Why is my website down?

When an alert says your website is down, or a customer calls to say they cannot open your site, every minute counts. The fastest way back online is to identify which part has failed: the domain, the hosting, the DNS, the certificate or the website itself. Each has a different person to contact.

Here is a quick checklist and a guide to who to call.

Step 1: down for everyone or just you?

Open the site on your phone using mobile data, or ask someone in another location to try. If it works for others, the problem may be your network, browser cache or a local DNS cache.

Step 2: read the error

Step 3: check the basics

• Is the domain renewed? Check your registrar.
• Is hosting paid and active? Check your host’s dashboard and status page.
• Were DNS settings changed recently?
• Did anyone update plugins, themes or code today?

Who to contact when your website is down

1. Host: server errors, suspensions, SSL, resource limits.
2. Registrar: expired domains, DNS at the registrar.
3. Developer or maintenance team: errors after updates, broken code, hacked sites.

Keep these contacts and your logins in one safe place so you can act immediately.

WordPress-specific causes

If you run WordPress, a plugin or theme error after an update is a common reason for a website down situation. Read why a WordPress site is not loading and what to do when a plugin update breaks your site.

Example: the right call first

A restaurant’s site went offline during dinner bookings. The owner called the developer, who found nothing wrong in the code. Thirty minutes later, they checked the registrar: the domain had expired. Renewing it restored the site. Had the owner checked the domain first, the site would have been back much sooner. When your website is down, check the simple account issues before assuming a technical failure.

Prevent future downtime

• Turn on auto-renew for domain, hosting and SSL.
• Use uptime monitoring that alerts you by email or SMS.
• Take daily backups stored off the server.
• Test updates on staging.
• Choose hosting with good support and enough resources.

Google’s Search Console help explains how to check for crawl errors after an outage.

Prepare before the next outage

Write a one-page plan for the next time your website is down: where your logins are stored, the phone numbers and support links for your host and registrar, and who to call for code problems. Keep a recent backup in your own storage. Agree with your developer how quickly they will respond if the website is down during business hours. With this plan, anyone on your team can act within minutes instead of searching for passwords. It also helps to tell customers where to reach you, such as WhatsApp or phone, if the website is down for longer than expected.