DNS lookups translate domain names into IP addresses, allowing your browser to access websites. Too many DNS lookups can slow down your website’s loading speed, so it’s important to reduce them for a better user experience. In this blog, we’ll explain DNS lookups in simple terms and share practical tips on how to reduce them.
What is DNS Lookup?
DNS Lookup refers to the process of translating a human-readable domain name (such as www.example.com) into its corresponding numerical IP address (like 192.0.2.1) that computers use to locate and communicate with web servers on the internet. When a user enters a domain name in a web browser, the browser performs a DNS Lookup to find the associated IP address and establish a connection to the website server that is hosting the requested website or online resource. This process is crucial for enabling users to access websites using easy-to-remember domain names, rather than complex numerical IP addresses.
Example of DNS Lookup:
Here’s a simple example of how DNS works:
- You type www.example.com into your browser.
- Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) requests a DNS server to resolve the domain example.com into an IP address.
- Once the server finds the right IP, it sends it back to your browser.
- Your browser uses that IP address to fetch and display the website’s content on your screen.
Think of DNS lookups like searching for a person’s phone number in a phonebook. You look for a person’s name to find their number to call them. In the case of DNS, the domain name is like the person’s name, and the IP address is like their phone number.
Why Does DNS Lookup Matter?
Here are some reasons that underline the importance of DNS lookup.
1.Website Accessibility
DNS Lookup is essential for translating human-readable domain names into numerical IP addresses, enabling users to access websites using easy-to-remember names.
2.Website Performance
Optimizing DNS Lookup contributes to overall website performance, ensuring smooth and efficient communication between users and web servers.
3.Reducing Latency
Faster DNS resolution helps reduce the delay between a user’s request and the website’s response, minimizing latency and improving website responsiveness.
4.Load Balancing
DNS Lookup allows load balancing among multiple server locations, distributing user requests and traffic to ensure better resource utilization and improved performance.
5.Domain Changes
DNS Lookup facilitates domain changes and migrations, ensuring a smooth transition when moving a website to a new hosting provider or server.
6.Content Delivery
DNS Lookup plays a role in Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), directing users to the nearest server location to improve content delivery speed and reduce data transfer distances.
7.Security
DNS Lookup also aids in security by helping to prevent Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and DNS hijacking attempts.
How Long Do DNS Lookups Take?
On average, DNS lookup times can range from 20 to 120 milliseconds. In some cases, they may take even longer, especially if the DNS server is overloaded or there are network issues. For optimal website performance, it’s generally recommended to aim for a DNS lookup time of less than 50 milliseconds.
Consider this to give you an idea of how DNS lookups impact website speed: each additional DNS lookup can add a few milliseconds of delay. While this may seem small, it can quickly accumulate if your page makes a lot of external requests. As a result, reducing the number of DNS lookups can help improve your website’s loading time and user experience.
How to Reduce DNS Lookups
Now that you understand DNS lookups and why they matter, let’s look at some practical tips to reduce them and boost your website’s performance.
1.Use a Fast DNS provider
It’s important to understand that just like hosting services, DNS providers can be either fast or slow. This is something we need to pay attention to. Some domain registrars offer free DNS services, but they tend to be slow. DNS providers, on the other hand, have Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) spread across the globe. Moreover, these providers have top-notch infrastructure designed specifically for DNS, resulting in low-latency environments.
You can also use BigRock’s credible DNS services. To start using the service, you’ll have to activate the DNS service, change your name servers to our name servers and create various records for your domain name. (Click here for a detailed process)
2.Reduce the number of domains
One of the most straightforward ways to reduce DNS lookups is to minimize your website’s domains. Every time your website needs to load a resource from a different domain, it has to perform a DNS lookup. By reducing domains, you can reduce DNS lookups.
Here are a few ways to reduce the number of domains:
- Instead of hosting your resources on multiple subdomains or domains, consider hosting them on a single domain. This way, fewer DNS lookups are required.
- CDNs serve your website’s resources from servers worldwide, reducing latency and making it easier to load assets quickly. You can reduce the number of hostnames and DNS lookups using a CDN.
- Third-party services like analytics tools and social media plugins often require their own domains. You can cut down on DNS lookups by limiting the use of these resources or using alternatives with fewer hostnames.
3.Cache files locally
To speed up DNS Lookups, you should minimize the number of requests made to third-party domains. Review the resources you load and assess if they are necessary for rendering the site or if their cost/benefit ratio justifies their presence. Remove any unnecessary resources.
If some resources cannot be removed from the site, consider caching them locally to avoid repeated DNS Lookups. This caching technique can work effectively for icons, CSS files, fonts, images, videos, etc. However, caching JavaScript files is generally not recommended as JavaScript is regularly updated, and caching might prevent you from receiving the latest updates automatically.
4.Monitor your DNS lookup time
Regularly benchmark your site to understand how DNS Lookup times affect your website’s performance. Continuous monitoring helps find areas that need improvement and identify bottlenecks. Use a monitoring tool to record your website’s load times. Choose a tool that measures DNS Lookup times and tracks other important website metrics for a comprehensive performance assessment.
5.Use DNS Prefetching
DNS prefetching is a handy technique that performs DNS Lookups in the background while the user reads the current page, preparing for the next request. It is especially useful for links within the content. DNS prefetching reduces lookup time and enhances website performance by using idle time to obtain the resource. When the user eventually clicks on the link, the resource loads much faster, providing a smoother browsing experience.
However, be cautious with this technique. Avoid excessive DNS prefetching, as it can cause performance issues. Always double-check to ensure you’re not prefetching for the same domain or subdomain excessively.
6.Defer JavaScript Files
JavaScript files often load third-party assets, leading to longer DNS Lookup times and page load delays.
A simple way to improve DNS Lookup time is by deferring the parsing of JavaScript until users need it. While this won’t reduce the number of DNS Lookups required, delaying loading non-critical files can give users the impression of better performance. For example, if you have code that is only needed when filling in a form at the bottom of the page, don’t load it until users reach that point.
7.Minimize the Use of CNAME Records
CNAME (Canonical Name) records are used to alias one domain to another. However, every CNAME lookup adds an extra step to the DNS process. If your website has multiple CNAME records, it could slow down DNS lookups.
If you use too many CNAME records, consider switching to ANAME records. ANAME records offer the same functionality as CNAME records but eliminate the extra lookup step, reducing the total DNS lookup time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, reducing DNS lookups is an important step in optimizing your website’s performance. By minimizing the number of external resources, hosting third-party content locally, using DNS prefetching, and optimizing caching and TTL settings, you can significantly speed up your website and improve the user experience.
Remember, a faster website means happier visitors and better search engine rankings. Keep these tips in mind to reduce DNS lookups and enhance the overall performance of your website.
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