What is DNS?
Corbin Brown
2 min read
Part of the Vibe Coding Fundamentals video series on YouTube.
Computers on the internet find each other by number — addresses like 76.76.21.21. Humans use names. DNS (the Domain Name System) is the phone book that connects the two: someone types yourdomain.com, DNS looks up which computer that name points to, and the browser connects there. Every website visit starts with this lookup, it takes milliseconds, and you never see it — until you buy a domain and have to write an entry in that phone book yourself.
The moment every builder meets DNS
You've deployed your app — it lives at something like myapp.vercel.app — and you've bought myapp.com. Connecting them means adding DNS records at whoever manages your domain. Your hosting platform shows you exactly what to add, and it's usually two entries. The letters mean less than they seem: an A record points your name at a numeric address, and a CNAME points your name at another name (like your-app.vercel.app). That's genuinely most of DNS as builders experience it.
Two records you'll meet later
- MX records route your domain's email. They're why you can have hello@yourdomain.com without your website having anything to do with it.
- TXT records are for proving you own the domain — Google Search Console, email providers, and app stores all ask you to paste one in as a verification step.
FAQ
Where should I buy a domain?
Any registrar works; Cloudflare and Porkbun are builder favorites because pricing is honest and renewal doesn't spike. The bigger advice: the domain matters less than shipping, so don't spend a week on it.
www or no www?
Pick one, and redirect the other to it. Serving both without a redirect splits your identity in Google's eyes — it's one of the classic reasons a vibe-coded site doesn't show up in search.