Troubleshooting Domain Issues

This article is to help you troubleshoot reasons your domain name isn't resolving. Follow these steps to resolve the most common issues.

Tools to help you troubleshoot domain issues.


DNS Checker - Helps you determine the status of domain propagation and the IP address a domain is pointed to.


ICANN Lookup - Helps you determine which name servers are being used and where the domain is registered.


  1. Hosting subscription fees not paid.

When you created a website with WebStarts you were assigned a subdomain on YourWebsiteSpace.com. At some point you decided you wanted your own top level domain name. For example a .com, .net, .org or other domain extension. WebStarts requires an active paid hosting subscription whether you register a domain name through WebStarts or bring your own domain from another registrar.


In the event your hosting subscription plan went unpaid, your domain name will stop resolving to your website. This problem is solved by paying for your subscription. Once a subscription is paid the site will begin to work within 20 minutes provided an unpaid subscription was the sole issue.


  1. Domain registration fees not paid.

When you paid for a WebStarts hosting subscription you were given the opportunity to register a domain with WebStarts at no additional cost for the first year, or connect a domain name registered with another provider. If you registered a new domain with WebStarts the yearly domain registration fee is due one year after the domain is registered. If the domain registration fee goes unpaid the domain expires and stops resolving to your website.


This problem is solved by paying the yearly domain registration fee. Once the fee is paid the site will begin resolving within 20 minutes.


Unfortunately if your domain registration fee goes unpaid for more than 30 days, the domain enters a redemption period. A redemption period is when an ICANN accredited registrar adds a $100 fee to renew the domain. After 90 days the redemption period ends and the domain becomes available for anyone to registrar. This exists to incentivize domain registrars to prevent domain owners from mistakenly losing domain ownership.


  1. Domain name has expired.

If you've verified your hosting subscription and domain registration fees have been paid and your domain is still not resolving to your website it may be due to an expired domain. Since a domain registered with WebStarts is automatically renewed upon the payment of a subscription fee this is most likely a scenario that applies to a domain registered somewhere other than WebStarts.

Note: WebStarts requires a domain registration fee be paid to connect a domain to a hosting subscription even if the domain is registered somewhere other than WebStarts.


  1. Domain is using the wrong DNS records.

When connecting a domain registered sobmewhere other than WebStarts to a website built with WebStarts it's recommended you login to your existing registrar and update the name servers to ns1.webstarts.com and ns2.webstarts.com. This gives WebStarts the ability to point your domain to a site built with WebStarts as well as manage your DNS (Domain Name Server) records through WebStarts.


There are many types of DNS records but the most relevant are the following:


A Record - This is the record that tells which IP address to send people to when they enter a domain into a web browser address bar.


MX - This stands for Mail Exchange and it tells a name server which servers to use for sending and receiving emails.


TXT - This stands for Text Record and is used to store arbitrary text values. The most common of which are used to authenticate emails being sent using SPF and DKIM but are frequently used for things like domain ownership verification as well.


CNAME - This stands for Canonical Names and is used for domain aliases. For example to associate one domain with another.


If you're not using WebStarts as your name servers verify you're using the proper IP address for your A record. If your domain name doesn't resolve after changing the A Record the problem exists on the server the IP Address is pointed to.


  1. DNS propagation.

If you've recently changed your name servers or a name server record it can take up to 48 hours for those records to propagate across the internet. Although in most cases propagation takes a few hours. Name servers must communicate with other name servers around the world to synchronize those records and that takes time.

If your domain is resolving only part of the time it's likely a DNS propagation issue. As name servers update records about your domain around the world, some servers will update earlier than others.

The solution is to verify the records have been updated correctly and simply wait for the name servers around the world to begin serving your new records. You can check the status of DNS propagation at https://dnschecker.org.


  1. Domain disconnected from your site.

WebStarts allows you to create and manage a website within a single account and therefore you can also point your domain name to any of those sites. In addition, you can disconnect your domain from a site altogether. If your domain isn't pointed to a site in your WebStarts account it will not resolve.


The solution is to login and select the Domains tab from the drop down in the top right, select the Points To tab and verify your domain is pointed to the desired website.