How long does it take for a website to go live?

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You grabbed that perfect domain name. Wrote copy. Sourced images. Made your site. Gotten it just so. 

You're ready to launch and you're planning to share it with (insert customers, friends, family here). 

How long will it be before you site is fully live? 

A short and sweet look at how it works, in super-simple terms:

An overview of domains and domain propagation.

You type something catchy into your browser address bar.  Servers turn that word-based name into a string of numbers (aka an IP address). You get sent to the site you're looking for. Usually this is fast.

To make it happen fast, internet service providers—or ISPs—keep a copy of your DNS records. This way they don’t have to look for your info each time. This keeps things moving, much the way your Chrome or Safari cache the websites you visit so you can connect again quickly.

These copies get updated every few days, to keep up with changes.

Changes like launching a website.

When a change—like your launch—gets made, all the ISPs across the world have to update their records. Your website won't show up everywhere until that happens. 

How long does domain propagation take?

Usually it can take from anywhere from a 24-72 hours. You can't predict, control, or speed up the process. You can check out how things are going through this website.  

If your site is on Squarespace, 72 hours have passed, and your site is still not live—contact Squarespace and have them check your DNS settings.