Website Down? What to Do First (and How to Stop It Happening Again)

Your website has stopped working, and customers can’t reach you. Don’t panic. Most outages come down to a handful of causes, and you can usually find the right one in a few minutes.

Step 1: Check that it’s really down

Try your site on your phone using mobile data, not your Wi-Fi. If it loads there, the problem may be your own connection or a cached page. Our free website check also tests it from outside your network.

Step 2: Read the error message

The message on screen usually points to the cause:

• “This site can’t be reached” or “DNS address could not be found”: often an expired domain or a DNS problem.
• “Your connection is not private”: the security certificate has probably expired. See how to fix “Not secure” warnings.
• 500 Internal Server Error: something has gone wrong on the server, often a recent update or plugin.
• 503 Service Unavailable or “suspended”: the server is overloaded, or the hosting account has been suspended.
• 404 Page Not Found on your homepage: files may be missing, or the domain isn’t connected to the site.
• A “coming soon” or parked page: your domain or hosting has lapsed or changed.

Step 3: Check the two most common causes

Has your domain expired? Domain renewal emails often go to an old address or to whoever built your site. Log in to your domain registrar and check the expiry date. If it has lapsed, renew it straight away, because expired domains can be bought by someone else.

Has your hosting expired or been suspended? Look for unpaid invoices or a failed card payment. Hosts usually suspend sites rather than delete them straight away, so act quickly.

Step 4: Think about what changed

Did anything happen just before it broke? Plugin updates, theme changes, a new web designer or a hosting move are all common triggers. On WordPress, a faulty plugin is often the culprit, and your host may be able to restore a recent backup.

Step 5: Contact your host

If you still can’t see the cause, contact your hosting company’s support. Tell them what the error says and when it started. They can see server logs that you can’t.

How to stop it happening again

• Turn on auto-renew for your domain and hosting, and keep the card details up to date.
• Use an email address you actually check for your domain and hosting accounts.
• Know where your logins are. Make sure that you own your domain, not a former web designer.
• Keep backups that you can restore without help.
• Set up monitoring, so you find out before your customers do. Our free downtime alerts check your site every 15 minutes and email you if it goes down.

Need it fixed now?

We can find out what’s wrong at no cost, then get your site back online or rebuild it as a fast, mobile-friendly site from £149. Get in touch or call +44 7584 285008.

Common questions