iFastHostingWhy your domain shows the wrong website
The short list of causes behind a domain loading someone else site or an old version of your own, checked in the order that finds the answer fastest.
A domain loading the wrong website almost always comes down to one of a small number of causes, and working through them in order — quickest and most common checks first — finds the answer faster than guessing. This covers each one, and how to rule it in or out quickly.
Check one: is it actually cached, not actually wrong?
Before assuming anything is misconfigured, rule out your own browser and network. DNS answers are cached aggressively at several layers between you and the server, and a genuinely fixed record can still show the old result on your own machine for a while after everyone else sees the correct one.
dig +short yourdomain.com
nslookup yourdomain.com # WindowsCompare that against what a phone on mobile data, with Wi-Fi turned off, shows — a completely different network path and cache. If the two disagree, this is caching, not a real fault, and it will resolve itself; see how long DNS propagation takes for what to expect.
Check two: is the DNS record actually pointing where you think?
If the mismatch shows up from multiple networks, not just your own, check what the domain is genuinely pointing at:
dig +short NS yourdomain.com
dig +short A yourdomain.comCompare the nameservers against what you expect, and the A record against your actual hosting IP address. A mismatch here usually means one of two things: a record was edited in the wrong place — see how to check which DNS a domain is actually using — or an old record was simply never updated after a change.
If a domain's nameservers point at your host, records edited at the registrar are never consulted, and vice versa. Both panels will happily let you save a change either way, with nothing warning you that it has no effect. Always confirm which nameservers are actually authoritative before assuming a saved change should have worked.
Check three: is the domain actually added to the hosting account?
DNS pointing correctly at a server is only half of what makes a website load. The server also has to know it is responsible for that specific domain name. If a domain's A record points at your hosting IP address but the domain was never added inside your control panel, the server typically has no matching site to serve and falls back to a default page, or serves whichever site is configured as the account's primary domain instead of the one actually requested.
Check four: is it pointing at the right folder?
On an account hosting more than one site, a domain can be correctly added and correctly pointed at the server, and still show the wrong content if it was assigned to the wrong folder. This is easy to get wrong when several domains and folders were set up in one sitting — double-check the folder assignment for the specific domain in question against what you intended. See how to host a second website on one account for how that assignment is normally made.
Check five: has the domain expired or changed hands?
A domain that has lapsed, or that was recently sold or transferred without your knowledge, can end up pointing at someone else's server entirely, showing content that has nothing to do with your site. A WHOIS lookup will show the domain's current registrar and expiry date, which quickly confirms or rules out this possibility.
Check six: is a CDN or proxy service involved?
If the domain runs through a content delivery network or similar proxy service in front of your hosting, that service's own configuration — not just your hosting or DNS — decides where a request actually ends up. A misconfigured or forgotten setting there can override everything checked above, so if one is in use, check its dashboard as well before concluding the fault is elsewhere.
Putting it together
| Symptom | Most likely cause |
|---|---|
| Only some people see it, others do not | Caching or partial DNS propagation |
| Everyone sees the same wrong content | A DNS record pointing at the wrong place, or edited in the wrong panel |
| A generic default or error page instead of any site | Domain not added to the hosting account it is pointing at |
| The wrong one of your own sites | Domain assigned to the wrong folder |
| Content unrelated to anything you own | Domain expired, sold, or transferred without your knowledge |
If you have worked through all of these and the domain still shows the wrong site, contact our support team with the domain name and what you have already checked, and we can look at what your hosting account currently thinks it should be serving.
Related reading
How to find out, with certainty rather than a guess, which company actually controls a domain DNS right now.
How to point a domain to your hostingThe two ways to connect a domain to a hosting account, when to use each, and how to tell the change has actually taken effect.
How long does DNS propagation take?Usually a few hours, occasionally up to 48 — and your own browser is almost always the last thing on earth to catch up.
How to host a second website on one accountHow one hosting account can run several genuinely separate websites, each with its own folder, domain, and DNS pointing.