Understanding Website Hosts and Domain Name System (DNS): Navigating the Internet Library
Rikki Broussard • November 27, 2023
A website is not just a collection of web pages; it is a complex system of interrelated components working together to deliver the intended user experience. Key among these components are website hosts and the Domain Name System (DNS), each playing a crucial role in managing a website's online presence. To demystify these concepts, let's dive into a library metaphor.
What is the Purpose of a Website Host?
Your website host is akin to a specialized bookshelf in the vast library of the internet. This service provider offers space to store all your website's content, just as a bookshelf holds and maintains books. The host's server is where your website's data resides, ensuring it's accessible to Internet users around the clock. The choice of your website host impacts your site's speed, security, and uptime.
5 Key Factors for Determining Your Website Host
- Server Space: Different types of hosting determine the space and resources your site gets.
- Performance and Uptime: Ensures your site is easily accessible and in good condition.
- Technical Support: Like librarians, hosting companies support your website's digital space.
- Security Features: Hosts implement measures to protect your website, akin to how a library safeguards its books.
- Control Panel and Tools: These tools are provided to manage your website.
At BlinkJar, most of our sites are hosted by HubSpot, WPEngine, or Duda. A significant determining factor in your website host is your content management system of choice, but this is another topic for another day.
What is the Meaning and Purpose of DNS?
DNS is the library's catalog system. It translates book titles (domain names) into specific codes (IP addresses) to find their exact location (webserver). Without DNS, we would have to remember the numerical codes for each website, similar to memorizing every book's location in a library. DNS simplifies internet navigation by using easy-to-remember domain names.
Understanding DNS: Essential Components
- Domain Name Resolution: DNS servers find the corresponding location of a website, like looking up a book in the library catalog.
- Records and Configurations: The catalog entries direct where each domain name should point.
- DNS Providers: Companies managing the catalog system. A few of the more popular DNS providers are Google, GoDaddy, DNSMadeEasy, and CloudFlare.
- Propagation: Updating the DNS records is like updating the library catalog.
Discovering Your Current DNS Provider: Quick Tips
- Use Online Tools: Tools like whatsmydns.net or dnschecker.org can reveal your DNS provider.
- Check with Your Domain Registrar: Your domain registrar might also manage your DNS. The DNS provider and the domain registrar (where you host your domain name) are usually the same provider. At BlinkJar, we have encountered occasions where the domain registrar and the DNS are located with two separate providers, so be extra careful in verifying this information. GoDaddy, Namecheap, Tucows, and Network Solutions are the largest domain registrar companies. At BlinkJar, most of the sites we control are with GoDaddy.
- Contact Your IT Department or Service Provider: They often have this information. This option can sometimes be frustrating, as it is like finding a needle in a haystack.
- Examine Email Headers: Email headers can sometimes reveal DNS details.
Tips on Discovering Who Your Current Website Host Is
- Online Lookup Tools: Tools like WhoIsHostingThis or HostingChecker can identify your host. The results provided with these sites can be misleading. For instance, when you plug in our website (www.blinkjarmedia.com), it shows our web host as Amazon Web Services. While technically accurate, our site is hosted on AWS through Duda.
- Review Your Billing Records: Billing records often show payments to hosting companies. Good luck with finding that bill.
- Check Your Emails: Look for messages related to hosting. Be careful here, as this particular sector is notorious for spammy emails misleading you into believing you are hosting with a provider when you are not.
- Ask Your Webmaster or Developer: They likely know where your website is hosted. While this is true, it does not always mean your webmaster has control or access to your website host and DNS provider.
- Consult Your Control Panel: A control panel often displays the name of your hosting company. You are likely clear on this topic if you have access to this control panel.
Making Informed Decisions on Your Web Host and DNS Provider
You can quickly identify your current DNS provider and website host by understanding the roles of web hosting and DNS in the internet library and utilizing the provided tips. This knowledge gives you more control over your website and enables informed decisions about these essential services. Knowing where your 'book' is stored and how it's cataloged in the internet's vast library ensures that your website remains accessible and efficient.
Your customers are still searching. They are just no longer searching in one place. They may start with Google, ask ChatGPT to compare their options, watch a YouTube video, look for examples on Instagram, read reviews, or open a map to find a nearby business. This does not mean your company needs to chase every new platform. It also does not mean SEO is dead. The best response to fragmented search is to strengthen the foundation you already have. Build a clear, credible website, answer the questions your customers ask, share real expertise, and ensure your business appears consistently on the platforms that matter to your audience. AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, is part of that approach. It helps search engines and AI tools find and understand your answers, but it works best when it is built on strong SEO . Why Are Customers Searching in So Many Different Places? Customers are searching in more places because they now have more ways to find the type of information they want. Every Monday during our BlinkJar staff meeting, each person brings an industry update to discuss. One recent conversation about artificial intelligence and its impact on search reminded me of what happened to television. Jared, my husband and BlinkJar’s founder , spent years working in television. At one time, a few broadcast networks held most of the audience. Then cable created more choices. Streaming services, YouTube, social video, and on-demand programming divided attention even further. Television did not disappear. People gained more ways to watch. Search is moving in the same direction. A prospective customer may search Google for a service, ask an AI assistant to explain the differences between providers, watch a video to see how something works, and read reviews before visiting a company’s website. The challenge is not that Google has stopped working. It is that businesses can no longer assume every customer will begin there. Does My Business Still Need SEO? Yes, your business absolutely needs SEO as it remains the foundation of being discovered online. Google continues to drive valuable, high-intent traffic for businesses. A strong website also gives AI tools, maps, social platforms, and prospective customers a reliable place to learn who you are and what you offer. Your website needs clear service pages, useful location information, simple navigation, relevant internal links, and a sound technical structure. Search engines must be able to crawl, index, and understand your pages. Traditional SEO is not being replaced. It is supporting a larger discovery ecosystem. Think of your website as your company’s home base. Social media, maps, reviews, search engines, and AI tools may help customers find you, but your website is where you control the complete story.
Kingsley Lavender shares what he learned as a marketing intern at BlinkJar Media, including SEO, website updates, content marketing, and real-world agency experience.
Artificial intelligence is changing the way businesses approach content marketing , social media marketing , and digital communications. AI can generate ideas, streamline workflows, and help marketers create content faster than ever before. At Blinkjar, we embrace AI as a powerful tool, but we also know the most impactful marketing still begins with something technology can't replicate: a genuine human connection. As a Creative Content Specialist at Blinkjar , some of my most valuable work happens away from my desk. Meeting with clients, visiting their businesses, and building real relationships gives me a deeper understanding of who they are and what makes their brands unique. Those face-to-face interactions help me create authentic content that reflects each client's personality , values, and story. Can AI Really Tell Your Brand's Story? Every business has a story worth telling . While AI can help organize information, brainstorm ideas, and improve efficiency, it can't experience a company's culture, observe customer interactions, or hear the passion behind why a business was started. That’s why every interaction matters. Whether we’re on a call, exchanging emails, meeting in person, capturing photos and videos, or simply talking through new ideas, each touchpoint helps us better understand the businesses we support. These conversations allow us to see how a brand operates, hear the stories behind the work, and uncover the details that make it unique. Those real insights often become the foundation for stronger content because they reveal perspectives that AI simply can’t generate. How Do Client Conversations Lead to Better Content Marketing? The more time I spend with the businesses we support, the better I can represent their brand. Photoshoots are one way those connections happen, but many of my strongest content ideas come from everyday conversations, planning calls, emails, meetings, and moments when a client shares something we would not have known otherwise. Those small details often become the difference between content that feels generic and content that feels true to the brand. Whether we're discussing a new project, talking through their day-to-day operations, or simply catching up, those conversations give me the context I need to write content that's accurate, authentic, and true to their voice. Instead of relying on assumptions, I can pull directly from their experiences, expertise, and personality . That's what transforms content from informative to meaningful.
