Domain, Website, Email: What Actually Needs to Be Connected?
If you are setting up a new website, you may hear words like domain, DNS, CNAME, A records, and nameservers.
It can sound very technical, but the basic idea is actually simple. If you know me, expect this reading to be easy to understand.
(Before reading it, please know that I am here to help as well. It is part of my offer to do all this admin setting for my clients).
Let’s continue….
Your domain is your online address.
Your website is where people land when they type that address.
Your email is how you send and receive messages using that domain.
For example:
Your domain could be:
Your website could be built on Squarespace, Kajabi, Wix, Shopify, or another platform.
Your email could be with GoDaddy, Google Workspace, Microsoft, or the same company where you bought the domain.
The important part is knowing what needs to point where.
First, what is a domain?
Your domain is the address people type to find you online.
For example:
You may have bought your domain from a company like GoDaddy, 123 Reg, Namecheap, Google, Squarespace, or another domain provider.
That company may also provide your professional email, such as:
But your website might be built somewhere else, like Squarespace.
This is very normal.
What are DNS records?
DNS records are like directions for your domain.
They tell the internet:
“Send the website visitors here.”
“Send the emails there.”
“Send this subdomain to this platform.”
Think of DNS like a reception desk.
When someone types your domain, DNS tells them where to go.
When someone sends you an email, DNS tells the email where to be delivered.
This is why we need to be careful when changing domain settings.
CNAME, A records, and nameservers: what is the difference?
The easiest way to understand it is this:
CNAME and A records point specific parts of your domain somewhere.
Nameservers decide who controls the whole DNS panel.
So they are not the same thing.
When do we update records only?
Most of the time, when connecting a website, we only update DNS records.
For example, let’s say:
Your domain is with GoDaddy.
Your professional email is also with GoDaddy.
Your website is built on Squarespace.
In this case, the safest option is usually to keep the domain DNS controlled by GoDaddy and only add the Squarespace records inside GoDaddy.
That means we would update things like:
A records
CNAME records
Verification records if Squarespace gives us one
But we do not touch the email records.
This allows the website to connect to Squarespace while the email continues working as normal.
When do we use a CNAME?
A CNAME is often used when we want to point a specific version of the domain somewhere.
For example:
or
or
A common example is when your main website is on Squarespace, but your course or landing page is on Kajabi.
In that case, we may keep:
as the main website, and connect:
to Kajabi.
To do that, we usually add a CNAME record only.
This is safer than moving the whole domain because we are only connecting one small part of the domain to another platform.
When do we use A records?
A records are commonly used to point the main domain to the website platform.
For example:
If your website is on Squarespace and your domain is with GoDaddy, Squarespace may give you A records to add inside GoDaddy.
Those records tell the main domain where the website lives.
When do we change nameservers?
Changing nameservers is a bigger change.
Nameservers decide where the full DNS for your domain is managed.
So if your domain is with GoDaddy and you change the nameservers to Squarespace, you are saying:
“Squarespace is now controlling the DNS for this domain.”
The domain may still be purchased through GoDaddy, but the DNS settings would now be managed somewhere else.
This is sometimes okay, but it needs to be done carefully.
Will changing nameservers affect email?
It can, yes.
This is one of the most important things to understand.
If your professional email is working through the same company where you bought your domain, changing nameservers can affect your email.
For example:
Domain bought at GoDaddy
Email provided by GoDaddy
Website built on Squarespace
If you change the nameservers away from GoDaddy, the email records that were working inside GoDaddy may no longer be active.
That means your email could stop sending or receiving properly unless the email records are copied into the new DNS provider.
These email records can include:
MX records
TXT records
SPF records
DKIM records
DMARC records
This is why I am always careful before changing nameservers.
Will updating records only affect email?
Usually, no — as long as the email records are not deleted or changed.
If we only add or update the website records, the email can normally continue working.
For example, we can update:
A records for the website
CNAME for www
CNAME for a subdomain like learn
And leave the email records untouched.
That is usually the safer route.
A simple example
Let’s say you have:
Domain: GoDaddy
Email: GoDaddy professional email
Website: Squarespace
The safest setup is usually:
Keep the nameservers with GoDaddy.
Add the Squarespace DNS records inside GoDaddy.
Leave the email records alone.
This way, the website connects to Squarespace, but the email stays with GoDaddy.
Another example: course or landing page on Kajabi
Let’s say your main website is:
But your course is on Kajabi and you want it to be:
In that case, we do not need to move the whole domain.
We would usually add a CNAME record for:
learn
and point it to Kajabi.
That means:
Main website stays where it is.
Email stays where it is.
Only the course subdomain points to Kajabi.
My simple rule
Here is the easiest way to remember it:
Update DNS records when you only need to point the website or a subdomain somewhere.
Change nameservers only when you want to move full DNS control to another platform.
For most small business websites, especially when email is already working, I prefer to update records only.
It is safer, cleaner, and reduces the chance of breaking email.
Before changing anything, check these three things
Before connecting a domain to a website, always check:
Where was the domain purchased?
Where is the professional email hosted?
Where is the website built?
Once we know those three things, we can decide the safest way to connect everything.
Final reminder
Your domain, website, and email can all be with different companies.
That is completely normal.
The key is making sure each part of the domain is pointing to the right place.
Website visitors need to land on the website.
Emails need to arrive in the inbox.
Subdomains need to point to the correct platform.
A small DNS change can make a big difference, so it is always worth checking before clicking save.
Once again, if you need help, let’s connect :)
