What is DNS (and why it matters for your website)?

DNS (the Domain Name System) is like the internet's phone book: it translates your easy-to-remember domain name into the address computers use to find your website. It works quietly in the background — until you need to change something.

When DNS matters to you

• •Launching your site or pointing your domain to a new host.
• •Setting up business email at your domain.
• •Verifying your site with tools like Google Search Console.

The main thing to know

Keep control of your domain and its DNS settings (in your own account), and changes can take a little time to take effect worldwide. With a managed setup, DNS is configured for you — one less technical thing to wrestle with.