The Domain Name System, or DNS, is the backbone of the internet. It’s what makes it possible to type in a domain name like “example.com” instead of an IP address like 127.0.0.1 (which would be boring). The DNS is essential to running an online business, but its importance can sometimes be taken for granted. That’s why we want to help you understand what exactly this critical piece of infrastructure does and how it can benefit your business—from improving SEO rankings to helping with user experience and security concerns.

What is the Domain Name System?

To understand the domain name system, it’s important to know that DNS is a hierarchical system. This means that all of the information on the internet is divided into different levels and sublevels. For example, if you wanted to access Google’s website (www.google.com), your computer would first look up its own local IP address by using its own local DNS server (which may be provided by your ISP). Then, it would send an HTTP request containing this IP address as part of its header information–and only then would Google be able to see where exactly your computer was located on Earth!

DNS servers act as gatekeepers for every website out there: they map domain names like www.google.com or facebook.com into their corresponding IP addresses so that users can access them easily instead of having hard-to-remember strings such as 216-58-198-33 all over their browser windows instead of simple words like “Facebook” or “Google.” Without these mapping services provided by these special computers called name servers (also known as resolvers), we wouldn’t be able to browse freely across our favorite websites without having any idea where they’re actually located at all times!

How Does the DNS Work?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a system for matching domain …