Fix a domain that is not resolving

Before you start

• Access to your FoxFolio Cloud account
• Access to the company where the domain is registered, if it is not registered with FoxFolio Cloud

Applies to: Domains, Cloud Hosting, WordPress Cloud, Managed WordPress, Basic Email.

Steps

1. Check the domain is active

   If the domain is registered with FoxFolio Cloud, sign in to your account (opens in a new tab), open Domains → My Domains and check its status. An expired domain stops working for both website and email until it is renewed.

2. Check the nameservers

   Use any public WHOIS or nameserver lookup tool. For hosting with us, the nameservers should be:

   • ns1.stackdns.com
   • ns2.stackdns.com
   • ns3.stackdns.com
   • ns4.stackdns.com
   • If your registrar accepts fewer than four, enter as many as it allows.

3. If you keep DNS elsewhere, check the records

   When the nameservers belong to another provider, the website only works if that provider’s DNS has the correct A record for the bare domain and www. Copy the values from the DNS page for your service in the control panel.

4. Allow time after a change

   Record changes on our nameservers usually take effect within an hour. A nameserver change usually takes a few hours and can take up to 48 hours. See How long DNS changes take to work.

5. Look for a verification or hold status

   A WHOIS lookup showing clientHold usually means the registrant email was not verified, the domain expired, or there is a registry compliance issue. Registrant verification emails must be answered within 15 days of a new registration, transfer or owner change.

Troubleshooting and common mistakes

Some people see the site and others do not.

The change is still spreading. Wait, and test from a phone on mobile data to bypass your own network’s cache.

Adding the domain to hosting removed your custom records.

Adding a domain to a hosting service resets its DNS to default records on our nameservers. Re-add third-party records, such as verification TXT records or external email MX records.

The domain shows another company’s parking page.

The nameservers still point to the registrar’s default service. Change them at the registrar.

Related guides

• Point a domain you own to FoxFolio Cloud hostingTo point a domain registered elsewhere at FoxFolio Cloud, change its nameservers at your registrar to ns1.stackdns.com, ns2.stackdns.com, ns3.stackdns.com and ns4.stackdns.com. Before you switch, copy every existing DNS record and re-create the ones you still need, such as external email or verification records, in your FoxFolio Cloud control panel. Nameserver changes usually work within hours and can take up to 48.
• How long DNS changes take to workChanges to DNS records in a FoxFolio Cloud control panel reach FoxFolio Cloud’s DNS servers within about a minute, but other networks may keep the old answer for up to the record’s time-to-live, usually about an hour. Nameserver changes at a registrar are slower: usually a few hours and occasionally up to 48 hours.
• Domain contact details and registrant verificationRegistries require the domain owner’s (registrant’s) name and email to be accurate. After a new registration, a transfer or any change to the registrant details, the registry may email a verification link to the registrant address. Open it and confirm within the deadline, normally 15 days, or the domain can be suspended and its website and email will stop.
• Domain renewals, expiry and grace periodsDomains registered or transferred through FoxFolio Cloud renew automatically each year unless you turn auto-renewal off or cancel, on the same notice basis as hosting in the Terms. The renewal is charged in CAD with HST and is not refundable. If a domain expires, the website and email stop; it can usually be renewed during a grace period, and later only with an extra redemption fee, before it is released.
• Fix a website that is not loadingCheck in this order: the service status page, your service’s status in your account, the domain’s DNS, then the error logs in the control panel. Most outages that affect one site are caused by a PHP or plugin error, an expired domain, an unpaid service or a DNS change. The error message and the log usually point to the cause.