DNS for Designers

DNS is an often mis-understood portion of the website design process.  Domain names were created so that users didn't need to memorize raw IP addresses (66.102.7.99) in order to access web pages.  Now we can all use the simple domain names (http://google.com) to access our favorite websites.

Domain names as they relate to the web design process usually involve the designer getting access to the client's domain name registrar (GoDaddy, Register.com, Network Solutions). Once you have the login information for that service you can then direct the domain name to wherever the website is hosted.

There are a few ways that you can "point" the domain name to the server you are hosting the website on.  The simplest way is to modify the nameservers (ns1.yourwebhost.com) to your new website server.  These values are typically easily obtained from your new web host.  A more advanced method is needed when you are only directing the website to a new host, but leaving their email with their previous provider.  In this scenario you would leave the nameservers alone and directly modify the DNS records for the domain.  To "point" the main website you want to modify the A-record that was associated with the domain.  The value of this record would need to be changed from the current IP address (For example 66.102.7.99) to the new IP address.

Though there are various ways DNS can be setup this at least gives you an overview on what you need to know about DNS.