How to enable instant DNS Propogation

Introduction

At times, you may find that a website update isn’t immediately visible to all users. This is often due to DNS propagation, a process that can take some time to complete. This article provides instructions on how to confirm DNS propagation using Command Prompt for Windows and Terminal for Mac. We will also guide you on how to switch to Google Cloud DNS for expedited propagation.

Part 1: Confirming DNS Propagation

Step 1: Ping the Domain

For Windows users:

1. Open the Command Prompt. You can do this by typing ‘cmd’ in the search box on the taskbar and clicking on ‘Command Prompt’.
2. Once the Command Prompt is open, type ping yourdomain.com (replace ‘yourdomain.com’ with your actual domain name) and press Enter.

Does it match the IP Address of Staq servers? If the answer is no, go to Part 2 to allow immediate DNS Propagation.

For Mac users:

1. Open Terminal. You can do this by searching ‘Terminal’ in Spotlight.
2. In the Terminal, type ping yourdomain.com (replace ‘yourdomain.com’ with your actual domain name) and press Enter.

The output will include an IP address that represents the location your system is pointing to for that domain.

Does it match the IP Address of Staq servers? If the answer is no, go to Part 2 to allow immediate DNS Propagation.

Part 2: Using Google Cloud DNS

To avoid DNS propagation delays, you can change your system settings to use Google Cloud DNS.

For Windows users:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Click on ‘Network and Internet’ > ‘Network and Sharing Center’ > ‘Change adapter settings’.
3. Right-click the connection that you want to change, and then click ‘Properties’.
4. Select ‘Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)’ and then click ‘Properties’.
5. Click ‘Use the following DNS server addresses’ and type in 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
6. Click ‘OK’ to save your changes.

For Mac users:

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Search for ‘DNS Servers’ and select it from the dropdown.
3. Click the plus sign at the bottom to add a DNS Server and enter 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 for each line.
4. Click ‘OK’ and then ‘Apply’.

By changing your DNS to Google’s Public DNS, you are changing the server from which your system gets domain name information. This should speed up the DNS propagation process.

Part 3: Clear Your Cache

For changes to take effect and to ensure that you are viewing the updated website, sign out from your WordPress site, close your browser and reopen it.

You may also want to clear your browser cache to ensure that your system is not storing and using old information. You can typically do this within the ‘History’ or ‘Privacy’ section of your browser settings.

Part 4: Flushing DNS Cache

Flushing DNS cache will remove any old entries, potentially speeding up the DNS propagation process. Here’s how you can do this:

For Windows users:

1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator. This can be done by typing ‘cmd’ into the search box on the taskbar, right-clicking on ‘Command Prompt’, and selecting ‘Run as administrator’.
2. In the Command Prompt, type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.

You should see a message stating that the DNS Resolver Cache has been successfully flushed.

For Mac users:

The command to flush DNS cache varies slightly depending on the version of MacOS you’re using. For MacOS Mojave (10.14), Catalina (10.15), and later versions:

1. Open Terminal. You can do this by searching ‘Terminal’ in Spotlight.
2. Type sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder and press Enter.
3. Enter your admin password when prompted and press Enter.

For MacOS High Sierra (10.13), Sierra (10.12), and MacOS X El Capitan (10.11), type sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder in the Terminal and press Enter, entering your admin password when prompted.

For older versions of MacOS X (10.10 and earlier), the command is sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache.

After successfully flushing the DNS cache, you should be able to observe the changes more quickly. Don’t forget to close and reopen your browser after these steps, and sign out and back into your WordPress site to ensure that you are viewing the most recent version of your website.

Conclusion:

By following the above steps, you should be able to confirm if DNS propagation is causing your website to appear outdated and take measures to speed up the propagation process. If you continue to face issues, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team for further assistance.