When managing your custom domain for Shortenworld, you might come across the term TTL (time to live) in your DNS settings. Understanding TTL is essential for ensuring the smooth operation of your custom domain, and here's a simple explanation of what it means.
What is TTL?
TTL refers to the amount of time that DNS servers cache or store the information for your DNS records. In practical terms, it dictates how long other servers will remember the information they received from your nameservers before seeking updated data.
Should You Change Your Custom Domain's TTL?
The answer is often no. In most cases, you can leave the TTL setting at your domain provider's default value. This setting is typically optimized for efficient DNS performance, and altering it may not provide significant benefits.
Why TTL Matters
Consider TTL as a kind of "expiration date" for DNS records. A shorter TTL means that DNS information is refreshed more frequently, potentially placing a higher load on your nameservers and causing slight delays in DNS resolution. On the other hand, an excessively long TTL may result in delays when you need to make changes to your DNS records.
A Practical Example
Let's say your TTL is set to one hour. This means that DNS servers will cache your DNS information for one hour before checking for updates. If you make changes to your DNS records, it might take up to an hour for those changes to propagate across the internet.
In Conclusion
While TTL settings can be adjusted, it's usually best to stick with the defaults provided by your domain hosting service unless you have a specific reason to change them. Default TTL settings are typically well-optimized for efficient DNS performance and should not negatively impact the functionality of your custom domain on Shortenworld.