A 404 error means the web server answered but could not find the requested path. It is not the same thing as an NXDOMAIN DNS response, a SERVFAIL DNS response, or a website timing out.

What the 404 tells you

  • The hostname resolved well enough for a web server to respond.
  • The requested page path was not available on that server.
  • Your own domain DNS records are not proved good or bad by this error.
  • You need a separate DNS lookup to test your domain records.

What to do next

If you were trying to check DNS records, switch to another dig lookup tool or use terminal dig. Start with the specific record type connected to the problem instead of running random checks.

dig example.com A
dig example.com MX
dig example.com TXT
dig example.com NS

Do not confuse HTTP and DNS errors

HTTP errors such as 404, 403, and 500 happen after DNS resolution has already found a server. DNS errors such as NXDOMAIN and SERVFAIL happen before the browser can connect to the web server. Dig is useful because it isolates the DNS layer.