DNS stands for Domain Name Server, and it is like an address book that contains the IP address associated with each website on the internet. You can learn more about DNS in our guide on how domain names work.
When you type in a website address like www.google.com, your web browser needs that site’s IP address so that it can direct you to the webpage you are looking for. To find this IP address, the browser must access an online DNS server.
Once your browser knows the IP address for a domain name, it saves that information in a local DNS cache on your computer. Next time, it will be able to navigate directly to the correct IP address without needing to look it up in an online DNS server.