Solacehost - FAQ: DNS propagation

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DNS Propagation: Why Your Solacehost Site Might Take a Little While

You’ve just signed up for Solacehost, our managed Hugo hosting, and you’re eager to see your blazing-fast site live. You might be wondering, “Why isn’t my site up yet? I just registered!” The answer lies in something called DNS propagation.

What is DNS?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a critical part of how the internet works. Every website has a unique numerical address called an IP address (e.g., 192.0.2.1). DNS translates human-readable domain names (like yourwebsite.com) into these IP addresses, allowing web browsers to connect to the correct servers.

When someone types yourwebsite.com into their browser, their computer queries a DNS server to find the corresponding IP address. The DNS server then provides the IP address, enabling the browser to access your website.

DNS Propagation: The Delay

When DNS records are updated (as we do when configuring your Solacehost site), these changes don’t propagate instantly across the entire internet. Instead, the updates spread gradually, a process called DNS propagation.

DNS servers around the world cache (store) DNS records to speed up lookups. When DNS is updated, these cached records need to be refreshed.

This update process can take anywhere from a few minutes to a maximum of 72 hours, though it’s usually much faster these days (often within a few hours). The time it takes depends on several factors, including:

  • TTL (Time To Live): This setting on DNS records determines how long DNS servers are allowed to cache the information. A lower TTL means more frequent updates but also more load on DNS servers. We manage these settings for you at Solacehost.
  • ISP Caching: Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) also caches DNS records and may have its own update schedules.
  • Registry Updates: Sometimes, the domain registrar itself needs to update its records, which can add a little extra time.

What does this mean for your Solacehost site?

During DNS propagation, some people might be able to access your website while others can’t. This is because different DNS servers will have different versions of your DNS records.

What can you do?

Since Solacehost manages your DNS settings, you don’t need to worry about configuring records. However, there’s one crucial step you must take: ensure you’ve updated your domain’s nameservers to the ones provided in your Solacehost onboarding email. This directs the internet to the correct location for your website’s DNS information. This is the most common reason for delays. Your domain registrar (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap) is where you’ll make this change.

After confirming your nameserver update, you can:

  • Be patient: Most of the time, the propagation is complete within a few hours.
  • Use a DNS checker: There are online tools that let you check the status of your DNS propagation from different locations around the world. This can give you an idea of how far along the process is.

At Solacehost, we handle the DNS configuration on our end to ensure your Hugo site is ready to go as soon as your DNS propagates. We’re here to help if you have any questions or concerns during this process. Just reach out to our support team!