What is a CNAME Record?
CNAME is an abbreviation of “Canonical Name”. This term is typical when referring to a “CNAME record” in a Domain Name System (DNS). It maps an alias domain to its true domain name.
More About CNAME Record
A CNAME record typically represents a subdomain and is used instead of an A record. While an A record indicates the IP address of a domain name, a CNAME record points to the root domain of a site. It can be helpful if a site has many subdomains. For example, if a website owner decides to modify the root domain name, they will not need to change all the subdomains. Since the mapping system will not change, the update happens inherently (and automatically). The canonical name that a CNAME record maps to can be anywhere in a DNS. Therefore, it can be local or on a remote server.
