When you type a website like www.google.com into your browser, how does your computer know where to go?

The answer: DNS – the Domain Name System.

 Why Does DNS Exist?

Computers use IP addresses to identify each other—like 142.250.190.36.

But humans remember names, not numbers.

So instead of typing a long IP every time, we type:

 

www.exploretoday.blog

 

…and DNS translates that name into the correct IP address behind the scenes.

Without DNS, you’d have to memorize numerical IP addresses for every website.

Related: What Is an IP Address? (IPv4 vs IPv6)
Related: What Is a Computer Network?

 How a Domain Resolves to an IP (DNS in Action)

Here’s a simplified DNS resolution process:

1. You type www.exploretoday.blog into your browser.
2. Your computer checks local cache. If no match…
3. It contacts a DNS resolver (usually from your ISP).
4. The resolver asks a root DNS server:

“Where can I find .blog domains?”

1. The root server replies with the Top-Level Domain (TLD) server.
2. The resolver asks the TLD server:

“Where’s the DNS for exploretoday.blog?”

1. The TLD replies with the authoritative DNS server.
2. The resolver asks the authoritative server:

“What’s the IP of www.exploretoday.blog?”

1. The server replies:

192.168.1.100 (example)

1. Your browser loads the website using that IP!

It all happens in milliseconds.

 Real-World Analogy: The Internet’s Phonebook

Imagine you want to call your friend Sarah, but you only know her name—not her number.

You:

• Open your phonebook
• Look up “Sarah”
• Get her phone number
• Dial the number to connect

In the same way:

• You type a domain name
• DNS looks up the IP address
• Your device connects using the IP

DNS = The Phonebook of the Internet.

 Bonus: What Is a DNS Server?

A DNS server is a computer that holds domain-IP mappings.

Common public DNS servers:

Provider	DNS Address
Google DNS	8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
Cloudflare DNS	1.1.1.1
OpenDNS	208.67.222.222

You can change your DNS server for faster or more private browsing.

 Summary Table

Term	Meaning
DNS	Domain Name System (resolves names to IPs)
Domain Name	Human-readable website name (e.g., google.com)
IP Address	Machine-readable address (e.g., 192.168.1.1)
DNS Server	Stores domain-to-IP mappings
Analogy	Phonebook for websites

Still confused about DNS or want to see a visual flowchart?
Drop a comment, and I’ll add one just for you!

Would you like me to generate an infographic of the DNS resolution process?