DNS (Domain Name System) is the internet's phone book: it translates a name like yourdomain.com into the IP address a browser needs to actually connect to a server. Every time someone types your domain or clicks a link to it, their computer runs a lookup through a chain of DNS servers before a single byte of your site loads. If that chain is misconfigured, your site, email, or subdomains stop resolving, even though the hosting itself is fine.
The resolution chain, step by step
When someone visits yourdomain.com, here's what happens before the page loads:
- Browser cache check. The browser checks if it already knows the answer from a recent visit.
- Recursive resolver. If not cached, the request goes to a recursive resolver, usually run by the visitor's ISP or a public resolver like 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8.
- Root and TLD servers. The resolver asks the DNS root servers who's authoritative for
.com, then asks the.comTLD servers who's authoritative foryourdomain.comspecifically. - Nameservers. The TLD server points back to your domain's nameservers, the ones on file at your registrar. These are the authoritative source of truth for your domain's DNS records.
- The answer. Your nameservers return the actual record, most often an A record pointing at a server IP. The resolver hands that IP back to the browser, which connects and requests the page.
This entire chain typically resolves in well under a second, and results get cached at multiple points along the way, which is why DNS changes don't appear instantly everywhere at once.
Nameservers: who's authoritative for your domain
Nameservers are the servers that hold your domain's actual DNS records. Pointing a domain at a nameserver pair is how you tell the entire internet "ask these servers what my DNS should say." Get the wrong pair, or leave stale ones from a previous host, and none of your records matter, because nobody's asking the servers you're actually editing.
Flashcloud domains on shared and WordPress hosting use ns1.flashcloud.com and ns2.flashcloud.com, backed by Cloudflare's anycast network. VPS and Dedicated Server customers get a per-server nameserver pair instead. See our nameservers and DNS provider for the exact pattern and why the split exists. If your domain is registered with us, the right nameservers are set automatically when you order hosting; if it's registered elsewhere, you'll need to update them at your current registrar.
Records: the actual instructions
Once a resolver reaches your nameservers, it's reading individual DNS records, each one answering a specific kind of question. The common ones:
- A record maps a name to an IPv4 address. This is what makes
yourdomain.compoint at a specific server. - AAAA record is the same thing for IPv6.
- CNAME maps a name to another name, commonly used so
www.yourdomain.comresolves as an alias of the root domain. CNAMEs can't live on the root (@) itself. - MX record tells the world where to deliver email for your domain, pointing at a mail server rather than a webserver.
- TXT record holds arbitrary text, used for things like SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and domain ownership verification.
Every record also carries a TTL (time-to-live), which tells resolvers how long to cache the value before checking again. A short TTL means faster propagation when you make changes; a long TTL means less repeated lookup traffic but a slower rollout of edits. For the full editor workflow and a deeper rundown of each record type, see DNS records and how to manage them.
Why changes take time to show up everywhere
DNS propagation isn't a single event, it's every cache along the resolution chain independently expiring and re-querying on its own TTL. Your nameservers might update in a minute, but a visitor whose ISP cached your old A record with a 24-hour TTL won't see the change until that cache expires. This is normal and not a sign anything is broken. If you're about to make a significant change (switching hosts, changing mail providers), it's worth lowering the TTL on the relevant records a day or two ahead of time, so the eventual cutover propagates faster.
Where DNS fits with the rest of your domain
DNS records control where traffic goes, but they're separate from who legally owns the domain. Ownership and contact details (registrant, admin, tech, billing) are managed independently, covered in domain contacts. And if you're running more than one site off a single hosting account, addon domains, aliases, and subdomains each interact with DNS differently. That's covered in addon domains, aliases, and subdomains.
When to contact support
If you've pointed your domain at the correct nameservers, waited a reasonable propagation window, and it still isn't resolving, or an MX/TXT change for email isn't taking effect, open a ticket from Support → New ticket in the portal. Include the domain name and what you changed; a real person will check the zone and the propagation status directly rather than guessing from the outside.