What is DNS in simple terms?

The Domain Name System, or DNS, translates names such as example.com into technical destinations that computers can use. A browser asks a DNS resolver where the domain should go, receives a record such as an IP address, and then connects to the corresponding server. This keeps people from having to remember numerical addresses.

DNS holds several types of records. Address records direct web traffic, MX records identify mail servers, and TXT records publish text used for verification and email policies. CNAME records make one hostname an alias of another. Each record has a time to live that tells resolvers how long they may cache the answer.

DNS does not store the website or deliver the page itself. It directs requests toward services that do that work. The domain registrar records who controls the domain, nameservers identify where its DNS zone is managed, and the hosting server stores or generates the website. These roles can belong to different companies.

When changing DNS, edit the authoritative zone and preserve records for services you are not moving. Public tools can show the answer currently returned by different resolvers. If a change seems inconsistent, check the nameservers, record type, hostname, and cached time to live before making another edit.