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Publishing & Domains

Custom domains and DNS, in plain English

What a domain is, what DNS does, and why a new connection can take a little while to work — explained without the jargon.

Domains and “DNS” sound technical, but the idea is simple. Here's what they mean in plain English, so the steps in the other domain guides make sense.

What a domain is

A domain is your web address — the thing people type to reach you, like yourbusiness.com. You rent it (usually yearly) from a domain provider. It's yours to point wherever you like.

What DNS does

DNSis the address book of the internet. It's how a web address knows which site to show. When you connect a domain to SiteDrop, you're adding a DNS setting that says “this address points to my SiteDrop site.”

Why it can take a while

After you change a DNS setting, the update has to spread across the internet. This is called propagationand can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. During that time your domain might work in some places and not others — that's normal.

The padlock (SSL)

Once your domain is connected, SiteDrop sets up the secure padlock (SSL) so your site loads on https. This can take a short while to activate after the domain connects.

TipReady to connect one? Connect a domain you own or buy a new one. Stuck after a day? See My domain won't load.

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Last updated 28 Jul 2026