Managing DNS Records in cPanel: Add-on Domains and Subdomains

Adding extra domains, creating subdomains, and managing DNS records are common tasks as your online presence grows. All of these operations happen inside cPanel — not in the INNOVATECH GROUP client portal. This guide walks you through the process using the unified Domains interface and the Zone Editor available in cPanel 134.

Prerequisites

An active hosting service with INNOVATECH GROUP
You are comfortable navigating the cPanel dashboard (if you need a refresher, see the cPanel access guide in this knowledge base)
You are logged in to the INNOVATECH GROUP client portal

How to Access cPanel

DNS management is performed inside cPanel, not in the INNOVATECH GROUP client portal. The portal does not include a DNS zone editor.

Log in to the client portal and navigate to My Services.
Click View Details on the hosting service for the domain you want to manage.
In the Quick Access section, click Login to cPanel. This securely authenticates you and opens cPanel in a new browser tab.

Understanding Domains, Add-on Domains, and Subdomains

Before making changes, it helps to understand the three main domain types you will encounter in cPanel:

Main domain — the primary domain assigned to your hosting account when it was created. This is set by your hosting provider and cannot be removed.
Additional (add-on) domain — a completely separate domain name hosted on the same cPanel account. Each additional domain has its own document root (website folder) and can function as an independent website. Use this when you want to host a second business website on the same hosting plan.
Subdomain — a prefix added to an existing domain (e.g. blog.yourbusiness.co.za or shop.yourbusiness.co.za). Subdomains share the parent domain's DNS zone but point to their own document root. Use this when you want a distinct section of your website under the same domain name.

Creating an Additional Domain

In cPanel, navigate to Domains (cPanel › Domains › Domains).
Click Create a New Domain.
Enter the full domain name you want to add (e.g. mysecondsite.co.za).
cPanel will suggest a document root directory. You can accept the default or specify a custom path.
Click Submit to create the domain.

After creation, the new domain will appear in your domain list. You will need to ensure the domain's nameservers at its registrar are pointed to your hosting server for the site to resolve correctly. Nameservers are displayed (read-only) on your hosting service detail page in the INNOVATECH GROUP portal. If you need to update nameservers, contact support — nameserver changes cannot be made from the portal.

Creating a Subdomain

In cPanel, navigate to Domains (cPanel › Domains › Domains).
Click Create a New Domain.
Enter the subdomain as a full hostname (e.g. blog.yourbusiness.co.za).
cPanel will detect that it is a subdomain of an existing domain and suggest an appropriate document root.
Click Submit.

The subdomain inherits the parent domain's DNS zone. cPanel automatically creates the necessary DNS records to route traffic to the subdomain's document root.

Managing DNS Records with the Zone Editor

The Zone Editor allows you to view and modify the DNS zone records for any domain on your account.

In cPanel, navigate to Zone Editor (cPanel › Domains › Zone Editor).
Find the domain you want to manage in the list.
Use the quick-action buttons next to each domain to add an A Record, CNAME Record, or MX Record directly. Alternatively, click Manage to access the full zone editor.

Record Types You Will Use Most Often

A Record (Address Record) Maps a hostname to an IPv4 address. This is the most fundamental record type — it tells DNS where to find your website or service.

Common use: Pointing your domain or subdomain to a specific server IP address.
Example: shop.yourbusiness.co.za → 192.0.2.10

CNAME Record (Canonical Name) Creates an alias that points one hostname to another hostname. DNS resolves the alias by following it to the target's A record.

Common use: Pointing a subdomain to a third-party service (e.g. a landing page builder or CDN).
Example: landing.yourbusiness.co.za → yoursite.landingpagehost.com
Note: You cannot create a CNAME record for the root domain (the bare domain without a prefix). CNAME records are only valid for subdomains.

MX Record (Mail Exchanger) Identifies the mail servers responsible for receiving email for your domain. MX records include a priority value — lower numbers mean higher priority.

Common use: Routing email to your mail server or a third-party email provider (e.g. Google Workspace, Microsoft 365).
Example: Priority 10, destination mail.yourbusiness.co.za

TXT Record (Text) Holds arbitrary text data used by various services for verification and authentication.

Common use: SPF records (email sender verification), DKIM signatures, DMARC policies, domain ownership verification for Google Search Console or similar services.
Example: v=spf1 +a +mx ~all

Adding a DNS Record

Click Manage next to the domain in Zone Editor.
Click Add Record at the top of the zone table.
Select the record type from the dropdown (A, CNAME, MX, TXT, or others).
Enter the record details:
- Name — the hostname this record applies to (cPanel appends the domain automatically)
- TTL — Time to Live in seconds (leave at the default unless you have a specific reason to change it)
- Type — the record type you selected
- Record / Address / Destination — the value for the record (an IP address for A records, a hostname for CNAME, etc.)
Click Save Record.

Editing or Deleting a Record

To edit: click Edit next to the record in the Manage Zone view, make your changes, and click Save Record.
To delete: click Delete next to the record and confirm the action.

Be cautious when editing or deleting records that were automatically created by cPanel (such as the A record for your main domain or MX records for your email). Removing these can break your website or email delivery.

DNS Propagation

After making any DNS change, it can take time for the update to spread across the internet. This is called DNS propagation.

Typical timeframe: Most changes propagate within a few hours, but full global propagation can take up to 24–72 hours.
TTL effect: Records with a lower TTL value will propagate faster because DNS resolvers will refresh their cached copies sooner.
Verification: You can use online tools such as DNS checker websites to verify that your changes are visible from different locations around the world.

During propagation, some visitors may see the old DNS data while others see the new data. This is normal and temporary.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Editing the main domain's A record without understanding the impact — this can make your website unreachable.
Creating a CNAME on the root domain — this is not permitted by the DNS specification and will cause errors.
Forgetting to update nameservers for a new additional domain — if the domain's nameservers at its registrar do not point to your hosting server, DNS records in cPanel will have no effect.
Deleting MX records — this will stop email delivery to your domain.
Setting very low TTL values permanently — while useful during a migration, extremely low TTLs increase DNS query volume and can slightly slow resolution.

When to Contact Support

Open a support ticket if:

You need to change nameservers for your hosting service (nameservers are displayed read-only in the portal and cannot be changed from the client side)
You are unsure which DNS records to modify for a specific service integration
You accidentally deleted a critical DNS record and need help restoring it
You want to add a domain but have reached your account's domain limit
You need DNS changes for a domain that does not appear in your cPanel Zone Editor