DNS

The system that translates a company’s domain into technical addresses pointing to its website, email and other services.

What it means in practice

DNS (Domain Name System) connects your company’s domain to the correct servers: which server delivers the website, which servers receive email and which records authenticate outgoing messages (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Incorrect DNS configuration can take the website offline or send professional email to spam even when the content is correct.

An everyday example

A company changes website hosting. The domain stays the same, but someone needs to update the DNS record identifying where the website is. If that change accidentally deletes email records, the new website opens normally while email silently stops arriving. That is why every DNS change starts with a copy of the current records.

Signs this already matters to your company

• The website opens, but company email goes to spam or does not arrive
• Nobody knows where the domain’s DNS is managed
• A hosting change took something offline
• The domain needs to point to several services, such as the website, email and store

Frequently asked questions about DNS

How long does a DNS change take to take effect?

From a few minutes to a few hours. Each record has a cache duration (TTL), and internet providers fetch the new information only when that time expires. Reducing the TTL before migration shortens the wait.

Which DNS records does a company usually have?

The most common are A or CNAME, pointing to the website; MX, identifying where email goes; and TXT, used for SPF, DKIM and DMARC, which verify that email came from its claimed sender.

Where is my domain’s DNS?

At the service indicated by the domain’s name servers: this may be the registrar, hosting provider or a service such as Cloudflare. A WHOIS lookup shows which servers are in use.