DNS and Domains Explained: What They Are and Why Your Domain and DNS Might Be in Different Places

Let's be honest: someone just told you to "update your DNS records" and you nodded along while internally screaming.

You're running a business. You're great at what you actually do. But now you're staring at a screen full of A records, CNAME records, and nameservers, wondering if you accidentally opened a NASA control panel.

Here's the thing: DNS isn't as complicated as it looks. And once you understand the basics, you can handle most of these changes yourself without calling in a tech expert every time.

Quick answer: Your domain name is your website's address (like yourbusiness.com). DNS is the system that tells browsers where to find your website when someone types in that address. They're often managed in different places—and that's completely normal.

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What's a Domain Name (And Why Do You Own One)?

Your domain name is your address on the internet. That's it. For example, ours is chasinghoneyconsulting.com.

When someone types yourbusiness.com into their browser, they're looking for you. The domain is what people remember and type in. It's your digital real estate.

You bought your domain from a domain registrar. Maybe that was GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains (now Squarespace), or one of dozens of other companies. When you bought it, you became the owner of that name for however long you paid for it (usually a year at a time).

Here's what your domain registrar actually does:

They keep your domain registered in your name. They make sure no one else can claim yourbusiness.com while you own it. They manage your contact information and renewal dates.

That's pretty much it.

What the Hell is DNS?

DNS stands for Domain Name System, but that doesn't actually help you understand what it does.

Think of DNS like Google Maps for the internet. When someone types your domain name into their browser, DNS tells their computer the exact location where your website lives. Just like how you put "coffee shop near me" into Maps and it gives you the actual address, DNS translates yourbusiness.com into the specific server address where your site is hosted.

Your domain is the name. DNS is the directions.

Without DNS, typing yourbusiness.com into a browser would do nothing. DNS is what connects that name to the server where your website actually lives.

How DNS Actually Works (The Simple Version)

When someone visits your website, here's what happens in about half a second:

Step 1: They type yourbusiness.com into their browser.

Step 2: Their computer asks "where is yourbusiness.com?"

Step 3: DNS answers "it's at this specific server address."

Step 4: Their browser goes to that server and loads your website.

You don't see any of this happening. It just works. Until it doesn't, and then someone tells you to fix your DNS.

Why Your Domain and DNS Might Be in Different Places

Here's where it gets confusing for a lot of business owners.

You bought your domain from GoDaddy. But your developer says your DNS is managed in Cloudflare. Or your website is on Squarespace but your domain is still at Google. Or your email is through Microsoft 365 and they had you change something in your domain settings.

This is completely normal.

Your domain registrar (where you bought the domain) and your DNS provider (where you manage the directions) don't have to be the same company.

In fact, a lot of times they're not.

Why Would You Use Separate Services?

There are actually good reasons to keep your domain in one place and manage DNS somewhere else:

Better DNS features. Companies like Cloudflare offer faster, more reliable DNS than most domain registrars include by default. Free Cloudflare DNS is genuinely better than what comes with your $15/year GoDaddy domain.

Your website platform needs it. Some website builders and hosting companies require you to point your DNS to them. Shopify, Squarespace, and others often have you change your DNS settings to make your domain work with their platform.

Email services. If you use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for email, you'll need to add DNS records that prove you own the domain and route your email correctly.

You're working with a developer or agency. They might manage your DNS in a platform they're familiar with so they can make updates quickly without needing access to your GoDaddy account.

The Most Common DNS Records You'll Actually Touch

When you log into your DNS settings, you'll see a list of records. Most of them you'll never touch. Here are the ones that actually matter for most small businesses:

A Record

This points your domain to a specific server address (an IP address). If your website is hosted on a server somewhere, you'll have an A record that says "yourbusiness.com should go to this server."

When you'd change this: Moving your website to a new host, connecting your domain to a website builder, or if your hosting company changes servers.

Why You Might See Multiple A Records

Some platforms like Squarespace, Shopify, and other website builders will have you add 2-4 A records that all point to slightly different IP addresses.

For example, Squarespace might give you:

• 198.185.159.144

• 198.185.159.145

• 198.49.23.144

• 198.49.23.145

Notice they're almost identical, just one or two numbers different at the end.

Why do they do this? It's for reliability and speed. These are different servers in their network. If one goes down, your site automatically loads from another one. It also helps with load balancing—spreading traffic across multiple servers so no single server gets overwhelmed.

This is completely normal and actually a good thing. When a platform gives you multiple A records, add all of them exactly as they specify. Don't just pick one and think you're simplifying things—you need all of them for the redundancy to work.

CNAME Record

This creates an alias. It says "this name should point to that other name."

You'll often see CNAME records for things like www.yourbusiness.com (pointing to yourbusiness.com) or shop.yourbusiness.com (pointing to your Shopify store).

When you'd change this: Setting up subdomains, connecting third-party tools, or verifying ownership of your domain with a service.

CNAME vs Redirects: What's the Difference?

Here's where people get confused. A CNAME record and a redirect might seem like they do the same thing, but they work completely differently.

CNAME Record: This happens at the DNS level before anyone even sees a webpage. When someone types www.yourbusiness.com, DNS says "that's actually an alias for yourbusiness.com" and takes them there. The URL in their browser might stay as www.yourbusiness.com or change depending on how it's set up. No webpage loads first—it's all happening in the background.

Redirect (301 or 302): This happens after a webpage starts to load. Someone goes to oldname.com, a webpage loads for a split second, then immediately sends them to newname.com. You'll see the URL change in the browser. This is handled by your web server or website, not DNS.

When to use a CNAME: Setting up subdomains (like blog.yourbusiness.com pointing to your Medium page) or pointing www to your main domain.

When to use a 301 redirect (permanent): You changed your domain name and want oldsite.com to permanently redirect to newsite.com. Or you reorganized your website and /old-page/ should redirect to /new-page/. This tells search engines "this moved permanently, update your records."

When to use a 302 redirect (temporary): Running a temporary promotion page, doing A/B testing, or temporarily pointing traffic somewhere else. This tells search engines "don't update your records, this is just temporary."

The key difference: CNAME is for making one domain name point to another at the DNS level. Redirects are for sending visitors from one URL to another URL, and search engines pay attention to them differently.

MX Record

This handles your email. It tells the internet where to send emails addressed to you@yourbusiness.com.

When you'd change this: Setting up email through Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or any professional email service.

TXT Record

This is for verification and security. Services use TXT records to confirm you own the domain and to set up email authentication.

When you'd change this: Verifying your domain with basically any service (Google, Microsoft, Facebook), or setting up email security (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

How to Figure Out Where Your DNS Is Actually Managed

Not sure if your DNS is with your domain registrar or somewhere else? Here's how to find out.

Step 1: Log into where you bought your domain. This is usually GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains (Squarespace), or whoever charged your credit card when you registered the domain.

Step 2: Find your domain settings. Look for "DNS," "Nameservers," or "Domain Settings."

Step 3: Check your nameservers. You'll see 2-4 addresses that look like ns1.something.com.

If those nameservers belong to your domain registrar (like ns1.godaddy.com), your DNS is managed at your registrar.

If they point somewhere else (like ns1.cloudflare.com), your DNS is managed at that other service.

What Nameservers Actually Do

Nameservers are like the front desk at a hotel. When someone asks where to find your website, nameservers point them to whoever has the actual information about your DNS records.

When you change nameservers, you're saying "stop asking this company about my DNS and start asking this other company instead."

How to Use WHOIS to Find Your Domain Info

What if you honestly have no idea where you bought your domain? Maybe someone else set it up years ago, or you've switched credit cards and can't find the renewal emails.

This is where a WHOIS lookup comes in handy.

WHOIS is basically a public directory of domain ownership information. It'll tell you who registered the domain, when it expires, and most importantly, what nameservers it's using.

How to Do a WHOIS Lookup

Step 1: Go to a WHOIS lookup site. Use who.is, whois.domaintools.com, or just search "WHOIS lookup" and pick any reputable site.

Step 2: Type in your domain. Just the domain name, like yourbusiness.com.

Step 3: Read the results. You'll see a bunch of information. Here's what actually matters:

Registrar: This is the company where you bought the domain. Look for something like "Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC" or "Registrar: Namecheap, Inc." That's where you need to log in to manage your domain registration.

Name Servers: These tell you where your DNS is managed. If you see nameservers like ns1.cloudflare.com and ns2.cloudflare.com, your DNS is at Cloudflare. If they say ns1.godaddy.com, your DNS is at GoDaddy.

Registry Expiry Date: This is when your domain registration expires. If this date is coming up and you haven't gotten renewal notices, you need to track down your registrar account fast.

What If the Contact Info Is Hidden?

A lot of domains now use privacy protection, which hides your personal contact information from the public WHOIS directory. This is good for privacy, but it means the registrant information will show something like "Privacy Protection Service" instead of your name.

That's fine. You're not looking for your name anyway. You're looking for the registrar and the nameservers.

Still Can't Figure It Out?

If you find out your registrar but can't access the account, contact their support. You'll need to prove you own the domain (they'll usually ask you to send an email from the admin email address on file, or provide other verification).

If you literally cannot access the account and can't verify ownership, you might need to wait until the domain expires and re-register it. This is a last resort and messy, but it's an option if the domain is truly abandoned.

Making DNS Changes Without Breaking Everything

Most of the time, when you need to make DNS changes, the platform you're setting up will give you step-by-step instructions. They'll tell you exactly what type of record to create, what name to use, and what value to enter.

Here's what that process usually looks like:

Step 1: The platform gives you DNS records. They'll say something like "Add this A record" or "Create a TXT record with this value." Screenshot these or keep the tab open.

Step 2: Log into wherever your DNS is managed. This might be your domain registrar or a separate DNS provider like Cloudflare.

Step 3: Find the DNS records section. Look for "DNS Management," "DNS Records," "Advanced DNS," or something similar.

Step 4: Add the new record. There's usually an "Add Record" or "Add New Record" button. Select the type they told you to use (A, CNAME, TXT, etc.), then copy and paste what they gave you.

Step 5: Save and wait. DNS changes can take a few minutes to a few hours to work everywhere. Don't panic if it doesn't work immediately.

Things That Can Go Wrong (And How to Avoid Them)

Sometimes you need to replace a record, not just add one. Here's the thing: for certain record types like A records or MX records, you should usually only have one set pointing to one place.

If you're moving your website to a new host and they tell you to add an A record, check if you already have one. You'll probably need to replace the old A record with the new one, not have both.

Exception: Some platforms like Squarespace will give you multiple A records (usually 2-4) that all point to their service. In that case, you need all of them. But you shouldn't have A records pointing to two different services at once.

Same with MX records for email. If you're switching from one email provider to another, you need to replace the old MX records with the new ones.

The good news? The platform you're setting up will usually tell you exactly what to do. They'll say "Replace your existing A record with this one" or "Delete any existing MX records and add these." Read their instructions carefully.

Don't randomly delete records you don't recognize. If there's a DNS record that's not related to what you're changing, leave it alone. If you're updating your website's A record and there's a random TXT record sitting there, don't touch it. It's probably for email verification or something else that's working fine.

TTL doesn't usually matter. You'll see something called TTL (Time to Live) when adding records. The default is fine. If someone specifically told you to use a certain TTL, use theirs. Otherwise, ignore it.

@ means your root domain. If instructions say to point something at "@" or leave the name field blank, that means your main domain (yourbusiness.com, not www.yourbusiness.com).

Check for typos. Copy and paste the values instead of typing them. One wrong character and it won't work.

When DNS and Domains Get Messy

The most common way this gets confusing is when you've changed providers over the years and no one documented what went where.

Maybe you bought your domain at GoDaddy five years ago. Then a developer moved your DNS to Cloudflare. Then you switched to Squarespace for your website. Then you set up Google Workspace for email. Now you're not sure who's managing what.

Here's how to untangle it:

Your domain registration is wherever you're getting renewal notices. Check your email for "domain renewal" and see who's sending those emails.

Your DNS is wherever your nameservers point. Log into your domain registrar and check the nameservers to see where your DNS is actually managed.

Your website hosting is separate from both of those. Your website files live on whatever platform you built your site on (Squarespace, WordPress, Shopify, etc.).

Your email is also separate. Even though it uses your domain name, your email is hosted by whoever you pay for email service.

These can all be managed in different places and that's fine. It's not ideal for simplicity, but it works.

Do You Actually Need to Switch Everything to One Place?

Not necessarily.

If everything is working and you can figure out where to make changes when you need to, there's no urgent reason to consolidate.

But if you're constantly confused about where to go to update something, consolidating can make your life easier.

You could:

Keep your domain registration where it is (especially if you have a good renewal price locked in) but move DNS management to Cloudflare for free. This gives you better DNS performance and a simpler interface for making changes.

Move everything to your website platform if they offer domain registration and DNS management. Some platforms like Squarespace and Shopify let you transfer your domain to them so everything's in one place.

Keep DNS where it is but document where everything is. Make a simple spreadsheet that says "Domain registered at: GoDaddy. DNS managed at: Cloudflare. Website on: Squarespace. Email through: Google Workspace." Future you will thank you.

Common DNS and Domain Questions

Can I break my website by changing DNS records?

Worst case, something temporarily doesn't work and you undo the change. You're not going to permanently break anything. DNS changes are reversible.

How long do DNS changes take to work?

Usually anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to a few days. The change might work immediately for you but take longer for someone across the country. This is called DNS propagation, and it's normal.

Do I need to be technical to manage my own DNS?

Not really. If you can copy and paste, you can handle basic DNS changes. The platform you're connecting will give you step-by-step instructions. You just need to know where to go to make those changes.

What happens if I accidentally delete the wrong DNS record?

Most DNS management interfaces keep a history or let you undo recent changes. If something stops working after you make a change, just reverse what you did. Contact your DNS provider's support if you need help restoring something or take a screenshot of your records BEFORE you start making changes.

Should I move my DNS to Cloudflare even if everything is working?

Only if you want faster DNS or an easier interface. If everything works fine and you know where to make changes when needed, there's no urgent reason to move it.

The Bottom Line

Your domain is your address. DNS is the directions to find you. They don't have to be managed in the same place.

When you need to make DNS changes, the platform requesting the change will almost always give you step-by-step instructions. You just need to know where your DNS is actually managed so you know where to make those changes.

Most small business owners can handle basic DNS updates themselves. You're not going to break the internet. The worst that happens is something doesn't work, and you undo the change.

And if you're staring at your DNS settings right now and still feel lost? That's what we help with. Send us a message and we'll figure it out together.