Why does my custom domain only work sometimes?

Troubleshoot when your wedding website loads inconsistently — sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, or your RSVP form randomly fails.

Short answer: You likely have multiple A records pointing to your apex domain (@). Your domain should have only one A record with the value 37.16.10.26. Delete any other A records for @ or your apex domain, then wait for DNS to update.

What's happening

When you added the A record for WedSites, your domain may have already had other A records set up — for example, from your registrar's built-in website builder, a parking page, or a previous hosting service. If your domain has multiple A records for the same name (like @), your site will only work some of the time.

Why multiple A records cause problems

Here's a simple way to think about it:

When someone types your domain into their browser, their device asks the internet "where is this website?" The internet looks at your A records and picks one of the addresses to send the visitor to.

If you have three A records — one pointing to WedSites and two pointing to other services — the internet essentially picks one at random. That means roughly one out of three times, your visitor gets sent to WedSites and sees your wedding website. The other two out of three times, they get sent somewhere else entirely and see an error page, a blank page, a "website not found" message, or your registrar's default parking page.

The worst part: the problem appears random and inconsistent. It might work perfectly for you but not for your guest, or work on your phone but not your laptop. This is because different devices and networks remember (cache) the address they were given for a period of time. So one person might get the correct address for the next hour, while another person gets the wrong one.

Common symptoms

  • Your website loads sometimes but shows an error other times
  • Your RSVP form works for some guests but not others
  • The site works on your phone but not your computer (or vice versa)
  • A guest says the site doesn't work, but it works fine when you check
  • You see a "Not found" page, a blank page, or your registrar's default page intermittently
  • Your custom domain shows "Not found" every time (this can mean the A record is missing entirely or pointing to the wrong address)
  • Your SSL certificate shows warnings on and off

How to fix it

Step 1: Check your current A records

  1. Log into your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Squarespace, Wix, etc.)
  2. Go to your domain's DNS settings (sometimes called DNS management, DNS records, or advanced settings)
  3. Look at all the records listed for your domain
  4. Find every A record where the name is @, blank, or your apex domain name

Step 2: Delete the extra A records

You should have only one A record for your apex domain:

Record type Name Value
A @ 37.16.10.26

Delete any other A records that point to a different IP address. For example, you might see records pointing to addresses like 76.76.21.21, 192.0.2.1, or other IPs from your registrar or a previous service. Remove all of them except the one pointing to 37.16.10.26.

Step 3: Check for registrar services that may need to be disabled

Some domain registrars include their own services — like a built-in website builder, domain parking, or a "coming soon" page — that automatically create A records behind the scenes. These registrar services may add their own A records back even after you delete them, or may prevent you from deleting their records.

Common examples:

  • Squarespace: If you registered your domain through Squarespace, their built-in website builder may be active. You may need to disconnect or disable the Squarespace site before you can remove their A records.
  • Wix: Similar to Squarespace, a Wix-connected domain may have A records locked to Wix's servers. Disconnect the domain from any Wix site first.
  • GoDaddy: GoDaddy sometimes adds a parking page or "Website Builder" by default. Check if any website builder or forwarding service is active and disable it.
  • Google Domains / Squarespace Domains: If you have website forwarding or a connected site, disable it first.

How to check: Look for any active "website builder", "forwarding", "parking page", or "connected site" features in your registrar's dashboard. Disable or disconnect these before deleting the extra A records.

Step 4: Wait for DNS to update

After removing the extra records:

  • Changes usually take effect within 15 minutes to a few hours
  • In some cases, it can take up to 24-48 hours for all visitors to see the fix
  • Guests who previously got the wrong address may need to wait for their device's memory (cache) to clear

Step 5: Verify the fix

After waiting, verify your domain only has the correct A record:

  1. Check your DNS settings one more time to confirm only one A record exists for @
  2. Visit your domain in a regular browser window
  3. Visit your domain in an incognito/private window
  4. Ask a friend or guest to try visiting the site

"Not found" on your custom domain

If your custom domain always shows "Not found" (not just sometimes), this usually means:

  • The A record is missing entirely. You may not have added an A record for @ yet, or it was accidentally deleted. Add an A record for @ with the value 37.16.10.26.
  • The A record is pointing to the wrong address. Check that your A record for @ has the value 37.16.10.26 and not a different IP address.
  • The domain hasn't been entered in WedSites. Make sure you've added your custom domain in Settings > General and clicked Save changes.

If the "Not found" appears only some of the time, that points to the conflicting A records issue described above.

How to check if this is your problem

If you're not sure whether conflicting or missing A records are causing your issue, here's a quick test:

  1. Log into your domain registrar
  2. Go to DNS settings
  3. Look at the A records for @ or your apex domain
  4. If there are none, you need to add one pointing to 37.16.10.26
  5. If there is more than one, delete all except the one pointing to 37.16.10.26
  6. If there is exactly one but it points to a different address, change it to 37.16.10.26

What your DNS records should look like

For a typical WedSites custom domain setup, your DNS records should look like this:

Record type Name Value
A @ 37.16.10.26
CNAME www domains.wedsites.com

That's it. No other A records for @. If you see additional A records with different IP addresses, delete them.

Tips

  • When adding DNS records for WedSites, always check for existing A records first and remove any that don't point to 37.16.10.26
  • If you're unsure whether an A record is needed, it's safe to delete any A record for @ that doesn't point to 37.16.10.26
  • Your WedSites subdomain (yourname.wedsites.com) always works regardless of custom domain issues — share it as a backup if guests are having trouble
  • If you keep having trouble after removing extra records, contact your registrar's support to make sure no hidden services are recreating them

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