How long does a nameserver or DNS change take, and what if you don't see it?

A change to your nameservers or DNS records takes effect with us immediately, but it takes a while before everyone on the internet sees it. Here you can read how long that usually takes and what to check if your change is still not visible after that time.

Changing nameservers

A domain always has at least two nameservers linked to it, in our case ns1.webawere.nl and ns2.webawere.nl. You change them yourself in My WebOké: go to My Domains, click on the domain and change them on the Nameservers card. The change goes to the registry immediately. Still, it usually takes a few hours before everyone sees it; allow up to 24 hours. This is because internet providers keep the old data for a while (caching). As a result, one person may already see the change while another doesn't yet.

Changing DNS records

A change to a DNS record, such as an A or MX record, also takes effect immediately. With us, records have a default TTL of one hour, so the change is usually visible everywhere within an hour. Your own computer also keeps DNS data for a while: if you've just visited the site, it may take longer for you.

Change not visible yet?

Still don't see your change after a few hours? Then go through these points.

1. Which nameservers does your domain use? Check in My WebOké under My Domains, tab DNS, at the top under Nameservers. Does it show something other than ns1.webawere.nl and ns2.webawere.nl, such as Cloudflare's? Then that party determines the DNS and a change with us does nothing. Change the record there instead. See Using your own or external nameservers for your domain.
2. Did you change it in the right place? For a domain with WebOké, you edit records on the DNS tab in My WebOké or in DNS Management in DirectAdmin. Both are the same records. See Managing DNS records in My WebOké.
3. Check the record for typos. Pay particular attention to the name (www or @) and the trailing dot. If you're referring to a full name, as with a CNAME or MX record, add a dot at the end: mail.jouwdomein.nl.. Without the dot, the system will append your domain name again.
4. Check it online. With Domain Health you can immediately see where your domain points to, whether the website and SSL certificate are in order, and how your mail records are set. An online DNS lookup (such as in How do I check whether my domain points to the right server?) shows what the rest of the internet sees.
5. Use the DNS diagnosis. Log in to My WebOké and open the DNS Diagnosis. You can also find it via All Features › Tools. Select your domain and click Run Diagnosis. You'll then see whether our nameservers have the same data as your package's server. If they don't match, click Reset NS1/NS2. After a few minutes they'll match again.
6. Clear your own cache. Does the online check already show the new data, but you don't see it yet? Then your computer or browser is remembering the old data. Try a private window, or your phone via 4G or 5G. On Windows, you clear the cache with the command ipconfig /flushdns (in Command Prompt). Restarting your computer or router also helps.

Still not working after that? Contact us and mention which domain and which record it concerns.

Detailed explanation with screenshots: Changing nameservers and Managing DNS: adding, changing and deleting records in the WebOké manual, and My domain still isn't working after a move or change in the DirectAdmin manual.