If your domain name isn't resolving to the server (like if you go to your domain in your browser and it doesn't take you to the correct server), you may be experiencing one of a number of possible issues. This guide will walk you through some troubleshooting ideas, and will hopefully help you get your DNS resolving and your site up.
Troubleshooting Options
CHECK NAMESERVERS
Check to make sure your nameservers are correct. You can find your nameservers in a variety of places, including in your Welcome email from us. If you don't have that anymore, there are several free online tools that will allow you to view domain DNS, including nameservers, if you're nameservers are already assigned in your account. Try these:
If all else fails, and you can't find the info, just ask us. If you find that your nameservers are set up incorrectly, we can help you with that.
CHECK THE VALIDITY OF THE DOMAIN
Make sure the domain is registered and not expired. You can easily check this with a WHOIS lookup tool. If the domain is expired, you'll need to renew it to see it online. If it is not registered, register it! You can register a new domain with us right from our website.
PING YOUR DOMAIN
Check to see if your domain is resolving to the same IP as the account is assigned to by using the 'PING' command.
CHECK YOUR DNS GLUE
DNS Glue can be disrupted by the nameserver records not being listed properly in the DNS files. A glue record is the IP address of a nameserver held at the Domain Name Registry. Glue records are required when you wish to set the nameservers of a domain name to a hostname under the domain name itself.
For Reseller accounts, VPS and Dedicated Servers, it is possible that the nameservers were not properly added to the DNS zone. Check this by going to an online DNS viewing tool like LeafDNS to see if the DNS tool reports that there is no glue, or the nameservers are un-check marked, next to the nameservers listed.
If you find that your glue records are acting strange, and you need to change them up to get your DNS resolving, you can change them up in cPanel.
CHECK YOUR A RECORDS
You want to make sure that the A records point to the correct IP. Although this will most likely be correct if cPanel configures it automatically, there are a few reasons this could be incorrect. This sometimes happens when you are not using our nameservers or if youmanually made changes to the DNS zones.
You can change your A records in the Advanced DNS Editor within cPanel.
Understanding Propagation
When you make certain changes to the DNS, such as nameserver changes, A record changes, MX record changes, etc., it takes time for those changes to propagate, or update, throughout the internet worldwide. Some people will see the change instantly and some will see the change within up to 48 hours, depending on what DNS record was changed.
View Your Site Before Propagation Completes
FLUSH YOUR DNS
If you want to view your site before propagation has completed, sometimes you just have to flush your DNS. Your computer may be remembering your old nameserver settings.
If flushing the DNS doesn't work, then your nameservers may not have been updated or your internet service provider (ISP) may be caching the DNS. If this is the case, you just gotta wait until propagation finishes.
MODIFY THE HOST'S FILE
You can also temporarily change the host's file on your computer to force your computer to go to our server's IP address for the most recent information. This doesn't fix the DNS propagation at all, but it lets you see the site with your domain name, regardless of what DNS says.
