When you register a domain, change nameservers or edit a DNS record, the change doesn't reach the whole internet at once. This delay is called DNS propagation.
Why it happens. Internet providers around the world cache DNS answers so websites load quickly. Each cached answer has a lifetime called the TTL (Time To Live), usually between 5 minutes and 24 hours. Until that cached copy expires, that provider keeps serving the old answer, even though your change is already live on our servers.
How long it takes.
- DNS record changes (A, CNAME, MX, TXT): usually 5 minutes to 4 hours.
- Nameserver changes: usually 1 to 8 hours, occasionally up to 48 hours.
- A brand new domain registration: usually under 1 hour for most extensions.
What it looks like while it's happening. It's completely normal for the site to work on your phone's mobile data but not on your office Wi-Fi, or for a colleague in another city to see the new site before you do. Both answers are "correct" they're just coming from different caches.
How to check progress. Use a propagation checker such as dnschecker.org and enter your domain. Green ticks mean that location is already seeing the new value.
How to speed things up on your own computer.
- Windows: open Command Prompt and run ipconfig /flushdns
- macOS: open Terminal and run sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
- Restart your router, or switch to mobile data to test.
- Try the site in a private or incognito window browsers cache too.
Still not working after 48 hours? That's no longer propagation and something is misconfigured. Open a ticket with your domain name and we'll check it.
