How to Fix DNS Problems
DNS problems are almost always a mismatch between where the domain points and where your services actually live. Check the layers in order.
Check Your DNS Records →The order to check
- Registrar — is the domain registered, unexpired and not locked?
- Nameservers — do the NS records point at the DNS provider you actually manage?
- A / CNAME — does the website record point at your current server or platform?
- MX — is email routed to your real mail provider? A website migration must not remove these.
- TXT — one SPF record only, plus DKIM and verification records.
Propagation
Resolvers cache answers for the TTL. Lower the TTL to 300 seconds a day before a planned migration, then raise it afterwards. Without that, expect stragglers for up to 48 hours.
Common mistakes
- Editing records at the registrar while the nameservers point elsewhere.
- Publishing both an A record and a CNAME for the same hostname.
- Removing MX records when moving hosts.
- Two SPF records, which invalidates SPF completely.