What is Internet Propagation?
When you update your domain settings (like pointing your domain to a new website or updating email records), those changes must spread across the internet. This process is called internet propagation, also known as DNS propagation.
During propagation, some people may see the updated version of your site or email setup right away, while others may still see the old version until their internet provider refreshes the information.
Internet propagation can take anywhere from a couple of minutes or as long as 48 hours.
Understand what internet propagation means.
Propagation is the time it takes for changes to your domain’s DNS (Domain Name System) records to update across all DNS servers worldwide.
Internet propagation can apply to any of the following scenarios with your PhotoBiz website:
- Changing domain name servers
- Adding MX records
- Adding A records, CNAME records, TXT records, DMARC records, DKIM records, or other types of DNS records
Know why propagation takes time.
DNS servers temporarily store (cache) domain information to load websites faster. When you make a change, each DNS server will only update after its cache expires. This is controlled by a setting called TTL (Time To Live).
Be aware of how long it can take.
Propagation usually takes a few hours, but in some cases it can take up to 24–48 hours for changes to fully update everywhere.
Expect different experiences during propagation.
You may see your new website, while others may still see the old one, depending on which DNS server their internet service provider is using. This is completely normal until propagation finishes.
Wait for the process to complete.
No action is needed on your part once changes are submitted. The updates will automatically finish spreading across the internet.
