What to check when a website will not load
DNS is the start of the connection, not the whole journey. A clear sequence helps avoid misleading conclusions.
A DNS checklist for an unreachable website →
Work from the complete name to its addresses before moving further along the connection.
Why the apex and www can return different answers →
Check both entry points, and distinguish a DNS alias from a web redirect.
Record type reference
- A / AAAA
- IPv4 and IPv6 addresses associated with a name.
- CNAME
- An alias relationship between one name and another.
- MX
- Incoming mail servers and their preference values.
- TXT
- Public text, such as SPF, verification values or DKIM data.
- NS / SOA
- Nameservers and essential zone information.
- SRV
- Service target, port, priority and weight. Enter the full service name.
- PTR
- Reverse mappings. Enter the corresponding in-addr.arpa or ip6.arpa name.
- CAA
- Public statements about certificate issuance authorization.
Scope of a lookup
All types covers common record types for the name you enter. It does not enumerate every subdomain or perform zone transfers, port scans or global propagation tests. Answers come from one recursive DNS service and may reflect its cache.