My portfolio is down after changing nameservers 48 hours ago

[Youst19]

I decided to finally move my graphic design portfolio from a shared hosting plan to a dedicated VPS to improve load speeds. I updated the nameservers at my registrar two days ago to point to the new server. However, half the time I load the URL, I still see the "default page" from my old host, or I get a browser security warning. I thought propagation only took a few hours? Did I break the SSL certificate?

 

[Fehourempard]

Did you remember to reissue the SSL certificate on the new server? If you are pointing to the new location but the new server doesn't have a valid certificate installed yet, browsers will throw a security warning. You can usually use Let's Encrypt to generate a free one instantly once the domain is actually pointing to the right IP address.

 

[Zucososh]

I ran into a similar headache when I moved my ecommerce store last month. It turned out my domain was actually locked at the registry level, and I hadn't properly unlocked it before trying to update the zone files. It caused a weird limbo state where some requests went through, and others failed. I was digging through the settings panel for hours trying to find the "transfer lock" toggle. I eventually used the IONOS customer service page to find the specific technical support line. They clarified that for certain domain extensions, the update process is manual on their end. Once the lock was removed, the site propagated fully by the next morning.