A website going down feels like an emergency — because it is one. Every minute offline is lost enquiries and lost trust. But panicking makes it worse. Here’s the calm, methodical checklist I run through, and what you can do before help arrives.
First: confirm it’s actually down
Sometimes it’s just you. Check the site on your phone over mobile data, or use a “is it down for everyone” tool. If it loads elsewhere, the problem may be your own network or a cached error — not the site.
Check the obvious culprits
- Domain or hosting expired? A lapsed renewal takes sites offline instantly. Check your billing emails.
- SSL certificate expired? Browsers will block the site with a scary warning. This is common and quick to fix.
- A recent change? If you or a plugin updated something just before it broke, that’s your prime suspect.
Don’t start deleting things
The instinct to “try stuff” is how a small outage becomes a big one. If you’re not sure what you’re doing, stop before you make it harder to recover. A clean backup and a clear head are worth more than frantic edits.
Get the right person on it
This is exactly the kind of thing I fix — fast, and without a support queue. I find the real cause, get you back online, and then harden things so it’s far less likely to happen again. If your site’s down right now, get in contact and I’ll jump on it.