MX records (CNAME and A record)

Contact your email provider to find out what you should use as MX records, then update the DNS for your domain. How? Depends on where you host the DNS.

Also, while doing this, add DKIM and SPF records so your mail is less likely to be filtered as spam. Again, your email provider can help you with values for these DNS text records.

Thank you so much for replying. I’m still confused though. My webhost (which would also be my email host) is saying I need to get this info from WordPress (because it is the “nameserver provider”?). But WordPress is saying I get the info from the email provider? Each company seems to be saying the other would have the answer so I don’t know what my next step should be.

My domain registrar, Network Solutions, agreed with you that I should get the MX record from ASO (my webhost, which would be my email host), and I can update DNS records at WordPress afterward. So I will get that MX record and after that I may need help updating the DNS at WordPress.

There is no “DNS at WordPress”. Are you hosting your website with wordpress.com?

Sorry, I am sure I am messing up the terminology. No, the webhost is ASO but I use WordPress as an interface to edit the site so ASO is “pointing” (?) at WordPress.

Anyway, I got the MX record info from ASO and they said I now have to update the info at WordPress. Is that not correct? I have the MX info ready.

No, again — Your DNS is not at WordPress. www.ads-software.com does not host your site. WordPress is not a mail server.

What is the URL for your WordPress site?

• This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by Steven Stern (sterndata).

My domain registrar says: “You will be giving this records to your DNS hosting provider. That seems to be WordPress, Since the Nameservers are updated to them you can give to them and they will add it to you.”

The site is wendywisner.com

OK, your DNS is hosted at WordPress.com; the domain is registered through Network Solutions.

$ whois wendywisner.com

[snip]
Registrar: Network Solutions, LLC
[snip]

Name Server: NS1.WORDPRESS.COM
Name Server: NS2.WORDPRESS.COM

Due to the differences between the various site hosting plans offered at wordpress.com and the self-hosted and self-installed version of WordPress supported here, you should probably ask WordPress.com support instead: https://wordpress.com/support/help-support-options/

WordPress vs WordPress.com

• This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by Steven Stern (sterndata).

OK, thank you very much! I am moving over to the WordPress.com forum to see if they can help me to the next step.

I notice, though, that when I go to wendywisner.com/admin (the page where I edit my site) and click on Support there, it directs me to www.ads-software.com (not .com) support. So I am confused again.

You need to work through your HOST, and that’s wordpress.com.

Thank you. I really appreciate your response. I am waiting for a reply on the WordPress.com support forum, and I hope they will help me. But in the meantime I noticed that the Support button on my editing page directs me to this forum, the www.ads-software.com forum. Is there a reason for that?

Because you’re using WordPress. Please read what I linked above about the differences between www.ads-software.com (a software development organization) and wordpress.com (a hosting company).

If you have specific questions about *using* WordPress, please start a new topic.

OK, I am starting to understand. I thought I was working with three companies: my domain registrar, my webhost, and WordPress (which I use to update my site). It seems there are really four organizations: the registrar, the webhost, WordPress.com (which is the DNS provider), and www.ads-software.com (which I use to update my site).

I am wondering now whether I need WordPress.com at all. I thought I was using them to update my site but now I see I was thinking of www.ads-software.com. Now I don’t know what I’m using them for. I pay a different company to be my webhost and they just point me to WordPress.com.