Empty answers, NXDOMAIN and failures

Similar-looking results can call for very different next steps.

The name does not exist

NXDOMAIN is a DNS response stating that a name does not exist. Check spelling, the domain suffix and the exact subdomain. If a record was just created, a recursive resolver may still cache an earlier negative answer, so consider when the change was made.

The name has no answer of that type

No AAAA answer does not imply that there is no A record. Try another relevant type before treating an empty response as a failed domain. Some services use IPv4 only, and a mail destination can be different from the website destination.

The lookup failed or timed out

A resolver failure can involve upstream problems, incorrect delegation or validation issues. An HTTP timeout can instead be a connection problem with the lookup service. Save the time, type and error message, then compare with provider settings or another resolver.

This guide explains public DNS responses. Before changing production settings, check the documentation for your current domain and hosting providers.