My Website Is Down — What to Check First

Your website is down. Customers can't reach you. Every minute feels like an hour. Before you panic, let's systematically figure out what's wrong.

1. Is It Actually Down?

• First, confirm it's not just your connection. Check from:
• A different device (your phone on mobile data)
• A different network
• Use a free tool like DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com

If it loads fine elsewhere, it's your network or ISP — not your website.

2. Check Your Domain

• Is your domain expired? This happens more often than you'd think. Go to your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.) and check:
• Is the domain still active?
• Did the auto-renewal fail?
• Are the nameservers still pointed correctly?

3. Check Your Hosting

• Log into your hosting control panel:
• Is your account active? (Billing issues can suspend your site)
• Is the server running?
• Have you exceeded storage or bandwidth limits?

4. Check for Server Errors

• If you see specific error codes:
• 500 Internal Server Error: Something broke on the server. Check error logs.
• 502 Bad Gateway: Server communication issue. Often temporary.
• 503 Service Unavailable: Server is overloaded or in maintenance.
• 403 Forbidden: Permission issue with your files.
• 404 Not Found: The page doesn't exist (but your site is technically "up").

5. Check DNS

DNS issues can make your site unreachable even when everything else is fine. Use a DNS checker tool to verify your A record points to the correct IP address.

6. Check SSL Certificate

An expired SSL certificate can make your site show scary warnings or refuse to load entirely. Check your certificate expiration date.

7. Check Recent Changes

• Did you or someone else recently:
• Update WordPress, plugins, or themes?
• Edit the .htaccess file?
• Modify server configuration?
• Install new software?

If so, that change is probably the cause. Revert it.

Still Down?

If you've checked all of these and can't figure it out, the issue is likely at the server level — a crashed service, corrupt database, or infrastructure problem. That's where professional help comes in.

Need Help?

Website down and you can't figure out why? I offer fast-response troubleshooting. Most downtime issues can be diagnosed and fixed within an hour or two. Don't let your site stay down — reach out now.