You moved your site to new hosting or changed a DNSDNSThe internet's directory: it turns a domain name into a server address, so browsers find your site and mail finds your mailbox. record. The new site shows for you while a friend still sees the old one, or the other way round. Nothing is broken: what you see is DNS propagation, and it is normal for a while.
What is going on
When someone opens your site, their device asks a DNS server for the domainDomainYour site's name on the internet, such as horanos.com. You register it for a year or more and renew it to keep it.'s address. That server keeps the answer for a set time, the TTLTTLHow long devices keep a DNS record before asking again. This is why a DNS change takes a while to show., and does not ask again until it runs out. So after you change a record, anyone holding the old answer keeps seeing it until their copy expires.
- At the internet provider: the DNS servers its customers use.
- In the operating system: Windows and macOS keep answers too.
- In the browser: Chrome, for one, has its own DNS cache.
- Sometimes in the router at home or in the office.
How long people wait
- A changed record such as A or MXMX recordA DNS record that tells the world where to deliver your domain's e-mail. A mistake in it means messages do not arrive.: the time is set by the old record's TTL, not the new one's. With a TTL of one hour, some people wait an hour.
- Changed name serversName serversThe servers that hold your domain's DNS records. Changing them moves the domain's management elsewhere and can take a while to spread.: this is decided by the extension itself and can take up to a day or two.
See where the change has arrived
The DNS propagation check asks your domain's own servers for the current value, then asks DNS servers in different countries. It tells you how many are up to date and how long each of the others still holds the old value.
If most servers already show the new value but you still get the old site, the old copy is most likely on your own device.
Clear the cache on your device
- 01Windows: open Command Prompt and run: ipconfig /flushdns
- 02macOS: open Terminal and run: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder, then enter your password.
- 03Chrome: open chrome://net-internals/#dns and press "Clear host cache".
- 04Close and reopen the browser. On a phone, switching airplane mode on and off is usually enough.
If nothing changes, the old copy sits at your internet provider. There is nothing to do but wait until it expires.
Next time: lower the TTL first
- 01A day before the change, lower the record's TTL to 5 minutes (300 seconds).
- 02Change the record's value.
- 03Once the change has reached everyone, set the TTL back to what it was.
The change then spreads in minutes instead of hours. This works for records only: how long a name server change takes is up to the extension, not you.
When something really is wrong
- Your domain's own servers still give the old value: the change was not saved. Check your DNS panel.
- Two days after a name server change, the old value is still everywhere: compare the name servers set at your registrar, letter by letter.
- Every server is up to date and the site opens for nobody: the problem is the hosting, not DNS. Contact your hosting support.
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