A plain-language explanation of DNS, why it matters for your website and email, and common DNS issues we help resolve.
DNS stands for Domain Name System. Think of it as the internet's phone book — it translates human-readable domain names (like yourbusiness.com) into IP addresses (like 192.0.2.44) that computers use to find each other. Without DNS, you'd need to remember a string of numbers to visit every website.
The DNS Records That Matter to Your Business
- A record: Points your domain to your website's server IP address. This is the most fundamental record.
- CNAME record: Creates an alias — for example, pointing www.yourbusiness.com to yourbusiness.com.
- MX record: Directs email for your domain to the right mail server. Wrong MX records = email stops working.
- TXT record: Used for email verification (SPF, DKIM), Google Search Console verification, and other third-party service authentication.
Why DNS Changes Take Time
When you update a DNS record, the change doesn't appear instantly everywhere. DNS records have a "TTL" (Time to Live) value — typically 1–48 hours — that tells other servers how long to cache the old record before checking for updates. This propagation delay is normal and expected; it's not something that can be bypassed.
Common DNS Issues We Fix
- Email not delivering after a domain change or migration.
- Website showing "connection refused" or loading the wrong site after a domain transfer.
- Google or Microsoft requiring a TXT record added for verification.
- SSL certificate errors caused by incorrect CNAME records.
If you're experiencing any of these, submit a ticket under Technical & Integrations → DNS Issue and include a screenshot of any error messages you're seeing.