Why Domain Name is Not Working

If your domain name stops working, identify the failing layer before changing settings. A registration problem, a DNS problem and a web-server problem can look similar in a browser but need very different fixes.

Start with these checks

Registration: In your NiceNIC account, confirm the domain is not expired and that renewal completed if recently paid.

Registry status: Inspect official RDAP/EPP status codes. clientHold or serverHold can interrupt DNS; clientTransferProhibited alone usually does not.

Nameservers: Compare the authoritative nameservers at the registry with the DNS provider that currently hosts your zone.

DNS records: At the authoritative provider, check that A/AAAA or CNAME records point to the intended website destination, and MX records point to your actual mail service.

DNSSEC: If enabled, check that the registry DS record matches the DNS provider's current signing keys; mismatches can cause validation failure.
Server: If DNS resolves correctly, test whether the destination server or CDN is reachable and serving the right hostname over HTTPS.

Match the symptom to the cause

NXDOMAIN

Delegation, missing record, DNSSEC and authoritative zone

Website times out but DNS is correct

Server, firewall, CDN, route and listening port

Browser certificate warning

TLS hostname/SAN, chain, expiry or wrong endpoint

Website works but email fails

MX, mailbox service and mail delivery/authentication

Domain shows serverHold

Registry verification/compliance; changing A records won't remove it

Only some users see a problem

Caching, IPv6, geo routing or split DNS

What to record before asking for help

Include the exact domain, affected service, observed error, whether failure occurs everywhere or only at one location, current nameservers and any recent change. Do not send account passwords, API secrets, EPP codes or private keys.

For a hold, see What clientHold and serverHold Mean. For DNS records, use the relevant NiceNIC DNS configuration guide.

Diagnose the failure with three independent tests

Registry/delegation: Look up the domain's expiry and EPP status, then check that the parent zone delegates to the intended nameservers. A domain in clientHold or serverHold may not resolve even with perfect records.
DNS answers: Query the authoritative nameservers for the intended A, AAAA, CNAME and MX records. If your domain uses an external DNS host such as Cloudflare, changing DNS records inside NiceNIC's zone editor will not update the live authoritative zone.
Destination service: If DNS returns the expected IP, test HTTPS/HTTP and the origin server. A timeout can be a firewall, listening-port or backend outage rather than a domain registration problem.

NXDOMAIN

Typo, missing zone, expired/held domain or negative DNS cache

SERVFAIL

DNSSEC validation, unhealthy authoritative servers or delegation fault

Website shows an old host

DNS cache, A/AAAA record, CDN or stale redirect

Website works but mail fails

MX destination, mailbox account, SPF/DKIM and port/service health

HTTPS shows an expired certificate

TLS certificate renewal and correct certificate deployment

www works but apex does not

Separate root record or redirect configuration

Example: If www.example.com works but example.com fails, check the apex DNS record and web-server host configuration rather than changing a domain transfer lock. Always back up the existing DNS zone before editing multiple records.