How does a domain name work? A plain-English explanation

You've bought mybusiness.com, and now people are talking to you about DNS, A records, propagation… None of it is complicated once you've grasped a single idea: a domain name is a directory. Here is how it works, what you need to know for your website — and what is already taken care of for you at Leopar.

A domain name is a phone number with a name on it

On the Internet, every server has an address made of numbers, for example 15.237.40.212. Nobody wants to remember that. The domain name puts a readable name in front of it: when you type mybusiness.com, your browser first asks a directory “what is the numeric address behind this name?”, then connects to that address.

That directory is called the DNS (Domain Name System). There isn't just one directory but thousands, each copying the others — which is why a change sometimes takes a few hours to be seen everywhere. This is called propagation.

Buying a domain doesn't mean buying it forever

A domain name is rented by the year from a registrar (Gandi, GoDaddy, Namecheap…). As long as you pay, it's yours and nobody can take it. If you forget to renew, it becomes available again after a grace period — and someone else can register it. This is the number one thing to watch: always turn on automatic renewal.

Want to know whether a name is available? Checking whether a domain name is available takes ten seconds. And if the price surprises you, this guide explains what lies behind a “cheap” domain.

DNS records: the only lines of the directory that concern you

Your domain's “DNS zone” is a list of lines. Each line says: for this purpose, go to this address. Here are the four types you'll come across, and what they do.

A	“The website is here.” It points the name to the numeric address of the server hosting your site. This is the line that makes your website exist.
CNAME	“This name is an alias of another one.” For example www.mybusiness.com pointing to mybusiness.com.
MX	“Mail arrives here.” It designates the server that receives e-mails sent to @mybusiness.com. It has nothing to do with the website, only with e-mail.
TXT	A free-form note, read by services to check that the domain really is yours (Google, e-mail senders…).

The main thing to remember: for a website to show up, you need an A record pointing to the right server. Everything else is optional.

Why “it's not working yet” right after a change

Every DNS line carries a validity period (the TTL, often one hour). Intermediate directories keep the old answer until that period expires. The result: you change a record, your neighbour already sees the new site, and you still see the old one. That's not a fault. In the vast majority of cases everything is aligned in under an hour; allow up to 24 h in extreme cases.

Two simple reflexes: clear your browser cache, or test from your phone on 4G (which doesn't use the same directory as your home router).

With or without “www”?

Both must work, and one must redirect to the other — otherwise Google sees two identical websites. The current practice is to make mybusiness.com the main address, and www.mybusiness.com a redirect to it. Technically: an A record on the bare name, a CNAME on www, and a redirect on the server side.

What Leopar does for you

When you get a website with Leopar, the domain name is included and registered in your name: we register it, we set the A record to your dedicated server, we enable HTTPS, and renewal is automatic for as long as your site is online. You never open a DNS zone.

Already have a domain with another registrar? You keep it: we send you the one line to change there (an A record pointing to your server's address), and your site is visible on a trial address until propagation is complete. Rebuilding your website while keeping your domain walks through that switch.

One thing we don't do, and would rather tell you upfront: Leopar doesn't provide an e-mail mailbox on your domain name. The website, yes; e-mail, no.

Frequently asked questions

Can I switch hosting providers and keep my domain name?
Yes, always. The domain and the hosting are two separate things: changing host simply means changing the A record, nothing more.

My domain expires in three days, what happens?
Renew it right away. Once it expires, the website stops, then the name becomes available to anyone after the grace period.

How long before a new domain works?
A few minutes for the registration, up to a few hours for the A record to be seen everywhere.

Is a country extension (.fr, .co.uk, .de) better than .com?
For a business serving one country, the local extension inspires trust and often costs less. The .com remains the international reflex. Best of all: take whichever of the two is available first and matches your name.