Why is my website down when my hosting says everything is fine?

Because a hosting status page covers the data centre, not your individual site. A crashed plugin, a full disk on your account, an expired certificate or a wrong DNS record take your site down while the host itself is healthy.

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

Open it on a different device and network, for example your phone on mobile data, or use a free “down for everyone or just me” checker. If it fails everywhere, the problem is on the server side. If it only fails for you, try clearing your cache or restarting your router.

How long does it take to get a website back online?

It depends on the cause, and we do not promise fixed times. A lapsed invoice is solved as soon as it is paid, a crashed plugin can often be switched off within hours of getting access, and a DNS change can take up to 48 hours to spread. You get an estimate with the fixed price before we start.

Can an expired domain or SSL certificate make my website go down?

Yes. An expired domain stops resolving, and an expired SSL certificate makes browsers show a security warning that most visitors will not click past. Registrars often allow a short grace period to renew, which differs per domain extension.

Could my website be down because it was hacked?

Yes. Hosts sometimes suspend hacked sites, and browsers or Google can block them with a red warning. If you also see spam pages, strange redirects or a security warning, read our page on hacked websites.

Will I lose any data when you fix it?

We make a full backup of files and database before changing anything, so every step can be undone and your data stays safe.

What if the problem is at my hosting provider?

Then we tell you during the free diagnosis, with the exact details to press your host with. We cannot fix a fault inside their data centre.

Do you also fix a website that shows a 500, 502, 503 or 504 error?

Yes, in most situations. Each of those codes has its own page on this site with the typical causes and checks, and the same free diagnosis and fixed price apply.

Website down

Website down? Find out why and get it back online

The short answer

Start with one question: is it down for everyone, or only for you? Open the site on your phone over mobile data. If it fails there too, the cause sits on the server side, and the checklist below narrows it down fast.

Get it fixed

Backup before every change
Fixed price before we start
Remote, anywhere in the world
Free first diagnosis

“Website down” is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Behind it sit very different problems: a lapsed invoice, a wrong DNS record, a crashed plugin, a full disk. They look the same from the outside but are fixed in completely different places. If you see a code such as 500, 502, 503 or 504, those have their own pages. This one is for the blank page, the endless loading and “This site can’t be reached”.

Sound familiar?

Signs that your website is down

Your browser says “This site can’t be reached”, “Server not found” or the connection times out
You see a white page, a 500, 502, 503 or 504 error, or your host’s placeholder page instead of your site
Customers say the site is offline while it loads fine for you (your browser may be showing a cached copy)
Only part of the site fails: the shop, the login or the admin area
Your uptime monitor or your hosting provider sent you an alert

Causes

Why a website goes down

Expired domain or unpaid hosting

A missed invoice or an expired domain takes the whole site offline. It is the most overlooked cause, and it is usually quick to fix once someone looks at the right account.

DNS problem

DNS is the address book that tells browsers which server hosts your domain. After a migration or nameserver change it can point to the wrong server, and changes can take up to 48 hours to spread.

A crash after an update

A new plugin, theme, PHP version or code release can break the site. You then see a white page or a 500 error, often right after the update.

Server out of resources

A full disk, no free memory or too many simultaneous visitors makes the server stop answering, or answer with a 503.

SSL certificate or redirect loop

An expired certificate makes browsers show a full-page warning. A redirect loop ends in “too many redirects”. The server runs, but visitors cannot get through.

Database or PHP error

The database stops answering or a PHP version change breaks old code, so the site shows an error message instead of a page.

Try it yourself

Quick checks when your website is down

Work through these in order and stop as soon as the site is back.

1 Check whether it is down for everyone. Open the site on your phone over mobile data, or use a free “down for everyone or just me” checker.
2 Check domain and hosting. Search your inbox for expiry or payment notices from your registrar and host, log in to both, and look up the domain’s expiry date with a WHOIS lookup.
3 Check the DNS. Use an online DNS lookup (or run dig yourdomain.com in a terminal) and compare the IP address with the one your host gave you.
4 Ask the server directly. Run curl -I https://yourdomain.com in a terminal. A 200 means the server is fine, a 5xx code names the error, and no answer at all points to DNS or the network.
5 Open your hosting panel and check disk space, memory use and the error log. A full disk or a fresh error line often points straight at the cause.
6 If WordPress broke right after an update, rename the folder of the plugin you updated last (via the file manager) to switch it off. Restore a backup only if you know what it would overwrite: orders and posts made since then are lost.

Our approach

How we get a website back online

1

You tell us what you see

Use the short form or the chat. We reply with the exact access we need, nothing more.
2

We back up, then look

First a full copy of files and database. Then we check domain, DNS, certificate, server logs and code to find what stopped the site.
3

You get the cause and a fixed price

The diagnosis is free. You receive the cause in plain language, a fixed price and a realistic time estimate. Nothing starts without your yes.
4

We fix, test and report

We repair it, test the pages, forms and checkout, and send a short report of what we found and changed.

What we need

What we need from you

Login for your hosting control panel, or SSH/SFTP access
An admin login for your CMS or shop (WordPress, WooCommerce, Laravel and so on)
Registrar or DNS access, only if the domain or DNS is involved
A short note: what you see, when it started and what changed just before

We ask for the least access that does the job, use a separate key per client, and you can revoke it the moment we are done.

What we cannot fix

We cannot fix outages inside your hosting provider’s data centre, domains or accounts we cannot get access to, failed hardware, or bugs in software owned by someone else. If that is the cause, we tell you during the free diagnosis, with details you can hand to your host, so you do not pay for a fix we cannot deliver.

Price

Price and what happens next

1

Free diagnosis

We find the cause and tell you what is wrong.
2

Fixed price

You get a price and a time estimate. Nothing starts without your yes.
3

Fixed and reported

We repair it, test it and send a short report.

From €295 excl. VAT

Fixed price, agreed before we start

Is it urgent? Say so in the form or in the chat. We start as soon as we can and give you a realistic time estimate with the quote. If priority work costs extra, you see that in the quote before you agree.

Get it fixed

Questions?

Website down: frequently asked questions

Also see

Tell us what is wrong

Answer a few short questions. You get a fixed price before we do anything.

On which platform are you experiencing the problem?

Website App Software

Website down? Find out why and get it back online

Signs that your website is down

Why a website goes down

Expired domain or unpaid hosting

DNS problem

A crash after an update

Server out of resources

SSL certificate or redirect loop

Database or PHP error

Quick checks when your website is down

How we get a website back online

You tell us what you see

We back up, then look

You get the cause and a fixed price

We fix, test and report

What we need from you

What we cannot fix

Price and what happens next

Free diagnosis

Fixed price

Fixed and reported

Website down: frequently asked questions

Related problems

HTTP error 502

HTTP error 500

HTTP error 503

Hacked website

Tell us what is wrong