What Are One-click Services?
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Table of Contents
- Where do one-click services come from?
- What happens when you add a service?
- What happens when you remove a service?
- What happens when a service changes or is retired?
- How do one-click services compare with templates and connectors?
- Have more questions?
A one-click service is a ready-made set of DNS records for a specific provider, such as Shopify, Google Workspace, or Netlify. Adding the service to a domain creates every record in the set at once, so you do not have to copy each value from the provider’s instructions. One-click services are included on every plan.
Where do one-click services come from?
Each service is a template in the open-source dnsimple-services repository on GitHub. A template lists the records to create and, when a provider needs details from your account, the form fields that collect them, such as a site name or a verification code. DNSimple maintains the templates and loads them into the app. Anyone can propose a new service or a fix with a pull request; see Contribute a new service.
In the app, services are grouped into the same six tabs used on this site: Blogging, Ecommerce, Email, Hosting, Infrastructure, and Productivity.
What happens when you add a service?
When you add a service, DNSimple fills in any values you entered and creates the records in your domain’s zone. You can see the exact records before you add a service: each one lists them under , for example .
- All or nothing. If one record conflicts with a record already on that name, DNSimple creates none of them. A conflict happens when the types cannot share a name, such as an ALIAS record and an A record. Some types can share a name, such as two MX records. The same applies if the records would take the zone over its record limit and the zone cannot go above it, for example on Solo or on an account that chose to block new records above the limit. On plans that allow records above the limit, DNSimple adds the service and the extra records count toward the overage.
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Fixed names. Most services create records on the domain apex or on names the template sets, such as
www. Some templates put every record on a default subdomain: SupaDupa useswww, for example. The list shows the full names before you commit. - Ordinary records. The records a service creates are regular records in your zone. They show in the record editor, and DNSimple remembers which service created them.
Adding the service only covers DNS. Most providers also need you to add the domain in your account with them.
What happens when you remove a service?
Removing a service deletes the records that service created, and only those. Records you added yourself stay, even if they share a name with the service’s records. See Remove a one-click service for the steps.
What happens when a service changes or is retired?
Records are created from the template as it is at the moment you add the service. If DNSimple later updates the template, for example because the provider changed its setup, the records already on your domain stay as they were. To get the new records, remove the service and add it again.
DNSimple can also retire a service, for example when the provider shuts down. A retired service disappears from the list, so it cannot be added again, but DNSimple does not delete any records on domains that already have it.
How do one-click services compare with templates and connectors?
DNSimple has other ways to add a group of records or link a domain to a platform. Which one fits depends on who maintains the records and whether you want the connection watched.
| What it is | Maintained by | After setup | |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-click service | A record set for a known provider | DNSimple | The records are yours to manage |
| DNS template | A record set you create and reuse across your domains | You | The records are yours to manage |
| Connector | An authorized link between one domain and one Heroku app or Netlify site | DNSimple | DNSimple monitors the connection and emails you if it breaks |
Integrated DNS Providers solve a different problem: they let you manage zones hosted at Amazon Route 53, Azure DNS, or CoreDNS from your DNSimple account.
If there is no service for your provider, add the records your provider gives you in the record editor.
Have more questions?
If you have additional questions or need any assistance with one-click services, contact support, and we’ll be happy to help. You can also read more about DNSimple integrations.