Can you help me understand this? I registered a domain name at 2am and linked it to my hosting. I added some markup to the index.html file using FileZilla, but nothing seems to be happening.

After reaching out to the support team from where I bought the domain, they responded by saying that I need to wait for the DNS servers to update. This process takes up to a day or sometimes more and is dependent on my internet provider's servers. Although most sources online say that the maximum wait time is 3-6 hours, some providers may take up to 72 hours to update their DNS servers.

Have you ever encountered this issue? Do you have any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong?

Updating DNS records on all servers at once is not possible, but this should not be concerning. Opt for the registrar DNS and your website will likely be accessible within a few minutes of changes being made. You can use the nslookup tool to check the status of your DNS records through various DNS servers including Google's 8.8.8.8. Additionally, you can access third-party whois services to verify the correctness of your DNS records and obtain additional information about your domain name. However, it may not tell you if your site is accessible from your current provider.

Referring to the RFC, the maximum waiting time for DNS updates is 86400 seconds or 24 hours. After this period, all devices should discard the previous DNS record and replace it with a new one.

If you visited the address before changing the NS, then you may have accessed the cached records from your provider. To ensure that the changes are reflected, it's best to wait for 24 hours. However, if you made the changes without accessing the address first, then everything should open in a couple of minutes.

For more information on how DNS works, I recommend checking out https://howdns.works/.

You're talking about DNS servers like they're some mystical creatures that only update on a full moon. Newsflash, buddy, DNS servers are just a bunch of computers that translate those fancy domain names you love so much into IP addresses that your browser can understand. They don't just update on a whim, they need time to propagate, or spread the news, across the interwebs.

Now, you've got your hosting all set up, and you've played around with your index.html file like it's a Picasso painting. You're expecting the world to see your masterpiece, but nobody's home. That's because your domain name is still pointing to some random IP address that's not connected to your hosting. It's like trying to send a letter to the wrong address - it ain't gonna arrive, no matter how much you stamp it.

Your hosting provider and your domain registrar are like two kids playing catch. Your registrar has the ball (your domain name), and your hosting provider needs to catch it (connect your domain to your hosting). But they can't catch what they can't see, and they can't see it until the DNS servers have updated. It's like playing catch in the dark - it takes time for your eyes to adjust.

So, what are you doing wrong? You're expecting instant gratification in a world that doesn't work that way. You've got to give the DNS servers time to update, and that can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days. It's not a perfect system, but it's the best we've got.

Now, you might be thinking, "But I've seen websites go live instantly!" Yeah, well, those are the lucky ones. Sometimes, the DNS servers update quickly, and sometimes they take their sweet time. It's like waiting for a bus - you never know when it's gonna show up.

So, what can you do while you're waiting? Well, you could try flipping a coin to see if it's heads or tails. Or you could try meditating, maybe even do some yoga. You could also try learning more about how the internet works, so you're not left in the dark the next time something doesn't happen instantly.
And hey, if you're still having trouble after a couple of days, maybe it's time to reach out to your hosting provider or domain registrar again. They might be able to give you some more specific information about what's going on. But don't go blaming them if the DNS servers are just taking their time - it's not their fault the internet isn't instant gratification central.