“Welcome to nginx!”
The server answered, but it has no website configured for your domain, so it served its own placeholder page. Your DNS points at a server (new, rebuilt or shared) that doesn't know about your site yet, or the site's configuration was removed. Nothing about your site is broken; the request is landing in the wrong place.
Is your site showing it right now?
The free scan loads your page like a visitor and checks for this message, plus broken links, script errors and phone layout. It also walks your signup, booking or contact form, without sending anything.
Free, no signup. Usually done in about a minute.Why it happens
- The site moved to a new server and the DNS was updated before the site was set up there
- The domain was added to the server, but no server block (nginx) or virtual host (Apache) names it, so the default site answers
- The site's config file was deleted or disabled, often after a server update or a change by the host
- A typo in the server config: the wrong server_name or ServerName, so the domain never matches
- On HTTPS, the site is configured for port 80 only (or the reverse), so one of the two shows the default page
How to fix it
Check where the domain points
Look up the domain's A record (a DNS checker site, or "dig yourdomain.com"). If it points at a server you don't recognise, or an old one, fix the record to point at the server that hosts the site.
Check the server config for the domain
On the server, look in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled or /etc/apache2/sites-enabled for a config naming your domain (server_name or ServerName, with and without www). Enable it if it's missing, then reload the server.
Check both http and https
Open the site with http:// and https://. If only one shows the default page, the config is missing a listener for that port, or the certificate's server block names a different domain.
Ask the host
On managed hosting you can't see the config. Tell the host which domain shows the default page and when it started; adding the domain to the right account usually fixes it.
Questions
I just set up a new server. Is this normal?
Yes, for the first few minutes: the default page shows until your site's config is in place. If it's still there after the deploy finished, the config isn't naming your domain.
Why does the IP address show the default page but the domain works?
That's expected. The default page answers requests that don't name a configured site, and a bare IP doesn't name one. Nothing to fix.
Can Page Canary tell me if this comes back?
Yes. Page Canary checks your key pages every day for this message and others like it, confirms it on a second check, and emails you with the fix. One site is free.