DNS Preferred (for Windows), but how do this?

[VinceS2]

It really isn't obvious at all and Google is no help. Lot's of info suggesting this is the smart way, but nothing that looks like an ABC of making it happen. I have been using the fixed HOSTS file from https://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm for many years now, seemingly without issues. However it is no longer supported, and may not have been that great when it was, so I would like to move to a more modern method. I see the 'trap' of having extremely large hosts files grinding local traffic to a halt, so not wanting to do that. But how adopt the DNS lookup method in a practical way that works? Thank you.