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Troubleshoot a Connected Domain

If your domain is connected but something is not right, this article maps the symptom you are seeing to a fix. Most domain issues come down to one of three things: the domain needs verifying, an old DNS record is still in place, or DNS has not finished propagating.

DNS takes time

Propagation is how long DNS changes take to spread across the internet: usually a few minutes, sometimes up to 24 hours. Before assuming something is broken, give a recent change time to settle.

Symptom and fix​

SymptomLikely causeFix
Verification needed in the panelThe domain was used on another hosting accountAdd the TXT record shown, for both root and www
404 / DEPLOYMENT_NOT_FOUNDDNS points at Kite but the domain is not attached to a live deploymentMake an edit and publish; if it persists, disconnect and reconnect the domain
Shows an old or different siteA DNS record (often CNAME) still points somewhere elseUpdate the records to Kite's values and remove old ones
"Connection Not Private" / SSL errorCertificate not issued yet, or one of the www/root records is missingGive it time; check both records
"Domain already connected to another website"Domain is attached to another site you still haveDisconnect it in that site's Settings
Changes not appearingDNS propagation or browser cacheWait; hard-refresh

Verification needed​

If your domain was previously connected to another hosting account, Kite cannot attach it until you prove you control it. The panel shows Verification needed and a TXT record. Add it at your DNS provider (for a root domain, both the bare domain and www need it), wait a few minutes, and the notice clears.

404 or DEPLOYMENT_NOT_FOUND​

Your domain reaches Kite, but you get a 404 page or an error mentioning DEPLOYMENT_NOT_FOUND.

  1. Make a small edit in the editor and click Publish.
  2. If it persists, open your site's Settings, click Disconnect custom domain, then reconnect it from the publish panel.
  3. Allow a few minutes, then reload.

Domain shows an old or different site​

A DNS record is still pointing at the old host.

  1. Open your DNS settings at your registrar (see Connect a domain from your registrar).
  2. Check your A and CNAME records. A leftover CNAME pointing at an old host is the usual culprit.
  3. Replace them with the exact values Entri showed you, and delete any stale records.
  4. Wait for propagation.
Cloudflare in the middle

If your nameservers point to Cloudflare, edit the records in Cloudflare, not at the original registrar. See the note in Connect a domain from your registrar.

SSL "Connection Not Private"​

  1. Give it time. Certificates are issued automatically after the domain connects and can take a little while.
  2. Check both records. If only the root or only www is set up, the other may throw a warning. See www and Root Domain (and SSL).
  3. If it still fails after the records are correct and you have waited, open Chat with us.

"Domain already connected to another website"​

The domain is attached to a different site that still exists in your account. Open that site, go to Settings, click Disconnect custom domain, then reconnect on your current site. Deleting a site releases its domain automatically. See Move, switch, or reuse a domain.

Changes not appearing​

  1. Make an edit and Publish so the latest version is live.
  2. Wait for DNS propagation (up to 24 hours).
  3. Hard-refresh or use a private window to rule out browser caching.

Still stuck?​