If your website is down, first confirm it’s down for everyone, not just you. Then work out which layer failed: the domain, the hosting or the website itself. Each points to a different fix and a different person to call. This guide gives you a calm, step-by-step plan for the first 30 minutes, and tells you when to stop troubleshooting and get help.
Key takeaways
- Check from another device and network before you panic. Sometimes it’s just your connection.
- The error message tells you a lot: “site can’t be reached” is different from “500” or “critical error”.
- Expired domains and SSL certificates are common, easy-to-fix causes.
- Write down what you see and what changed recently. It speeds up any fix.
- If the site takes payments or bookings, escalate early.
Minutes 0 to 5: Is it really down?
- Load the site on your phone using mobile data, not your office Wi-Fi.
- Try a private browser window to rule out cached errors and cookies.
- Use an online checker such as a “down for everyone or just me” service, which tests from outside your network.
- Ask someone elsewhere to try it.
If it works everywhere except your office, the problem is your network or computer, not the website.
Minutes 5 to 10: Read the error
The message on screen narrows things down fast:
| What you see | Likely layer | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| “This site can’t be reached” or “DNS_PROBE” | Domain or DNS | Has the domain expired? Did DNS change? |
| “Your connection is not private” | SSL certificate | Has the certificate expired? |
| Timeout, or “502”, “503”, “504” | Hosting or server | Is the server up or overloaded? |
| “500 Internal Server Error” | Server or website code | Recent updates, server logs |
| “There has been a critical error” or a white page | Website (WordPress) | Plugins, theme, PHP version |
| Strange content, redirects or a red Google warning | Security | Possible hack |
Minutes 10 to 20: Check the usual suspects
Has the domain expired?
Look up your domain’s expiry date in a WHOIS tool or your registrar account. After a .au domain expires, the website and email stop working during a 30-day grace period, according to auDA. Renewing usually restores the site within hours.
Has the SSL certificate expired?
Click the warning page for details. If the certificate expired, your host can usually reissue it quickly. Our guide to fixing an expired SSL certificate explains how.
Is the host having an outage?
Check your host’s status page, email and social channels. If many sites are down, it’s their problem to fix. Note the time it started.
What changed recently?
A plugin update, a new theme, a DNS change or a move to a new host are the most common triggers. If you updated something in the last day, that’s your lead. Our guides to the critical error message and the 500 error cover WordPress causes.
Minutes 20 to 30: Escalate, and keep customers informed
If you haven’t found the cause by now, hand it over. Contact your host or maintenance provider with:
- The exact error message and a screenshot.
- When it started, and what changed before it.
- What you’ve already checked.
Meanwhile, tell customers. Post a short note on social media and your Google Business Profile, and point people to your phone number. If you take online orders, say when you expect to be back.
Good support makes a huge difference here. Our article on what good web hosting support looks like lists the questions to ask, and our piece on Australian-based hosting support explains why time zones matter at moments like this.
Could it be a hack?
If your site shows content you didn’t add, redirects visitors elsewhere or carries a Google warning, treat it as a security incident. Google Safe Browsing protects more than five billion devices a day (Google), so a warning can stop most visitors reaching you. Don’t just restore an old backup and hope. Hidden backdoors are common, and the site can be re-infected.
After it’s back up
- Find the root cause, not just the symptom.
- Turn on auto-renew for your domain and check the contact email.
- Set up uptime monitoring, so you know before customers do.
- Check your backups exist and restore properly.
- Write down who to call, with phone numbers, for next time.
Our Australian hosting support and website support teams are on the phone when you need them. Compare our hosting plans to see support hours on each.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my website is down for everyone?
Try it on mobile data, in a private window and with an online “is it down” checker. If it fails everywhere, it’s down for everyone.
Why is my website down but my email still works?
Email and the website often run on different services. That suggests a hosting or website problem rather than an expired domain.
How long does it take to fix a website that’s down?
Expired domains or certificates can be fixed within hours. Code problems and hacks can take longer, depending on backups and the damage.
Does website downtime affect Google rankings?
Short outages rarely matter. Long or repeated outages can, because Google may struggle to reach your pages. Fix the cause, not just the symptom.
What is uptime monitoring?
A service that checks your site every few minutes and alerts you if it stops responding. It means you hear about problems before customers do.
Sources
- Renewing your domain licence, auDA
- Google Safe Browsing, Google
- 500 Internal Server Error, MDN Web Docs