How do I know if my website is down for everyone?

Open it on your phone using mobile data instead of Wi-Fi, try a private browser window, and use an online "down for everyone or just me" checker. If it loads elsewhere but not in your office, the problem is your network, browser or firewall, not the website. If it fails everywhere, the problem is the domain, DNS, server or the site itself.

Why is my website suddenly not working?

The most common causes are an expired domain or hosting account, a recent update that broke the code, a DNS change, an expired SSL certificate, a server overload or a host outage, and occasionally a hack. The error message on screen and what changed in the last day or two usually point to the right one quickly.

What does a 503 error mean on my website?

A 503 means the server is running but refusing requests for now. It is usually temporary: the server is overloaded, restarting, rate limiting or in maintenance mode. On WordPress, an interrupted update can leave the site stuck in maintenance mode. If it lasts more than a few minutes, check your host's status page and contact support.

How long does it take to fix a website that is down?

It depends on the cause. A renewed domain or a deactivated plugin can bring a site back within minutes, though DNS may take a little longer to reach everyone. A hacked site or a broken server can take hours or days. Having recent backups and all your logins ready is the biggest factor in how fast it is fixed.

Does my website being down affect Google rankings?

A short outage of a few hours is unlikely to have a lasting effect. Google retries pages later. Outages that last days, or a site that keeps returning errors, can lead to pages dropping out of results until the site is stable again. Fix the problem quickly and check Search Console for crawl errors afterwards.

Is my email down when my website is down?

Not always. If the cause is an expired domain or broken DNS, email usually stops too, because both depend on the same domain records. If the cause is the web server or a plugin, email hosted on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 normally keeps working. Email hosted on the same server as the website may go down with it.

Do I need website monitoring for a small business?

It is cheap insurance. Free monitoring tools check your site every few minutes and email you when it goes down, so you hear about it before a customer does. Pair it with auto-renewing domain and hosting, automatic backups and auto-renewing SSL, and most outages either never happen or are spotted within minutes.

Speed & Security

Website Down? What to Do in the First 30 Minutes, What the Error Means and Who to Call

By ITCM Team · Updated November 2026

If your website is down, first check whether it is down for everyone or just you, using your phone on mobile data or an online status checker. Then read the error message, because it usually names the cause: a DNS error points to the domain, a 500 to the site's code, a 503 to an overloaded or paused server, and a certificate warning to SSL. Next, check that your domain and hosting have not expired, look at your host's status page, and think about what changed recently. Most outages are fixed within the hour once the cause is clear.

Key takeaways

Confirm the site is down for everyone before changing anything.
The error message on screen is your best clue, so screenshot it.
Expired domains and unpaid hosting are among the easiest causes to fix.
A recent update, plugin or DNS change is the usual suspect when a site breaks suddenly.
Your host's support can see server logs you cannot, so contact them early.
Free uptime monitoring tells you about the next outage before customers do.

Is my website down or is it just me?

Before anything else, rule out your own device. Browsers, office Wi-Fi and some security software can block a site that is perfectly fine for everyone else.

Open the site on your phone with Wi-Fi turned off, using mobile data.
Try a private or incognito window to skip your browser's cache.
Use an online "is it down for everyone" checker, or ask someone in another city to try.
Test both yourdomain.com and www.yourdomain.com; sometimes only one fails.
If it only fails in the office, restart the router or check your firewall before calling anyone.

What does the error message mean?

Screenshot the exact error and note the time. The message narrows the cause down to one area, which saves time and money when you call for help.

What you see	What it usually means	First thing to check
"This site can't be reached" / DNS_PROBE / server IP not found	The domain doesn't point anywhere: DNS problem or expired domain	Domain renewal date and DNS records
500 Internal Server Error	The site's code or configuration crashed	Recent plugin, theme or code changes; error logs
502 Bad Gateway / 504 Gateway Timeout	A proxy or CDN got a bad or no answer from the server	Host status page; whether the server is overloaded
503 Service Unavailable	Server is up but refusing requests: overload, maintenance or a restart	A stuck maintenance mode, traffic spike or host incident
"Your connection is not private" / certificate error	SSL certificate expired or doesn't match the domain	Certificate expiry date and auto-renewal
403 Forbidden	The server refuses access: permissions, security rule or suspended account	File permissions, firewall rules, hosting account status
White screen or "There has been a critical error"	A fatal PHP error, often a WordPress plugin or theme	Admin email for a recovery link; deactivate the last plugin changed
Strange page, redirect to another site, or a Google warning	Possible hack	Signs of compromise; don't log in from an unsafe device

Has your domain or hosting expired?

An expired domain is one of the most common reasons a small business site disappears overnight, often because renewal reminders went to an old email address or a card on file expired. Under ICANN's expired registration rules, registrars must send reminders roughly a month and a week before expiry, and before deletion they must disrupt the domain's DNS for up to 8 days, which takes both the website and email offline. If the domain is deleted, there is a 30-day redemption period where it can usually still be restored, often for an extra fee.

Log in to your registrar and check the expiry date, then do the same in your hosting account; unpaid hosting is often suspended rather than deleted. If the domain has lapsed, follow our guide on what to do when a domain expires.

Check your host's status page and contact support

If the domain is fine, the problem is usually on the server. Most hosts publish a status page listing current incidents. If there is an outage there, all you can do is wait, but you know it is not your site.

If there is no listed incident, open a support ticket or chat. Give the domain, the exact error, the time it started and anything that changed. Host support can read server logs and resource limits that you cannot see, and they can often tell you in minutes whether the account hit a limit or was suspended.

What changed recently?

Sites rarely break on their own. In most cases something changed shortly before the outage. Ask everyone with access what they did in the last day or two.

WordPress core, plugin or theme updates, especially automatic ones.
A new plugin, a code edit or a change by your web designer.
DNS changes: new email provider, a new tool asking for records, or a nameserver change.
A hosting plan change, server move or PHP version upgrade.
A sudden traffic spike from an ad, a post or bots.

WordPress white screen or critical error: what to try

Since WordPress 5.2, when a plugin or theme causes a fatal error, WordPress shows a "critical error" message and emails the site administrator a link to log in using Recovery Mode. Check the admin email inbox and spam folder for that message. The link lets you log in and deactivate the plugin or theme that crashed the site.

If no email arrives, your host or developer can disable the faulty plugin by renaming its folder, or restore yesterday's backup. Do not reinstall everything or delete files at random; that can turn a ten-minute fix into data loss.

Could the website have been hacked?

Some outages are a symptom of a hack: the server suspends an account sending spam, Google shows a red warning, or visitors get redirected to unrelated sites. Other signs include new admin users you don't recognise and strange files. Check our list of signs your website has been hacked. If it looks like a compromise, change passwords from a clean device and follow how to recover a hacked website rather than just restoring a backup that may contain the same hole.

Who should you call?

Domain or DNS error: your domain registrar, or whoever manages your DNS.
500, 503, 403 or a suspended account: your hosting company's support.
Error right after an update or design change: your web developer.
Email down too: start with the domain and DNS, because both use the same records.
No one to call, or no logins: a website repair service. Our website fixing service quotes a fixed price before work starts.

How ITCM approaches a down website

When a business owner contacts us with a down site, we check it from outside first (DNS, SSL, status codes), then read the logs, and only change something once the cause is clear. Our WordPress recovery case study shows a typical path: cleanup, then speed and security hardening so it doesn't happen again. Fixes are quoted at a fixed price before work begins. For new sites we build custom-coded, without a pile of plugins that can break on update, and we show the finished site first; you pay $150 one-time only if you are happy.

How to prevent the next outage

Most outages can be prevented with a few cheap habits. Uptime monitoring is the first: UptimeRobot's free plan, for example, checks up to 50 monitors every 5 minutes and alerts you by email. Our free website health check also flags SSL and configuration issues. For a sense of what ongoing care costs, see website maintenance cost.

Turn on auto-renew for the domain and hosting, with a current card and email.
Set up uptime monitoring that alerts you by email or text.
Keep automatic daily backups stored off the server.
Make sure SSL auto-renews; public certificates now last 200 days at most.
Test updates on a copy first, or update one plugin at a time.
Keep all logins in your business's name and a password manager.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my website is down for everyone?: Open it on your phone using mobile data instead of Wi-Fi, try a private browser window, and use an online "down for everyone or just me" checker. If it loads elsewhere but not in your office, the problem is your network, browser or firewall, not the website. If it fails everywhere, the problem is the domain, DNS, server or the site itself.
Why is my website suddenly not working?: The most common causes are an expired domain or hosting account, a recent update that broke the code, a DNS change, an expired SSL certificate, a server overload or a host outage, and occasionally a hack. The error message on screen and what changed in the last day or two usually point to the right one quickly.
What does a 503 error mean on my website?: A 503 means the server is running but refusing requests for now. It is usually temporary: the server is overloaded, restarting, rate limiting or in maintenance mode. On WordPress, an interrupted update can leave the site stuck in maintenance mode. If it lasts more than a few minutes, check your host's status page and contact support.
How long does it take to fix a website that is down?: It depends on the cause. A renewed domain or a deactivated plugin can bring a site back within minutes, though DNS may take a little longer to reach everyone. A hacked site or a broken server can take hours or days. Having recent backups and all your logins ready is the biggest factor in how fast it is fixed.
Does my website being down affect Google rankings?: A short outage of a few hours is unlikely to have a lasting effect. Google retries pages later. Outages that last days, or a site that keeps returning errors, can lead to pages dropping out of results until the site is stable again. Fix the problem quickly and check Search Console for crawl errors afterwards.
Is my email down when my website is down?: Not always. If the cause is an expired domain or broken DNS, email usually stops too, because both depend on the same domain records. If the cause is the web server or a plugin, email hosted on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 normally keeps working. Email hosted on the same server as the website may go down with it.
Do I need website monitoring for a small business?: It is cheap insurance. Free monitoring tools check your site every few minutes and email you when it goes down, so you hear about it before a customer does. Pair it with auto-renewing domain and hosting, automatic backups and auto-renewing SSL, and most outages either never happen or are spotted within minutes.

Get a website + app built for free

We build your website and mobile app first, and you see it finished. If you’re happy, you pay $150 one-time. If you’re not, you pay nothing.

See the $150 offer Free website audit

← All articles