Sometimes you need to move to a new host for whatever reason. And when you move to a new host you also need to repoint your domain nameserver to the new host name server. When repointing your nameserver it doesn’t instantly change on all DNS servers; this process is called DNS propagation. DNS propagation needs a maximum of 48 hours to fully propagate.
While in propagation time, you may still access your old server as well as other visitors. So while in propagation time I suggest you not update anything on your website. But you can still access your new server by hacking your hosts file. Read more here: Migrating Your Website To New Server Without Down Time
But how do you know if your domain nameserver is fully propagated? I have 2 tools to check it:
- Whatsmydns whatsmydns.net is an online service that allows you to instantly perform a DNS lookup to check a hostname’s current IP address and other DNS information against a selection of random name servers around the world. This is especially useful to check the current state of DNS propagation after making changes to your domain’s zones.
- Host Tracker Host Tracker is a website monitoring service from many nodes spread all over the world to see if your website is up and accessible. You can check your server IP and if it is not the same IP (using 1 server), then it’s not fully propagated. Besides checking the IP, it also checks your server speed from different locations.