Why Does My Website Work but My Email Does Not?

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Your website can work while email does not because web traffic and mail delivery use different DNS records and often different service providers. A working website confirms that some DNS records are correct; it does not confirm the MX records, mailbox, mail server or email-app settings.

Use the checks below to identify whether the problem affects receiving, sending, one mailbox, one device or the entire domain.

Identify the symptom first

Symptom	Start with
No one at the domain receives email	Domain status, nameservers, MX records and mail-provider status
One mailbox cannot receive email	Mailbox existence, quota, forwarding and provider logs
Email can be received but not sent	SMTP settings, authentication and sending-policy errors
Webmail works but a phone or app does not	Device/app server settings and saved password
Messages are sent but rejected or placed in spam	Bounce message, SPF, DKIM, DMARC and sender reputation
Problem began after a nameserver change	Missing MX, mail-host or email-authentication records at the new DNS provider

Keep the exact error or bounce message. Remove passwords, full message content and personal data before sharing it with support.

1. Check service and domain status

Review the Register.ly status page for a current service incident.
Confirm that the domain is active and has not expired or entered ServerHold.
Use How Do I Check My .LY Domain Status? when the domain is .LY.
Confirm that the email or hosting service itself is active in Client Area.

An expired or suspended domain can affect both website and email, but a mail-service incident may affect email only.

2. Confirm who manages authoritative DNS

Check the domain’s current nameservers. Edit DNS records only at the provider identified by those authoritative nameservers.

Changing records in Register.ly DNS Manager will not affect the domain if its nameservers point to Cloudflare, a hosting provider or another DNS service.

3. Check the MX records

MX records tell other mail systems where to deliver messages for your domain.

In the authoritative DNS zone:

Confirm that all MX records required by your current email provider are present.
Check each MX target and priority exactly against the provider’s instructions.
Remove obsolete MX records only after confirming they are no longer required.
Confirm that required mail-host A or CNAME records also exist.

Do not point an MX record directly to an IP address. Use the hostname supplied by the email provider.

If your mail is provided by a third party, use that provider’s current MX values rather than values copied from an old Help article or another domain.

4. Test webmail and the mailbox

When webmail is available, sign in through the official provider URL.

If webmail also fails, check the mailbox password, service status, quota and whether the mailbox exists.
If webmail works, the mailbox and service are likely active; review the settings saved in the phone, desktop app or mail client.

Do not send your mailbox password to support.

5. Check the email-app settings

Compare the application with the current settings supplied for your email product:

Full email address as the username where required.
Incoming protocol: IMAP or POP.
Incoming server hostname and encrypted port.
Outgoing SMTP server hostname and encrypted port.
SMTP authentication enabled.
Current mailbox password.

See How to configure your email account on your devices. Product settings can differ, so do not reuse server values from another provider.

6. Check sending authentication and bounce messages

SPF, DKIM and DMARC help receiving systems evaluate mail sent from your domain. Incorrect or duplicate values can cause rejection or spam placement even when incoming mail works.

Use the records provided by your current mail service. Do not publish more than one SPF record at the same hostname, and do not invent DKIM keys or DMARC policies.

Read the full bounce code and message. It may identify authentication failure, a blocked sender, an invalid recipient, quota, policy rejection or a temporary remote-server problem.

7. Check recent DNS changes

If the problem started after moving DNS or changing nameservers:

Compare the old and new zones.
Restore missing MX and mail-host records.
Restore provider-required SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.
Verify custom records such as autodiscover, mail or provider verification entries.
Wait for cached DNS answers to update instead of repeatedly changing values.

When to contact support

Open a Register.ly support ticket when the service is active but the issue remains unresolved.

Include:

The affected domain and email address, with sensitive local details minimized where possible.
Whether receiving, sending, webmail or one device is affected.
When the problem began and whether DNS/nameservers recently changed.
The exact non-sensitive error or bounce code.
Your current email provider and authoritative DNS provider.
Tests already completed.

Do not include passwords, two-factor codes, full email contents or payment-card details.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my website work when email is down?

Website traffic usually uses A, AAAA or CNAME records, while incoming email uses MX records. One set can be correct while the other is missing or points to an unavailable service.

Will changing the website A record fix email?

Usually not. Change only the record related to the diagnosed problem. Incorrect website changes can create an additional outage.

Does clearing my computer’s DNS cache fix missing MX records?

No. Clearing a local cache can refresh an old answer, but it does not create or correct records at the authoritative DNS provider.