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What Is DNS?

DNS (Domain Name System) is the address book of the internet. It's how your browser knows where to find a website when you type its name. Here's the plain-language version.

DNS turns names into addresses

When you type yourbusiness.com into your browser, your computer doesn't know where that is. DNS looks it up and finds the IP address of the server where the site lives, then sends you there.

It happens automatically in about a second. See What is an IP address?.

Think of it like a phone book

  • Your domain is a person's name.
  • Your IP address is their phone number.
  • DNS is the phone book that lets you find the number from the name.

What DNS records do

DNS holds a set of records that point things in the right direction:

  • A record — points your domain to your server.
  • MX record — tells where your email goes.
  • CNAME — points a subdomain to another name.
  • TXT — stores text, used for email protection and verification.

See The complete guide to DNS records for the full rundown.

Why it matters

A note on "propagation"

When you change a DNS record, it takes a few minutes to 48 hours to spread across the internet. This is called propagation, and it's normal. See DNS not working.

Related: What is a domain name? and Nameservers explained.