DNS Change Not Showing? Check Nameservers, Records and Caches

A DNS edit can be saved while your website or email still appears unchanged. The useful first question is whether the right authoritative nameservers have the new record, or whether a resolver is still serving a cached answer. This NicNames checklist helps you find the difference before changing more settings.

1. Find the DNS provider that answers for your domain

Sign in to NicNames and open Domains → ClassicDNS. Select your domain and read Name-Servers. If it shows Free Name-Servers, open DNS Records → Manage to review the NicNames zone. If it shows Custom Name-Servers, review the records with the provider named by those servers. Keeping a domain registered at NicNames does not mean NicNames hosts its DNS.

If you recently changed nameservers, check the domain’s current delegation as well as the zone at the new provider. Changing nameservers can affect existing website and email records, so do not switch them merely to refresh a cached answer. Our domain lookup guide explains how to read the nameserver information.

2. Check the exact hostname and record

In the authoritative provider’s DNS table, compare the Name, Type, Data and TTL with the destination service’s instructions. The root domain and www are different hostnames; an A record for one does not automatically update the other. Check for an old AAAA record if IPv6 visitors still reach the old server. For a CNAME, check its target and whether another record conflicts at the same name.

If your change was for a hosted website, compare its custom-domain setting with the DNS record as well. The www to GitHub Pages guide shows one specific connection. For email, check the MX hostname and priority against your provider’s current instructions; the Google Workspace MX checklist covers that case.

3. Compare authoritative and cached answers

A DNS lookup that queries the domain’s authoritative nameservers tells you what those servers currently publish. A normal lookup through a recursive resolver may still return an older answer from its cache. If the authoritative answer is still old, revisit the provider, the exact hostname, and whether the edit was saved. If the authoritative answer is new but a recursive answer is old, allow for the previous record’s TTL and any local cache before assuming the edit failed.

TTL is a cache lifetime measured in seconds, not a universal countdown for every visitor. Different resolvers and devices may refresh at different times, and a recent nameserver change has its own delegation and caching path. Repeatedly changing a correct record can make the diagnosis harder.

4. If DNS is correct, check the destination

When DNS answers match the new target but the old page still appears, check the hosting platform’s custom-domain setup, website deployment, browser cache and any CDN cache. An HTTPS or certificate warning is a separate signal: confirm the destination service has provisioned the domain and certificate before treating it as a DNS delay.

If the authoritative servers disagree or the change remains unexplained after checking the record and TTL, contact NicNames Support. Include the affected hostname, record type, expected value and the lookup result; do not send passwords or private account tokens.