DNS stands for Domain Name System.

DNS is the internet’s “phonebook.” You use DNS everyday when connecting to the internet. However, many people do not realize how DNS is used or why it’s important.

In order to connect to the internet, you must have a way to translate an IP Address into a real domain name (such as infoceptor.com) in order to serve you content.

When you type a domain name into your web browser (infoceptor.com), your computer sends a DNS request to a nameserver that is waiting for you to make this request.

The nameserver will look up the IP address based on the domain name you used and send it back to your computer so that your web browser can display it.

DNS translates domain names to IP addresses so browsers can load Internet content.

As you are reading this article, your computer is looking up several nameservers to understand what the domain name “infoceptor.com” actually means and find the IP address that is associated with it.

In order for a website to work, there must be an IP address corresponding to its DNS entry.

Every device connected to the Internet has its own IP address, which other machines use to find it.

DNS servers are the links between IP addresses and domain names, they eliminate the need for memorizing long IP addresses, such as 2426.001.120 (IPv4), or more complex newer IPv6 addresses such as 581f:752e:5837:6097:a557:615a:1a88:85db

That’s why DNS truly is the phonebook of the internet.

Think of it as the contact list on your cell phone, but for the whole internet.

How does DNS work?

When you enter a domain name into your web browser, such as infoceptor.com, it sends a DNS request to one of many rotating nameservers waiting for this request.

The nameserver will look up the IP address based on the domain name you used and send it back to your computer so that your web browser can display it.

A domain name and its corresponding IPs are called “DNS records”, often abbreviated as DNS.

Let’s break down the process further to see how DNS works.

Let’s say you type in infoceptor.com into your web browser, here’s how DNS works to deliver our website and content to your computer:

1) Your web browser queries the nameservers for infoceptor.com. The nearest nameserver that get the request will reply with its IP address and some metadata.

This process occurs in milliseconds when you visit a new website.

DNS servers can also act on behalf of each other helping load times because they cache results from previous requests from websites you visited before.

2) The nameserver finds the IP of the server that hosts infoceptor.com and sends it to your browser.

3) Your web browser then makes an HTTP request for www.infoceptor.com and begins to load the website content (HTML, CSS, etc.) that resides on the server where Infoceptor is hosted.

The nameserver will work hard to reply quickly if it knows your IP address because it remembers you from a previous loading session. Your IP address will also be added to its cache.

4) The nameserver will send the content of infoceptor.com back to your browser, which then displays that content on your computer screen.

The DNS process is exactly the same no matter the website you connect to.

Types of DNS servers

There are four types of DNS servers involved in loading a website to your computer from the moment you type a domain name into your browser.

Let’s explore them to better understand how DNS works.

DNS recursor – A DNS recursor is the DNS server that initially processes your request. For example, when you type in infoceptor.com to your web browser or mobile device, it will reach out to nameservers (DNS servers) and ask for infoceptor.com’s IP address.

Root nameserver – The root nameserver is the nameserver that answers all DNS queries. It doesn’t really matter if it is an A record (IP) or a CNAME, etc., because the root nameserver will answer all DNS requests. When you type in www.infoceptor.com into your web browser, instead of letting your computer ask infoceptor.com’s nameservers directly it will have the root nameserver answer first.

TLD nameserver – A TLD (top level domain) nameserver is used to cache nameserver records from the root nameservers on behalf of TLD’s. This helps cut down the load time for repeated DNS requests because a TLD nameserver will remember all domain names that use these top level domains (TLDs).

Authoritative nameserver – An authoritative nameserver is a nameserver that is authoritative for the domain name you’re visiting. For example, if you type in infoceptor.com into your web browser, it will ask the nameserver information on www.infoceptor.com. The authoritative nameserver will return the IP address back to the DNS recursor that made the initial request.

What are nameservers?

Nameservers are the authoritative DNS servers for a domain.

Websites and online applications are hosted online by servers. A server is a computer that stores and delivers websites to other computers around the world.

A nameserver is a type of server that stores DNS records for domain names.

When someone types in a domain name on their web browser, the nameserver (aka DNS server) provides all of the DNS information of that domain name to the browser in order to load the domain’s website.

Nameservers are usually managed by a web hosting company, domain registrar company, or a DNS provider.

One of our favorite WordPress hosting companies, Skystra, uses the following nameservers:

ns1.skystradns.com

ns2.skystradns.com

ns3.skystradns.com

That means all domain names hosted on Skystra servers, except for those using external DNS services, will use these nameservers as their DNS

All domain names on the internet have a minimum of two nameservers, this is so that if a nameserver fails the other can act on its behalf and keep the website online.

Nameserver redundancy is what ensures the continuity of website content in case one of these servers goes offline or becomes unavailable for any reason.

Depending on the web hosting provider, there can be more than two nameservers.

At Skystra, domains get three nameservers. Other web hosting providers might have two, four, or even five nameservers.

How to change nameservers

One of the advantages of DNS is that it allows you to move your website hosting service while retaining your domain name.

Most domain registrars and web hosting companies provide easy to use tools for changing nameservers.

When you’re starting a new website, we recommend registering your domain name at your web hosting company, it simplifies the DNS process by automatically setting up your nameservers.

Sometimes website owners prefer to keep their domain name registration and web hosting separate, and that is totally fine.

To change nameservers at your domain name registrar, you simply log in to your account, find the area where you edit nameservers, and then type in your web hosting provider’s nameservers.

Updating nameservers is very straightforward and easy to do.

We’ll show you an example of how to update your nameservers using GoDaddy as our domain registrar and Skystra as our WordPress hosting company.

If you registered your domain name at GoDaddy and host your website at Skystra, follow these steps to update your nameservers at GoDaddy to point them to Skystra.

At GoDaddy, click on the Domain Manager from your main menu.

Find your domain name, click on the 3 dots and select Manage DNS.

Scroll down to Advanced Tools > Change nameservers of this domain.

Add the three nameservers from Skystra to your domain name at GoDaddy.

Remember to remove any old nameservers at GoDaddy before adding the Skystra ones.

When you update nameservers, remember it can take up to 24 hours for the changes on DNS records to propagate globally.

Besides nameservers, there are many other types of common DNS records, such as:

We’ll cover each one and show you how to add them on your web hosting control panel.

What are TXT records?

TXT records are a type of DNS record used for many different purposes, usually related to verification.

Common types of TXT records are SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (Domain Key Identified Mail) which provide an extra layer of encryption for outgoing mail to improve email security and deliverability.

When you manage a domain name on your web hosting control panel or domain registrar, there will always be a DNS management area where you can add TXT records to your domain name.

Add TXT records to your DNS

If you’re hosting at Skystra, follow these steps to add TXT records to your domain name’s DNS records.

Go to your cPanel account.

Click on DNS Zone Editor under Domains.

Next to your domain name, click on Manage

On the DNS entry page, click the down arrow on the Add Record button and select TXT.

Fill in your TXT record and hit the Add Record button to save.

What are MX records?

MX (Mail Exchanger) records are another type of DNS record that allows you to define the recipient email host for a domain name.

With MX records, you can also route your email to different locations and email programs.

Common MX records are for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, which routes your domain name’s email through these third-party email providers on Google or Microsoft servers.

Add MX records to your DNS

To add MX records to your domain name’s DNS records, follow these steps:

Go to your cPanel account and select DNS Zone Editor.

Next to your domain name, click on Manage.

On the DNS entry page, click the down arrow on the Add Record button and select MX.

Put in your MX record(s) and press Add record to save the MX records to your domain name.

What are CNAME records?

CNAME (Canonical Name) records are another type of DNS record that allows you to have one domain name point to another.

CNAMES allow you to use a subdomain and point it back to your main domain name. For example, you can create a subdomain like blog.yoursite.com that points back to yoursite.com.

Add CNAME records to your DNS

Follow these steps to add CNAME records to your domain name’s DNS records.

Go to your cPanel account and select DNS Zone Editor under Domains.

Next to your domain name, click on Manage.

On the DNS entry page, click the down arrow on the Add Record button and select CNAME.

Fill in your CNAME record and hit the Add Record button to save.

Like with TXT records, MX records and other types of DNS record, CNAME records take up to 24 hours to propagate globally.

FAQ

We hope our guide has helped you understand how DNS works.

We get questions on DNS and nameservers pretty often, here’s an overview of some common questions along with answers.

Is DNS free?

Yes, basic DNS management is free at web hosting providers and domain registrars. DNS comes set by default when you register your domain name.

To manage your domain name’s DNS records, you’ll need to use the DNS Zone Editor feature from a web management platform such as cPanel.

What is paid DNS?

Paid DNS means you’re purchasing your nameservers from a third-party provider, rather than using the ones provided by a web hosting provider or domain registrar.

Paid nameservers allow you to manage all of your domains from one location and make it easier to set up 301 redirects and other site configurations. Another benefit with paid nameservers is that you can set up nameservers for your domains across multiple hosts.

You can do this by pointing each domain to a different host. For example, if you owned yoursite.com and yoursite.net, then you could have them point to different servers respectively through paid nameservers from a paid DNS provider.

Popular paid DNS providers are :

How do I set up a domain name to use paid DNS?

If you choose to use a paid nameserver, you’ll need to configure your domain name’s DNS records so they’re pointed to the paid DNS provider.

The instructions will vary by DNS provider.

Is free DNS or paid DNS better?

Paid DNS will cost you money on a monthly or yearly basis and can provide advanced features and redundancy for your website and online presence.

For medium to large sized businesses, paid DNS can be helpful because of the extra level of control and stability.

For example, paid nameservers make it easy to set up custom redirects and other fine-tuning that is normally time consuming however easy with paid DNS.

If you plan to host multiple websites and set up 301 redirects, then paid DNS is the way to go.

If not, then free DNS will work just as fine. When in doubt, stick to free DNS provided by your web hosting company.

When should I use free DNS vs paid DNS?

You should use free DNS when:

You should use paid DNS when:

What is DNS caching?

DNS caching is a feature that DNS providers offer to speed up your website and reduce the number of queries made to find servers.

When a browser makes a request for a website, it first checks its cache before making actual queries to DNS providers. If the DNS provider’s caching is set up properly, then this can significantly improve page load times (especially if you have a lot of traffic).

Some web hosting providers will set up DNS caching for you, but if they do not, then it’s simple enough to configure on your own without the help of your web host.

When setting up a nameserver or using paid DNS services, make sure that the nameservers are properly configured to use a content delivery network (CDN).

In other words, if you use a CDN like Cloudflare, make sure that the nameservers are set up to work with Cloudflare.

How do I find my DNS?

To find your DNS settings, follow these steps:

Log into your control panel at your web hosting provider and look for the DNS Manager Editor tab or button.

If you’re not sure where to find it, check with your web host’s support team or search for “DNS” on your account’s dashboard.

Look under the nameservers column to find your primary and secondary nameservers.

If you’d like to know the DNS configuration or nameservers of a domain name of any domain name on the internet, you can use intomydns.com.

Type in the domain name into the search bar and the nameservers will be listed next to Domain NS records right at the top.

You will also find MX and TXT records (if any) listed.