My website is down: what do I check first?

Find out whether the site is down for everyone or only for you. Turn off Wi-Fi on your phone and load the site on mobile data. If it opens, the problem is your network or your browser. If it does not open, work through the list below in order. Most outages come from one of four causes: an expired domain, an unpaid hosting bill, a broken update, or a DNS change.

Read the error message before you touch anything

The message on the screen tells you where to look. Take a screenshot of it. You will need it later.

“This site can’t be reached” or “server not found.” The browser could not find your site at all. This points to the domain or its DNS settings. Go to the domain step below.

A 500 or 503 error. The server answered, but something on it failed. This points to the hosting account or a recent change to the site.

A blank white page. The server answered with nothing. On WordPress sites, a plugin or theme update causes this more than anything else.

A security warning. The site is up, but the security certificate has a problem. That is a different fix. I cover it in why your website says “Not secure”.

A 404 on one page. That page is missing or moved. The rest of the site is fine. I explain the fix in what a 301 redirect is.

Check your domain renewal

An expired domain takes the website down. It takes email on that domain down too. If your site and your email both stopped on the same day, check the domain first.

Log in to the account where you registered the domain. Look at the expiry date. If it has passed, renew it. Most registrars give a grace period after expiry, and the length varies by registrar. Do not wait to find out how long yours is.

If you do not know where the domain is registered, that is its own problem. What is a domain for a website? explains what to look for.

Check your hosting account

Hosting is paid every year or every month, depending on the plan. A card that expired or an invoice that went to an old email address can suspend the account. Log in to the hosting company and look for a suspension notice or an unpaid invoice. Pay it and ask support how long reactivation takes.

What is website hosting, and why do I pay for it every year? covers what the bill is for.

Think about what changed

Sites rarely break on their own. Ask who touched it in the last few days. These are the common changes:

A plugin, theme, or software update. A new plugin. A change to DNS records, which happens when someone sets up new email or moves the domain. A switch to a new host.

If a plugin or update broke the site, undo that change. Many hosts keep daily backups and can restore one in a few minutes. If DNS changed, the new settings can take hours to spread across the internet. A site that works on one network and not on another is often waiting on that.

Contact whoever runs the site

Send one message with everything in it:

1. The web address.
2. The time you first saw the problem.
3. The exact error message, with the screenshot.
4. Anything that changed in the last week.

That message gets a faster answer from a host’s support team or a web designer than “my site is down.” If you do not know who hosts the site or who has the logins, read who owns your website. Not knowing is common. It is also the reason a two-hour outage turns into two days.

What not to do

Do not buy a new hosting plan in a panic. Do not transfer the domain. Do not delete plugins at random. Each of these can turn a fixable problem into a larger one.

Be careful with emails that arrive during an outage offering to fix your site for a fee. Contact your own host or designer through details you already have.

Make the next outage less likely

Turn on auto-renew for the domain and for hosting. Put a card on file that does not expire this year. Keep a written list of where the domain is registered, where the site is hosted, and who holds each login.

Add an uptime monitor. Many free ones email you when the site stops responding, so you hear before a customer does. Common website problems and the annual DIY website check-up cover the other things worth checking once a year.

If your site is down and this list did not find the cause, book a consult. Bring the error message and the screenshot.