DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN on your own website: what it means and how to fix it

Chrome says This site can't be reached and DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN. It means the internet's address book has no entry for your domain. The browser never got as far as your server.

The usual causes, most common first

  1. The domain expired. Look it up at lookup.icann.org. If the expiry date has passed, log in to your registrar and renew it now. Most registrars give a grace period of about a month, then the name can be sold to someone else.
  2. The nameservers were changed. Someone moved the domain to Cloudflare or a new host and the new place has no records for it. Check which nameservers the lookup shows, log in there, and add the A or CNAME record your host gives you.
  3. The records were deleted. A tidy-up in the DNS panel removed the A record for the bare domain or for www. Add it back.
  4. It is only your machine. Try your phone on mobile data. If the site loads there, flush your computer's DNS cache or restart the router.

Check it yourself

Run dig +short yourdomain.com and dig +short www.yourdomain.com. An empty answer confirms the missing record. dig NS yourdomain.com shows who is supposed to answer.

Want the rest of your site checked after it is back? Run a free 40-point check at tinkeraudit.com.