My Domain Is Not Resolving

Why Is My Domain Not Working?

When your domain is not resolving, visitors see a "this site can't be reached" or "DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN" error in their browser. This means the domain name is not translating into an IP address correctly.

Common Causes

• Incorrect nameservers – Your domain must point to the correct SillyHost nameservers. These are provided in your welcome email and are typically ns1.sillyhost.co.uk and ns2.sillyhost.co.uk.
• DNS propagation – After changing nameservers or DNS records, propagation can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours depending on your registrar and ISP.
• Expired domain – If your domain registration has expired, it will stop resolving. Check your domain status at your registrar.
• Domain not added to hosting – The domain must be added as an addon domain or the primary domain on your hosting account in cPanel.
• Registrar lock or hold – Some registrars place domains on hold for verification purposes, especially new registrations.

How to Fix It

1. Verify nameservers – Log into your domain registrar and check that the nameservers are set to the values provided by SillyHost.
2. Check DNS records – Use a tool like whatsmydns.net or run nslookup yourdomain.com from your terminal to see what the domain is resolving to.
3. Renew your domain – If the domain has expired, renew it immediately through your registrar. It can take a few hours to reactivate after renewal.
4. Add the domain to cPanel – Go to Domains in cPanel and make sure the domain is listed and pointing to the correct document root.
5. Flush your local DNS cache – On Windows, open Command Prompt and run ipconfig /flushdns. On macOS, run sudo dscacheutil -flushcache.
6. Wait for propagation – If you made changes recently, wait up to 48 hours. You can monitor progress on whatsmydns.net.

If your domain still does not resolve after 48 hours, contact support with your domain name and registrar details so we can investigate.