DNS works. Does that actually prove the website is working?

A successful DNS response proves one thing: name resolution returned an address.

It does NOT prove that:

• the route is working

• TCP port 443 is reachable

• TLS validation succeeds

• the web application is actually responding

One of the most useful troubleshooting habits is asking:

“What does this result actually prove?”

What would you test next after DNS succeeds but the website still does not load?