A newly registered or newly pointed domain rarely works instantly. Work through this checklist.
1. Has propagation finished?
DNS changes take 1–4 hours typically, and up to 48 hours worldwide. Check the current state at whatsmydns.net — enter your domain and look at the A and NS records across locations.
2. Are the nameservers correct?
Confirm the domain uses the exact nameservers from your welcome email, and that they were saved at the registrar, not just typed into a DNS zone.
3. Is the domain active?
A newly registered domain can take a few hours to appear in the global registry. An expired one stops resolving entirely — check the expiry date in Domains → My Domains.
4. Is the registrant email verified?
ICANN requires verification of the registrant email for most gTLDs. If you ignore that email, the domain is suspended after 15 days. Look for a verification message from the registrar and complete it.
5. Is your own cache the problem?
Your computer and router cache DNS. Try:
- A different device or your mobile data connection
- An incognito window
- Windows:
ipconfig /flushdnsin Command Prompt - macOS:
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
6. Are the files actually there?
Check that public_html contains an index.html or index.php. An empty folder shows a default page or a 403 error.
Still stuck?
Open a ticket with the domain name, what you changed, when you changed it, and a screenshot of the error. Include the output of whatsmydns.net if you can — it saves a round trip.
