What DNS actually does
When someone types yourbusiness.com.au into a browser, the browser asks DNS “what server is this domain on?” DNS replies with an IP address (e.g. 104.21.42.18), and the browser connects there. The same lookup happens for email, but via different DNS records.
The records that matter
| Record | What it does |
|---|---|
A | Maps your domain to a server IP address. The main record for your website. |
CNAME | An alias from one name to another (e.g. www → yourbusiness.com.au). |
MX | Where your email is delivered. For Axigen-hosted email this points to ax.email. |
TXT | Text records. Used for SPF, DKIM, DMARC (email security), and domain verification. |
NS | Which DNS servers are authoritative for your domain. |
Why DNS changes take time
DNS is cached across the internet, servers everywhere remember what they looked up so they don't have to ask again. When you change a record, that change takes minutes to hours to propagate as caches expire.
Typical propagation: 5 minutes to 1 hour for most networks. Up to 24-48 hours for the slowest ISP caches. We design migration cutovers around this, for example, on email migrations we keep the old server live until the new one is fully receiving mail.
Who manages your DNS?
Depending on how your site was set up:
- Cloudflare, most Jezweb sites use Cloudflare as the DNS provider. The DNS records live in your Cloudflare account.
- Your domain registrar, if your domain is at Crazy Domains, GoDaddy, Synergy Wholesale or similar, DNS might be managed there.
- Us, we make the changes on your behalf when you need something updated.
If you need a DNS change (adding a TXT for a third-party tool, pointing a subdomain somewhere, troubleshooting email delivery), tell us what you want to achieve and we'll handle the record changes. We've seen every common mistake, it's safer for us to make the change.
Why we don't recommend self-service DNS edits: a single wrong character in a TXT record can break your entire email setup or mark your site as untrusted by browsers. We're happy to make changes for you fast, that's safer than experimenting.