When you migrate a site to a Website Studio project, you must point your domain's DNS records to the server IP address associated with your project. Even after updating the A record, DNS verification inside Website Studio can still fail. This article explains common reasons that happens and general steps to investigate.
The troubleshooting steps below reflect general DNS best practices for domain migration scenarios. Because DNS verification failures in Website Studio can have several root causes specific to your account and project configuration, the steps below may not resolve every case. If your issue persists after following these steps, please contact our support team for account-specific guidance — see the end of this article.
Confirm the following before troubleshooting a verification failure:
You have access to your domain registrar or DNS provider's control panel.
Your Website Studio project has been published or is ready to go live.
You know the IP address or DNS record value your project requires — check inside your Website Studio project for this information, or contact support if you are unsure where to find it.
You know whether your domain uses an A record or a CNAME record — this guide covers the A record scenario.
DNS configuration for domain migrations generally follows these rules:
A record — Typically required for root/apex domains (for example, yourdomain.com). The value should be set to the IP address associated with your Website Studio project.
CNAME record — Generally used for subdomains only (for example, www.yourdomain.com). Using a CNAME on a root domain is not supported by most DNS providers and may cause validation to fail.
If you are unsure which record type your Website Studio project requires, contact support before making DNS changes.
Log in to your domain registrar or DNS provider's control panel.
Navigate to the DNS management area for your domain.
Locate the A record for your root domain.
Confirm the value matches the IP address required for your Website Studio project. Correct it if it differs.
Save the change and note the TTL (Time to Live) value — this determines how long old DNS data is cached by resolvers.
DNS changes do not take effect instantly. Propagation can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours depending on your TTL setting and your DNS provider's update frequency.
A higher TTL means resolvers may cache the old record for longer after your change.
To speed up future changes, consider lowering your TTL before making DNS edits, then restoring it afterward — check your DNS provider's documentation for recommended values.
Avoid retrying DNS verification in Website Studio repeatedly during this window — each failed check does not reset the propagation timer.
Before attempting to verify your domain in Website Studio, confirm the record has propagated globally using a free DNS lookup tool such as whatsmydns.net or dnschecker.org. Enter your domain and select the A record type to see whether your updated IP address is visible from multiple locations worldwide.
Certain configurations can interfere with DNS verification:
Cloudflare proxy (orange cloud) — If your domain is proxied through Cloudflare, the IP address seen externally will be Cloudflare's, not your project's IP. Disable the proxy (set to DNS-only / grey cloud) during verification, then re-enable it if needed after the domain is confirmed.
Multiple conflicting A records — If more than one A record exists for your root domain pointing to different IP addresses, remove the outdated ones and keep only the correct record.
Old cached records — If propagation tools show the correct IP but verification still fails, try clearing your local DNS cache or testing from a different network.
If you have confirmed the correct A record is in place, propagation is complete globally, and DNS verification in Website Studio still fails, this is likely an account- or project-specific issue that requires our team to investigate. When contacting support, please have the following ready:
Your Website Studio project name
Your domain name
The exact error message shown during DNS verification
A screenshot or result from a DNS propagation checker confirming the current A record value
The timestamp of when you last updated your DNS record
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.