DNS Issues

Overview

DNS issues are the most common problems when setting up RndrKit. If your domain is not resolving correctly or your site is not loading through RndrKit, this guide will help you diagnose and fix the issue.

Quick Diagnosis

Run this command to check your DNS configuration:

dig www.example.com CNAME +short

Expected output:

cname.rndrkit.io.

If you see something different, follow the troubleshooting steps below.

Common Issues

CNAME Record Not Found

Symptom: dig returns nothing or a different value.

Cause: The CNAME record was not created, was created with the wrong value, or has not propagated yet.

Fix:

  1. Log in to your DNS provider.
  2. Check that a CNAME record exists for www pointing to cname.rndrkit.io.
  3. If it does not exist, create it. See DNS Configuration for provider-specific instructions.
  4. If it was just created, wait 5-30 minutes for propagation and check again.

Conflicting DNS Records

Symptom: dig returns an IP address instead of a CNAME, or returns a different CNAME.

Cause: There is an existing A record or CNAME record for www that conflicts with the RndrKit CNAME.

Fix:

  1. Go to your DNS provider and look for existing records on the www subdomain.
  2. Delete any A records or conflicting CNAME records for www.
  3. Create the RndrKit CNAME record: www -> cname.rndrkit.io.
  4. Wait for propagation.

Cloudflare Proxy Enabled (Orange Cloud)

Symptom: The site loads, but pre-rendering does not work. Bot requests return the SPA shell instead of rendered HTML.

Cause: Cloudflare's proxy is enabled (orange cloud icon), which means traffic goes through Cloudflare instead of RndrKit. Cloudflare passes all requests with the same user-agent modifications, preventing bot detection.

Fix:

  1. Go to your Cloudflare DNS settings.
  2. Find the CNAME record for www.
  3. Click the orange cloud icon to toggle it to DNS only (gray cloud).
  4. Save the change.
Before: www  CNAME  cname.rndrkit.io  (Proxied - orange cloud)
After:  www  CNAME  cname.rndrkit.io  (DNS only - gray cloud)

DNS Propagation Delay

Symptom: DNS was configured correctly, but the site is not resolving or the old site is still showing.

Cause: DNS changes take time to propagate globally. The delay depends on:

  • Your previous TTL setting (the old record is cached for this long)
  • Your DNS provider's propagation speed
  • Your ISP's DNS caching

Fix:

  1. Check propagation status at whatsmydns.net.
  2. If some regions show the correct value and others do not, wait. It can take up to 24 hours.
  3. Try flushing your local DNS cache:
# macOS
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

# Windows
ipconfig /flushdns

# Linux
sudo systemd-resolve --flush-caches
  1. Try accessing the site from a different network or device.

Apex Domain Not Redirecting

Symptom: example.com (without www) returns an error or does not redirect to www.example.com.

Cause: No DNS record exists for the apex domain, or it is not pointed to RndrKit.

Fix:

For Cloudflare users:

  1. Add a CNAME record for @ pointing to cname.rndrkit.io (Cloudflare supports CNAME at the apex via CNAME flattening).

For other providers:

  1. Add an A record for @ pointing to RndrKit's IP address. Contact support for the current IP.

RndrKit automatically redirects apex domain requests to the www version with a 301 redirect.

DNS Points to Wrong Server

Symptom: The site loads, but it is showing content from a different service (old hosting provider, Vercel, Netlify, etc.).

Cause: The CNAME record is pointing to the old host instead of RndrKit.

Fix:

  1. Update the CNAME record to point to cname.rndrkit.io.
  2. Remove any old A records or CNAME records for www.
  3. Wait for propagation.

Verifying After Fixes

After making DNS changes, verify with these checks:

# 1. Check CNAME record
dig www.example.com CNAME +short
# Expected: cname.rndrkit.io.

# 2. Check that the site loads
curl -I https://www.example.com/
# Expected: HTTP/2 200

# 3. Check bot rendering
curl -s -A "Googlebot/2.1" "https://www.example.com/" | head -20
# Expected: Fully rendered HTML with content

Still Having Issues?

If DNS is configured correctly but your domain is still not working:

  1. Check SSL Problems -- SSL issues can prevent the site from loading.
  2. Check your domain status in the RndrKit dashboard -- it should show "Active".
  3. Try refreshing the domain status in the dashboard to trigger a re-check.
  4. Contact support with the output of dig www.yourdomain.com CNAME +short and dig www.yourdomain.com A +short.

Next Steps

Previous

Origin Proxy

Next

SSL Problems