HotDoodle Support

What if the website is still not working with the linked domain? It could be a problem with getting the domain to point to HotDoodle, or it could be a problem with getting HotDoodle to make the domain go to the website. The Config Domains screen in HotDoodle offers an automated domain validation that can be useful to help troubleshooting.

Getting to the Config Domains Screen From the My Stuff Page

Steps: How to Get to the Config Domains Screen From the My Stuff Page

1. Log in at www.HotDoodle.com.

2. Click on the "My Stuff" page on the navigation bar.

3. Click on the "Get Domain" link to the right of the website name.

Getting to the Config Domains Screen From the Website

Steps: Get to the Config Domains Screen From the Website

1. From the HotDoodle Toolbar, click on the "Administration" tab.

2. Click on the "Configure Site" button.

3. Click on the "Site Publication" button on the Site Preferences Menu screen.

4. Under the Site Manipulation heading, click on the "Config Domains" link.

Look at the Validation

In the Config Domains screen, scroll down and find the domain.

If the domain is not listed, then complete the steps in Informing Hotdoodle about the Existing Domain.

If the domain is listed and it has messages in red, read those messages as they explain the problem.

"Verify Domain"

If the red domain diagnostic messages are not enough, click the "Verify Domain" link to get more intensive testing that includes all that we can think of as common and predictable problems.

Manual Steps to Try in Addition

Here are some things to check.

From the web, open yourdomainname.com
If the HotDoodle home page displays, then the domain points to HotDoodle, but we do not know what website belongs to that name. Edit the website publication and 'Config Domains'. Check that the domain is listed on this screen.

Is the IP address of the domain the same as that of Hotdoodle?
From a DOS, unix, or linux command prompt, issue the following command:
ping yourdomainname.com
and look for the 'Reply from' IP address. Compare this to the address listed on the config domains screen.

Are the name servers correct?
In a browser, type in the following URL:
http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/results.jsp?domain=yourdomainname.com
(but use the real domain name instead of 'yourdomainname.com')

The registeration information for that domain will display. If the contact information records do not list your name, then you do not own the domain.

If you see your contact information, scroll down and look for the name server lines. Example:
Name Server.......... N1.HOTDOODLE.COM
Name Server.......... N2.HOTDOODLE.COM

If you do not see the HotDoodle name servers then log into the third party that sold you the domain and change the name servers to N1.HOTDOODLE.COM and N2.HOTDOODLE.COM.

If using name servers other than HotDoodle was intentional, then log into the third party website that manages the name servers and correct the ANAME records instead.

Are the name servers delivering the correct IP?
Take the nameservers from the "Nameservers:" line in verify domain and query them directly (both of them), with and without the www. Do not end the nameservers in a ".'. Example.

nslookup uhliragency.com ns05.domaincontrol.com
nslookup uhliragency.com ns06.domaincontrol.com
nslookup www.uhliragency.com ns05.domaincontrol.com
nslookup www.uhliragency.com ns06.domaincontrol.com

If these all give the correct IP, then check to see what your default nameservers think the values are. Do the nslookups without specifying the nameserver and you will get whatever the nameserver you use thinks the value should be. If this is not the right value then the IP settings have not propagated.

nslookup uhliragency.com
nslookup www.uhliragency.com

Finally, your computer and maybe even your browser might have its own cached memory of what the IPs should be, and those who checked most recently have the highest chance of having the prior values cached. Try from another box, or better yet from another network (such as your cell phone). Or try looking up a variant you have never used such as

nslookup himom123.uhliragency.com

Since you have not ever before asked for the address of "himom123" your browser, computer, and nameservers must all go check, getting a fresh address. However, if this lookup may fail totally, depending on how the zone record is defined, and that is ok.

Detailed Manual Domain Diagnostics

Here are steps tp use if "verify domain" does not show any issues, but the site cannot be seen from a particular location:

Diagnose Connectivity

Test the connectivity to their site, without using any of their domains.
e.g. browse http://s6.hotdoodle.com/gofarconsulting
If this works then you have a domain name resolution issue, not a blocked traffic issue and you can skip the rest of these steps.
Basic Connectivity: From that IP browse yahoo.com and google.com and some less well known random site.
Connectivity to their server: The config domain screen tells you the server name and address. For example:
This site is hosted on 207.57.83.157 (s6.hotdoodle.com)
Browse "livetest.php" by name and by address. e.g.
http://s6.hotdoodle.com/livetest.php
http://207.57.83.157/livetest.php
If these get in then they can see the server, but perhaps not by their desired name

If the above fail, try
http://stage1.hotdoodle.com/livetest.php – it uses entirely independent blockers
http://198.104.24.162/livetest.php -- s5 by address. Does not need DNS working
http://207.57.83.157/livetest.php – s6 by address
Connectivity to the server of their site, with all blockers. Browse the server without the "livetest.php" part. e.g.
http://s6.hotdoodle.com

Diagnose Domain Resolution
Assuming you can see their site without using their domain name, you would next attempt to diagnose the domain name resolution. Note that due to propagation issues what one box sees may not match what another sees.

Try browsing their site by domain. e.g. http://gofarconsulting.com
Try browsing their robots.txt file, ala http://gofarconsulting.com/robots.txt
Try a nslookup. From a command prompt try nslookup gofarconsulting.com