EDGEMESH
Solutions
The Problems We Solve
Learn how Edgemesh solves the most challenging ecommerce issues
01
Speed Up Your eCommerce Store
02
Get Deeper Insights
03
Improve Organic Search
04
Optimize Ad Spend
Resources
Insights, Success Stories and More
Expert advice and insights on how to optimize your ecommerce business.
01
Blog
02
Case Studies
03
Live Overview
03
Guides
EditionsCustomers
About
About Edgemesh
Learn more about Edgemesh
01
In the News
02
About Us
Request a Demo
Customer Login
|
Support
SIGNUPLOGIN
Customer Login
|
Support
Request a Demo
Posted on 
September 20, 2022

How to Reduce DNS Lookups to Speed Up Your Website

‍

Why is every online business owner concerned about website speed?

The answer is simple. Faster websites make more money.

‍For context, let’s paint a picture with a well known company—Amazon. 

If Amazon’s website slows down by 1 second, the company will lose $3.8 billion in annual revenue [*]. 

79% of online shoppers agree that a business’s website speed impacts their willingness to buy [*]. So, the earlier claim is reinforced: that fast websites make more money.

What if your website is slow? What can you do about it? First, several factors can slow down your website, including excess plugins, themes, third-party integrations, high-res images, etc. 

One factor you don’t hear much about is the DNS. Your DNS is the first connection between your website and a user. 

Look at it as a user (web visitor) calling from the other end and needing you to open the door so they can enter your website. The longer it takes the user to get in, the longer your DNS lookups will be.

‍

What Is DNS Lookup?

DNS lookup is the process of finding the right IP address for a domain. Before looking up your DNS, you must first understand what it’s about—and why it matters. 

DNS stands for Domain Name Systems—and it’s a system that helps connect websites to their origin IP addresses. For example: yourwebsite.com can have an IP address like 123.456.789.012. But memorizing IP addresses is no fun. So, instead, we use domain names. 

Think of DNS as your phonebook. In this case, you’re matching people’s names with their respective phone numbers. 

‍

Related → What Is Time To First Byte (TTFB)?

‍

How Does DNS Lookup Work?

Every DNS lookup query is processed through four DNS servers: the DNS recursor, the root server, the TLD nameserver, and the authoritative nameserver.

  • First, the DNS recursor receives the initial query from the client and communicates with the other nameservers. E.g., the user types (www.edgemesh.com) in their address bar.

  • Next, the root server sends the DNS information of the TLDs (top-level domains) such as .com, .org, and .net.

  • Then, the recursor forwards the query to the TLD nameserver.

  • Upon receiving the request from the recursor, the TLD nameserver responds with the website’s IP address, and sends the query to the domain’s nameserver.

  • Finally, the authoritative nameserver confirms the IP address is also responsible for storing every domain record including: CNAME, A record, AAAA, MX, PTR, NS, etc.

‍

[Source: AWS Solution Architect, Xiaoli Chen]

‍

What Is DNS Lookup Time?

The DNS lookup time is the time taken for the domain name server to process the request of a domain’s IP address and return the target IP address to the browser’s HTTP request.

‍

What Is A Good DNS Lookup Time?

A good DNS lookup time is anywhere between 20 to 120 milliseconds [*].

‍

How To Find Your DNS Lookup Time (Using 3 Tools)

You can find your DNS lookup time using one of the following:

  • Pingdom
  • GTMetrix 
  • WebPageTest

‍

How To Find Your DNS Lookup Time Using Pingdom

  • Visit tools.pingdom.com. 
  • Input your URL, pick a location to test from, and click on ‘Start Test.’

‍

‍

  • Once you get your results, scroll down to file requests and sort by load order to discover how each request of your website is being processed. 
  • In Pingdom’s evaluation, our website (https://www.edgemesh.com) had several requests but only three DNS lookups. 

https://www.edgemesh.com

https://edgemesh.com

https://static.edgeme.sh/client.js

‍

  • Our main DNS lookup time is 6.1ms, which is good.

‍

💡Note: When you use Pingdom to find your DNS lookup time for the first time, you’ll likely get a high score because it’s running the query for the first time through its servers. This adds to your DNS lookup time.

Hower, Pingdom caches your DNS once— and upon subsequent tests, your DNS lookup time returns to normal as their servers already know your IP address. 

‍

Related → What Is Page Speed? [+Why It Matters & 7 Tips]

‍

How To Find Your DNS Lookup Time Using GTMetrix

  • Visit GTMetrix 
  • Input your URL, and click on Analyze.
  • Once you get your results, scroll down and click on Waterfall.  

‍

‍

  • Based on the result on GTMetrix, our DNS lookup time is 29 ms—pretty good!
  • Also, we had 68 requests on GTMetrix— compared to the 135 requests on Pingdom.

‍

‍

How Do You Find Your DNS Lookup Time Using WebPageTest?

  • Visit WebPageTest
  • Insert your website’s URL. 
  • Select your preferred type of configuration:
  • Simple configuration. Choose only from the preset device, location and connection to run the test.


  • Advanced configuration. Choose from different types of browsers, location, and connection of your choice to run the test.


For this test, we’ll use the simple configuration option.

  • Once set, click on ‘Start Test → and give it 20-30 seconds.  
  • When you get your results, navigate to View and change it from Performance Summary to Details.

‍

  • Then, scroll down to Request Details to see the DNS lookup time of every request made during your website connection. 

‍

  • Alternatively, you can scroll to Request Headers then click ‘+Expand All’ to get a detailed overview of every request. 

‍

WebPageTest is one of the best tools you can use to find your DNS lookup time as it gives you a complete breakdown of each request. 

‍

5 Ways To Reduce Your DNS Lookup Time

1. Use DNS Caching

Every time a user loads or reloads your page, the browser makes another round of HTTP requests (like it’s starting afresh) to the server. These types of subsequent requests affect your page load time—which then influences your DNS lookup time. However, caching your DNS stores your website’s IP address on the browser. This way, the browser can find your hostname without having to make a new DNS lookup request.

While you can’t cache every DNS as this will only worsen the situation, you can choose your length of DNS cache (or TTL, time-to-live). 

Below are some recommended baselines: 

  • CNAME records:  24 hours
  • A and AAAA records:  5 minutes to 1 hour
  • TXT records: 12 hours
  • MX records: 12 hours

‍

When setting your DNS TTL, your host might prefer you set it in seconds, not minutes. 

In that scenario, here’s a simple conversion:

  • 5 minutes = 300 seconds
  • 30 minutes = 1800 seconds 
  • 1 hour = 3600 seconds
  • 12 hours = 43200 seconds

‍

Related → Server-side Caching vs Client-side Caching Explained

‍

2. Set Up DNS Prefetching

DNS prefetching enables browsers to run a DNS lookup in the background while the user is still interacting with the page. 

An easy way to configure DNS prefetching is by adding rel= attribute to the HTML link. 

Example: 

  • <link rel=”dns-prefetch” href=”https://www.yourlinkhere.com”>

‍

Also, most commonly used browsers support DNS prefetching—with the exception of Edge, Safari (on iOs), Opera, and Android Browser [*].

‍

💡Note: DNS prefetching is best used for links within your content. 

‍

3. Upgrade To A Faster DNS Provider or Service

When you’re starting a new website, platforms like Namecheap, GoDaddy and the like typically give you a free DNS. However, this DNS isn’t premium, so you don’t get proper optimizations that can improve your lookup time.

Your best option is either to upgrade or switch to a faster DNS provider. Ideally, switching to enterprise DNS providers like Amazon (Route 53), Cloudflare, DYN, and DNSMadeEasy is a better choice. This is because these large providers have an extensive infrastructure with several points-of-presence around the world. All of which aid in reducing DNS latency.

‍

Related → 10 Ways To Speed Your WordPress Website [Guide]

‍

4. Minimize CNAME records and Switch to ANAME

The CNAME record is a type of DNS record that helps connect your subdomains (or alias domains) to your main domain instead of an IP.  However, during DNS lookup, excess CNAME records increase the time it takes the browser to connect to the main IP of your domain. 

If your CNAME is configured like the following example: 

  • www.yourwebsite.com. 1543 IN CNAME yourwebsite.com 

The CNAME resolves the “www” into the hostname and then resolves into the IP address,  like this: 

  • yourwebsite.com. 1543 IN A 123.456.789

‍

In this case, using the ANAME record at the root level is a better option as it resolves directly into the IP address.

  • www.yourwebsite.com. 1543 IN A 123.456.789

‍

5. Defer Loading Javascript

Deferring javascript doesn’t entirely impact DNS, but rather page load time. This approach allows your website to load all plain HTML content, while preventing Javascript from loading immediately until it's needed. 

💡Pro tip: If you use WordPress, Async Javascript by Frank Goossens is a great plugin to help you do the heavy lifting. 

‍

Related → What Is Dynamic Rendering [+How It Impacts SEO]

‍

Bonus: Move Third-Party Resources To A CDN

Loading third-party resources involves sending requests from your server to an external server. While the response time between both servers might feel fast, high latency can often be a major issue on most occasions. Especially when you’re loading assets like fonts or videos. 

In this case, moving external resources to a CDN is the best way to limit the number of requests going from your server to an external server 

💡Pro tip: Using Edgemesh’s Smart Client + Cloudflare’s CDN offers a new edge-computing platform that can help you deliver your content faster. 

‍

Let’s Wrap It Up

Reducing your DNS lookup time is only a small part of improving your website speed. You also want to target other core areas like your first input delay, time to first byte, and other core web vitals. 

There are several plugins and services that claim to help improve your website. Avoid installing or integrating too many on your website— they could end up causing more harm than good. 

Take all the tips we’ve shared and use them to improve your website. 

Remember, fast websites make more money. 

💡Want to see how Edgemesh can help you reduce your DNS lookups? → Get a demo

Tagged:
Website Acceleration
wordpress
Core Web Vitals

Want more insights? 

Enter your email address to sign up for our monthly newsletter:
Ayomide Joseph
Content Manager
view All Posts
Featured Posts
Performance
Third-Party Tags: How They Affect Overall Website Performance
Insights
10 2023 E-Commerce Key Metrics [+1 That’s Often Missed]
Ad Fraud
Edgemesh Launches Ad Protect, a Solution to Help Retail Brands Identify and Prevent Ad Fraud
Engineering
Faster Largest Contentful Paint with Edgemesh Server
Headless
10 New Changes on Shopify Online Store 2.0
Ad Fraud
How We’re Fighting Ad Fraud with Edgemesh Server
Ad Fraud
Ad Fraud: What it is, the Different Types & How to Prevent it
Performance
Server-Side Caching vs. Client-Side Caching: The Differences (And Which Is Good For Your Website)
Tags
Ad Fraud
Business
Client Side Caching
Conversion Rate
Core Web Vitals
Development
Features
Headless eCommerce
Performance
SEO
Shopify
Website Acceleration
wordpress
Stay Connected

Try Edgemesh Today!

START 14-dAY FREE TRIAL
More Posts

You Might Also Like

Performance
How To Eliminate Render Blocking Resources [Remove CSS & JavaScript Without Plugins]
Mar 14, 2023
 by 
Ayomide Joseph
How To Remove Unused Javascript From My Website? (+The Easier Solution)
Feb 27, 2023
 by 
Ayomide Joseph
All You Need To Know About Server-side A/B Testing
Feb 17, 2023
 by 
Ayomide Joseph
Performance
How To Create 301 Redirects In 3 Simple Ways
Jan 25, 2023
 by 
Ayomide Joseph
Performance
5 Ways to Optimize Third-Party Scripts (And Easier Solutions)
Nov 25, 2022
 by 
Ayomide Joseph
Performance
Real User Monitoring (RUM) vs Synthetic Monitoring: The Complete Guide
Nov 22, 2022
 by 
Ayomide Joseph
EDGEMESH

Welcome to a head(ache)-less ecommerce experience.

Navigation
HomeSpeed Up Your WebsiteGet Deeper InsightsImprove Ad EffectivenessImprove SEOEditions
Resources
BlogNews & ArticlesDocumentationContact Support
Legal
Terms of ServicePrivacy Policy