AWS Route 53 CNAME and A record setup
How to add a CNAME, A or TXT record at AWS Route 53: the host for a subdomain and the root domain (the domain itself), and how to check it's live.
These are the steps DoDomain's hosted connect flow shows a customer whose domain is managed at AWS Route 53, in AWS Route 53's own vocabulary. A product using DoDomain never writes them: the connect flow detects the provider, shows these steps beside the exact records to create, and verifies each record against the zone's authoritative nameservers. They are published here for your own support articles, and for anyone who wants to see the steps before they start.
Related definitions: CNAME record, A record, apex domain.
Where the records live
Open AWS Route 53's DNS management and pick the domain.
How to add a CNAME or A record in AWS Route 53
- Route 53 → Hosted zones → your domain.
- Create record → enter the full Record name and Value as below.
- Create records, then click Verify here.
What to put in the AWS Route 53 host field
Enter the FULL record name including the domain (e.g. www.yourdomain.com). For a record on the domain itself, enter the domain name itself as the host.
Whatever the panel calls the field (Name, Host, Hostname), DoDomain's connect flow shows the value to paste into it already in this provider's format, and shows the fully-qualified name it will verify next to it.
Common questions
Where do I add DNS records at AWS Route 53?
Open AWS Route 53's DNS management and pick the domain.
What goes in the host field at AWS Route 53?
Enter the FULL record name including the domain (e.g. www.yourdomain.com). For a record on the domain itself, enter the domain name itself as the host.
How do I check that a record at AWS Route 53 is live?
Look the name up with the free DNS lookup, which shows the authoritative answer next to what public resolvers return. DoDomain verifies against the authoritative nameservers, so a record can be correct there while resolvers still serve the old answer until its TTL expires.
Check the record is live
A saved record is not yet a live record. DoDomain verifies against the zone's authoritative nameservers, which answer as soon as the provider publishes the change; public resolvers can lag behind for as long as the old answer's TTL. The free DNS lookup shows both answers side by side for any name, and the provider detector tells you which provider serves a domain and whether a one-click path exists for it.
If you are the product asking for this record
You do not have to send customers here. Mint a connect session and the hosted flow shows these steps to your AWS Route 53 customers on its own, then verifies and keeps monitoring the records. See the connect flow and the framework guides for Next.js, Rails, Laravel and Django. A customer who wants their bare domain rather than a subdomain is the apex question, which no provider panel solves on its own.
Steps verified against AWS Route 53's documentation or a live route check at authoring time (July 2026); panel labels do change; the hosted flow is updated when they do.