Website is down

Your website is down. Find the cause in ten minutes.

Six different faults look the same in a browser. The exact error message is your best clue, so write it down before you change anything.

Check the certificate(330) 305-2750

Check these first

  • Load the site on a phone with Wi-Fi off. If it works there, the site is up and the problem is on your end.
  • Try www and non-www, http and https.
  • Write down the exact error text.
  • Check whether your email is down too. Both failing at once usually means the domain.

Work down in this order

  1. Rule out your own network

    If the site loads on cell data, the problem is a browser cache, an office firewall, or your IP being blocked by the host after failed logins. The host can unblock it.

  2. Read the error

    "Cannot be reached" means nothing answered: DNS, the domain, or a server that is off. A certificate warning means the server answered with a bad certificate. A 500 means the site code crashed. A 503 means the server is up but refusing work.

  3. Check the domain

    Look it up at lookup.icann.org. If the expiry date has passed, renew it today. That is the answer more often than people expect.

  4. Check the certificate

    Run the site through our SSL checker. Expired, or issued for the wrong name, is a fix measured in minutes. It looks alarming but it is not a hack.

  5. Check the host

    Look at the host status page, then log in and look for a suspension notice. An unpaid invoice or an abuse complaint takes a healthy site offline.

  6. If you get a 500, look at what changed

    A plugin or theme update, a PHP version change, or a full disk. WordPress emails the admin a recovery link after a fatal error. Renaming the plugins folder turns them all off at once.

The usual causes

Expired domain

Common

Signs: Website and email stopped the same day. DNS lookups return nothing.

Fix: Renew at the registrar now. The restore fee grows the longer you wait.

Certificate problem

Common

Signs: A security warning instead of a failure, often on only one of www or non-www.

Fix: Reissue it to cover both names.

Plugin or update

Common on WordPress

Signs: A 500 or a blank page right after an update.

Fix: Disable plugins, confirm the site returns, then turn them back on one at a time.

Account suspended

Common

Signs: A host-branded page or a 403.

Fix: Pay the invoice or answer the notice. Make sure billing email goes to someone who reads it.

DNS pointed at nothing

After a change

Signs: Down within a day or two of someone editing DNS or moving hosts.

Fix: Point the record back at the right server and allow time for caches to clear.

While it is down

  • Post your phone number on your Google profile so calls keep coming.
  • Don't make changes you can't undo. That turns an hour into three days.
  • A suspension for abuse can mean the site was hacked. Treat it that way.
  • Down for more than a couple of hours and no idea why? Hand it over.
SSL checkerExpired, mismatched, or missing a name.DNS helpFor outages after a DNS or nameserver change.My website was hackedIf the host suspended it for abuse.

Questions

How do I tell if my website is down for everyone or just me?

Load it on a phone with Wi-Fi off. That changes your network, DNS, and cache in one move. If it works there, the site is up.

What does a 500 error mean?

The server is running and the code that builds the page crashed. On WordPress that is nearly always a plugin, a theme, or a PHP version change. It is not DNS and not your domain.

My website and email both stopped. What is that?

Check the domain expiry first. Both failing on the same day is the classic sign of an expired domain.

How long does DNS take to update?

Often minutes, but up to 48 hours for every cache to catch up. Your own computer may hold the old answer longest.

Still down? Send me the error.

The error text and the domain are usually enough to tell which part failed.

Get help now(330) 305-2750