What is an MX-Entry? – #Digital Literacy

In a DNS, MX-Entry stands for a Mail Exchange entry. A block of information in the MX section of the DNS Records allows the brands to communicate on behalf of their domain name seamlessly.

For instance, you can contact us at contact@nexgi.com, which is only possible due to the MX Entries configured in our MX Records.

In simple terms, it allows you to send all the emails with your domain name at the end and allows your customers to send you an email to an email with the domain.

Why do you need it?

Communication is an essential aspect of building a brand. And to flawlessly communicate with the consumers, brands have been using brand-specific emails with the address pointing towards their domain. 

Establishes a trust factor amongst the consumers that they are directly communicating with the brand. And this experience is only possible due to the MX-Entries configured by the brands.  

Think of it this way, if you are building an eCommerce store, would you want your consumers to email you at myecommercestore@gmail.com or contact@myecommercestore.com.

How does an MX-Entry work?

An MX-Entry acts as a bridge between the domain mail and the mail server. All the emails sent to recipient@domainname.com are routed to the mail server.

To understand how an MX Entry works, you’ll need to understand its format.

The example.com in the host section needs to be configured with information about the root domain. It is to specify the root domain from which what should forward all the emails.
The value here refers to an MX-server’s address.
It prioritizes the server based on the number.
The TTL here talks about the Time to Live. The Time to Live settings refers to the time limit for the information to live on a device or a remote server.

How to configure an MX-Entry?

Do you remember the A-Record? If not, we’d recommend you check out our content piece/podcast about an A-Record.

Here, you’ll need to specify the IP address of your mail server in the A-Record with the hostname mail.

Once done, open your MX-Records table and add the following data. It will allow you to transfer all the emails to the recipients of your domain name.