Free first look

The domain is connected and the site will not open

Domains fail in a small number of ways, and most of them look identical in the browser. Check them in this order and stop at the first one that matches.

1. The records point somewhere else

The registrar keeps the records, and they may still point at the parking page or a previous host.

How to checkLook at the records at the registrar, not in the host's dashboard. The root domain and the www version are configured separately.
What to changeSet exactly the records your host asks for, delete conflicting ones, and keep one address record for the root and one alias for www.

Two records for the same name, left over from an old host, make the site load for some visitors and not others.

2. The nameservers were changed and the records live at the old provider

If you moved the nameservers, the records you are editing may be at a provider that no longer serves the domain.

How to checkCheck which nameservers the domain currently uses, then edit the records where those nameservers live.
What to changeEither move the records to the new provider or point the nameservers back. Editing the wrong place changes nothing, forever.

This is the usual reason a change appears to have no effect at all.

3. The certificate has not been issued yet

The security warning is normal for a few minutes after connecting, because the certificate is issued only once the records resolve correctly.

How to checkYour host shows the certificate status. If it says pending, wait.
What to changeGive it up to an hour. If it stays pending, the cause is almost always one of the record problems above.

A CAA record left by a previous provider can block issuance entirely and gives no obvious error.

4. You are seeing a cached answer

Your computer and your provider remember the old answer for as long as the record's lifetime says.

How to checkOpen the site on mobile data, on a phone that has never visited it, in a private window.
What to changeIf it works there, you are looking at a cache. Lower the record lifetime before future changes so the next move is fast.

Browser caches and service workers from an older version of the site cause the same illusion.

5. Only one of the two versions is connected

The root domain and www are two different addresses. Connecting one and linking the other everywhere is a common launch-day mistake.

How to checkTry both, with and without www.
What to changeConnect both and redirect one to the other, permanently, in one direction only.

Search engines treat them as two sites. Pick one and stay with it.

Not one of these five?

Send me the link and the exact error text. I will tell you what is broken and what it would take to fix, in writing, within 24 hours. That part is free, and you are not obliged to hire me afterwards.

If you do want it fixed: emergency rescue starts at $600, and I name one fixed number before I start.

Send me the link