DNS
Definition
DNS (Domain Name System) is the internet's directory: it translates your domain name into technical addresses, and decides where your website and your email arrive.When someone types your address, DNS translates that name into a server address. Through different record types, it also routes each service: the A record points to your website, MX records direct your email, others (SPF, DKIM) prove your emails are legitimate and keep them out of spam folders.
Why does it matter to you? Because DNS is the choke point of every migration. Changing host or launching a new site means changing these records. Done well, the switch is invisible; done badly, the site is unreachable or, worse, the company's email goes down, the great classic of improvised launches.
A clean launch prepares the records in advance, lowers their time-to-live (TTL) to speed up propagation, switches the site in a short window and checks that the email MX records stay intact. It is a checklist, not improvisation.
Our lossless migration process systematically includes this DNS preparation.
Keep an up-to-date inventory of your DNS records (who manages what: site, email, third-party tools). That document is worth gold on migration day or during an incident.
Frequently asked questions
No: the DNS is updated to point to the new server, nothing more. Well prepared, the switch is invisible to your visitors and to your emails.
Because of propagation: access providers keep the old answer in cache for a set duration, often a few hours. It is anticipated by lowering that duration before a migration.