Website ownership
What is DNS?
DNS, the Domain Name System, is the system that lets applications look up information associated with a domain name, including where to connect for a website and which servers receive its email.
By Plainview WebReviewed
The meaning
DNS stores different kinds of records for different jobs. A and AAAA records give network addresses; a CNAME makes one name an alias of another. MX records identify receiving mail servers. TXT records can hold verification information and email policies. One domain can therefore use separate providers for its website and email.
The authoritative nameservers hold the domain's DNS records. A resolver looks up answers for a visitor's device and can cache them. A record's time to live, or TTL, tells resolvers how long to keep a cached answer. After a change, some visitors may still receive an earlier answer until the relevant cache expires. There is no single countdown that guarantees every device has refreshed.
An example
Example: moving a fictional website while keeping email
Website name: www.example.com
Website destination: the new host's supplied record
Email provider: unchanged
Email routing and authentication records: retainedA fictional publisher is replacing its website host while keeping its existing mailboxes. Its maintainer identifies the records used by the website and makes the change required by the new host. The mail service and its required records remain in place.
If the project also changes DNS providers, the maintainer must account for the full record set at the new provider, including mail and verification records. Copying only the website record would miss those other services. This is a planning example, not a DNS configuration to paste into an account.
When it matters
Before a launch or hosting move, identify who manages DNS, which services depend on it and who can approve the change. The account may belong to the registrar, hosting provider or a separate DNS provider. Keep a record of the current settings and agree how the website and email will be checked afterward.
A successful DNS lookup is only one part of a working website. The destination must also be configured to serve that name, provide HTTPS and handle the intended pages. If the old site still appears, investigate the records, caches and hosting configuration rather than assuming that waiting will fix every problem.
A common confusion
Changing website hosting does not require moving email
Website and email records serve different purposes. They can continue pointing to different providers after a redesign. That does not make every change harmless: changing nameservers, removing an old hosting package that also provides mail, or deleting email records can interrupt delivery. Decide what is moving before changing settings.