcean Networking tab where you added your domain, you’ll need to create an A Record that points to your Droplet’s IP address. Here’s how: Type : A Name : @ (this means the root domain, like yourdomain.com) Value : Your Droplet’s public IPv4 address TTL : Keep the default (3600 is fine) Click Create Record after you’ve filled in these fields. If you have subdomains or email services, you might need to add more DNS records: CNAME Record : For subdomains, like www.yourdomain.com, create a CNAME record: Type : CNAME Name : www Value : yourdomain.com MX Records : If you’re setting up email, make sure to add MX Records provided by your email hosting provider. DNS changes usually take some time to propagate. You can use tools like WhatsMyDNS to check if the changes have taken effect globally. If you’re worried about security, you can also use DigitalOcean Cloud Firewalls to restrict access to your Droplet. It’s super easy to set up and allows you to control inbound and outbound traffic. You can find more about it here:DigitalOcean Firewalls Documentation Let me know how it goes, and feel free to reach out if you need any more help! 😄 - Bobby

alexdo · Answer

Hi there, Bobby’s steps above cover the nameserver delegation, A record, and CNAME correctly. One thing worth adding since you specifically asked about email: it depends on whether you’re pointing MX at a third-party provider or planning to run your own mail server on this same Droplet. If you’re using a provider like Google Workspace or a transactional email service, Bobby’s advice is complete, just add the MX records they give you. If you’re planning to self-host mail on the Droplet itself, there are two DigitalOcean-specific things that will trip you up. First, DigitalOcean blocks outbound SMTP on ports 25, 465, and 587 by default on all Droplets, so a self-hosted mail server won’t be able to send outbound mail until you either request the block lifted through support or, more reliably, use a transactional email API instead of running your own SMTP server. Second, if you do get mail sending working, DigitalOcean generates a Droplet’s reverse DNS (PTR) record automatically from the Droplet’s name in the control panel, but only if that name is set to a valid fully qualified domain name matching your mail domain, there’s no manual way to set a PTR record directly. Missing or mismatched reverse DNS is one of the most common reasons self-hosted mail gets flagged as spam, so this is worth getting right from the start rather than after deliverability problems show up. Regards

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How can I point my domain to a DigitalOcean Droplet using the DigitalOcean DNS?

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