Written by Guest Blogger: Chris Bibby
All computers and other devices that are connected to the internet have what is known as an IP address. It is a sequence of numbers that allows other devices on the internet to communicate with it. An IP address will look something like 192.168.0.1
Because remembering numbers like this is difficult for humans, the DNS translates human-readable names into IP addresses.
It is a bit like the internets telephone directory. If you enter a domain name, like www.mywebsite.com a DNS lookup will return the IP address that matches that domain.
It sounds kind of complex, but it is really that simple.
What does DNS stand for?
DNS is an abbreviation for Domain Name System
What is DNS hosting?
DNS is a distributed system, what that means is many different DNS servers connect together to make up the DNS.
It is similar to how many web servers connect together to make up the worldwide web.
Just as a web host will host your website, a DNS host will host the directory records that allow a human-readable name to be translated into your website address.
Wait. Isn’t web hosting and DNS hosting the same thing?
DNS hosting can be different from your web host. Whilst DNS does hold records that point to your website, it also points to other services like your email.
Whilst some web hosts will also host your DNS, it is a separate service and can sometimes be hosted by different companies. In many instances, it will be hosted by the company you registered your domain with.
To change where your DNS is hosted, it needs to be changed with the domain registrar, not your web hosting provider.
What is a domain registrar?
A domain registrar is a company that is authorised to issue domain names, and in most cases is the company that bought your domain name from.
I don’t know who my domain registrar is?
If you don’t know who you registered your domain name with, it will be the company that sends you a renewal notice and bill every couple of years for a .com.au and every year for a .com domain.
So if you search through your emails for “domain renewal” you should be able to find your registrar. If your website is online and you’re getting emails, you’ve been paying the renewals!
If you get stuck locating your domain registrar, please get in touch with us so we can help.
What details do we need to build your website?
As we will need to update the DNS to allow your domain name to point to your new website on our servers, we will need access to your domain registrar account so we can update the name servers to point to ours.
For your convenience you can send us your DNS records securely through this form below, this will be sent directly to our developer for their records only.
This also means that when your new website is live, you can cancel your existing web hosting, and DNS hosting as we include DNS hosting in all of our plans. To learn more about CLPSites, get a quote or sign up for one of our Small Business Packages click the button below and fill in the form.
DNS Login Details
Use this handy secure form to send us your DNS details.