Website not opening after changing DNS? How to point a domain to your hosting and fix it (2026)

What "pointing a domain" actually means

A domain name is just a label. When someone types yourbusiness.in, their device asks the Domain Name System (DNS) which server address belongs to that name, then connects to that address. Pointing a domain means changing that answer so it returns your new server's IP address instead of the old one.

Two separate things are involved, and mixing them up causes most problems. The registrar is the company where you bought the domain. The DNS host is the company whose nameservers answer questions about it. They are often the same company, but if you ever moved the nameservers to Cloudflare or to your old hosting company, the DNS host is now that company — and changes made at the registrar's DNS page do nothing at all.

Nameservers or A records: which should you change?

There are two ways to send a domain to new hosting:

• Change the A records (recommended for most people). You keep your DNS where it is and only change where the website points. Email records (MX, SPF, DKIM) stay untouched, so your email keeps working exactly as before.
• Change the nameservers. You move the whole DNS zone to another company. Every record — including email — must then exist at the new DNS host, or email stops arriving. Nameserver changes also take longer to spread, often up to 24–48 hours.

If your email is on Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho or your registrar, change only the A records. It is the smallest change with the least risk.

How long DNS propagation really takes

"Propagation" is a slightly misleading word: nothing is pushed around the world. What happens is caching. Every DNS answer carries a TTL (time to live), for example 3600 seconds. Internet providers, offices, phones and browsers remember the old answer until that time runs out, then ask again and get the new one.

So the waiting time depends on the old record's TTL. With a TTL of 5 minutes, almost everyone sees the change within minutes. With 4 hours (14400 seconds, a common default at older hosts), some visitors keep reaching the old server for up to 4 hours. Nameserver changes depend on the parent zone (.com, .in) and are commonly cached for a day or two.

Tip for a planned move: a day before switching, lower the TTL on the existing records to 300 seconds. When you change the IP the next day, the switch is almost instant for everyone.

Step by step: point your domain to Cloud Ninza

Open Domains and SSL in your Cloud Ninza dashboard. It shows the exact records your domain needs and checks live, from public DNS, whether the domain already reaches our servers. Then, at the company that hosts your DNS:

• Add or edit the A record for @ (the bare domain) with the server IP shown in your dashboard.
• Add or edit the A record for www with the same IP — or a CNAME for www pointing to your bare domain.
• Delete every other A record for @ and www, and every AAAA record for them.
• Leave MX, TXT (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and other email records alone unless you are also moving email.
• Save, then come back to the Domains page and press Check.

The five mistakes behind almost every "it still does not work"

When a domain still shows the old site, an error or nothing, it is nearly always one of these:

• Edited in the wrong place. You changed records at the registrar, but the nameservers point to Cloudflare or the old host. Check the NS records first and edit there.
• A leftover old A record. Two A records for the same name means visitors are sent to the old and new server at random — the site seems to work, then not, then work again.
• An old AAAA (IPv6) record. Many networks and certificate authorities try IPv6 first. If an AAAA record still points to the old host, some visitors reach it and the free SSL certificate cannot be issued.
• www forgotten. The bare domain was changed but www still points to the old host (or nowhere), so half of all visitors see the wrong site.
• Your own computer's cache. Your browser or laptop remembers the old answer. Test on mobile data with Wi-Fi off, or in a private window, before assuming DNS is wrong.

Cloudflare users: proxy and SSL mode

If your DNS is on Cloudflare, the orange cloud (proxied) is fine — visitors connect to Cloudflare, and Cloudflare connects to your server. Two settings matter. First, the A records in Cloudflare must contain the new server IP even though public lookups show Cloudflare's addresses. Second, the SSL/TLS mode must be Full or Full (strict). With "Flexible", Cloudflare talks to your server over plain http, and a site that redirects http to https ends in a "too many redirects" loop.

Cloudflare's own errors also tell you a lot: 521 means your server refused the connection, 522 means it did not answer in time, and 526 means the server's certificate is not valid yet — usually solved once the free certificate is issued.

How to check DNS like a professional

You do not need special software. A few free checks answer almost every question:

• A public DNS checker (search "DNS propagation checker") shows what resolvers in many countries return for your A record right now.
• On a Mac or Linux terminal: dig +short yourdomain.in and dig +short www.yourdomain.in. On Windows: nslookup yourdomain.in 1.1.1.1.
• Ask a specific resolver to skip your local cache: dig @1.1.1.1 yourdomain.in or dig @8.8.8.8 yourdomain.in.
• Look up the nameservers: dig NS yourdomain.in — this tells you where records must be edited.
• On Cloud Ninza, the Domains page runs the same checks from the server side and says plainly whether the domain reaches us.

Flush the cache on your own device

If public checkers show the new IP but your computer still opens the old site, the cache is local. On Windows run ipconfig /flushdns in Command Prompt; on a Mac run sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder. In Chrome, chrome://net-internals/#dns has a "Clear host cache" button. Restarting the router helps when the router itself caches DNS.

What happens after the domain points to the server

On Cloud Ninza, the platform notices as soon as the domain reaches the server and orders a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for the domain and www. It checks every 30 minutes, so https usually works within half an hour of DNS being right, and the certificate renews itself. You can also press "Check and issue now" on the Domains page. If the certificate is waiting, the page shows why — most often a leftover AAAA record or a www that still points elsewhere.

Moving a live website without downtime

For a site that must not go down — a shop, a booking system — copy the site to the new server first and test it on a temporary address before touching DNS. Lower the TTL a day ahead. Switch the A records at a quiet hour. Keep the old hosting running for a few days, because some visitors will still reach it while caches expire; if the site takes orders or form entries, compare the old server's data with the new one before cancelling the old plan.

Key takeaways

The short version, for anyone skimming:

• Edit DNS where the domain's nameservers point — not automatically at the registrar.
• Change only the A records for @ and www to keep email working; delete leftover A and AAAA records.
• Propagation is caching: it lasts as long as the old record's TTL, usually minutes to hours, up to 48 hours for nameservers.
• On Cloudflare use SSL mode Full or Full (strict), never Flexible.
• On Cloud Ninza the Domains page shows the exact records, checks them live, and SSL follows automatically.