What It Is
DNS stands for Domain Name System. It is the directory that turns a domain name like smithplumbing.com into the numeric IP address of the server that holds the website. It works like the contacts list on your phone: you pick a name, and the phone looks up the number. Every time someone visits your site or sends you email, a DNS lookup happens in the background.
Why It Matters for Your Business
Your DNS settings decide where your website lives and where your email is delivered. If they are wrong, customers may see an error page or emails may vanish. When a business moves its website to a new host, the change is made in DNS, which is why careful DNS edits matter during any move.
Good to Know
Before changing DNS, take a screenshot or export of every existing record. Many outages happen when someone deletes an email record while updating the website record. Make one change at a time and test. After each change, check that your website loads and that a test email arrives before moving on to the next one.