How to Use AWS Route 53 for Custom DNS Records

Select Language:

If you’re looking to set up AWS Route 53 with your custom DNS records, here’s a simple step-by-step guide to help you do it smoothly.

Start by creating a new hosted zone in Route 53. Log into your AWS Management Console, go to Route 53, then click on “Hosted zones.” From there, create a new hosted zone using your domain name. Once it’s ready, Route 53 will give you four name server addresses starting with “ns-”. You need to go to your domain registrar’s website and enter these name servers in the DNS settings so they know to delegate your domain’s management to Route 53.

Now that your hosted zone is set up, you can add your custom DNS records. Route 53 allows you to create different types of records such as A records for IPv4 addresses, AAAA records for IPv6 addresses, CNAME records that point one domain to another, MX records for email servers, TXT records for text info, and more. You can set these records one by one through the web console or import a batch if you’re switching from a different DNS provider.

A common question is about alias versus host records. Alias records are special because they can be created at the root level of your domain, such as example.com, unlike CNAME records which can’t. Alias records are flexible—they let you route traffic directly to AWS resources like CloudFront distributions, S3 buckets, or load balancers. Plus, they are free and automatically update if the linked resource changes.

On the other hand, CNAME records simply point one domain to another but require extra DNS lookups, which can make website loading a bit slower and might increase costs. Also, you cannot use CNAME records at the zone apex (the main domain). Because of these reasons, using alias records is generally the better choice when working with AWS.

When setting the TTL (Time To Live) for your DNS records, think about how your website needs to perform. Shorter TTLs mean changes propagate faster, which is good for quick updates, but they also cause more DNS queries, increasing costs. Longer TTLs make your DNS more stable and efficient but less responsive to changes.

By following these steps, you’ll be able to successfully connect your custom domain with AWS resources, ensuring a smooth and reliable setup.