Website Down? Emergency Troubleshooting Checklist

Your Site is Down. Don't Panic.

Take a breath. Website outages happen to everyone. This checklist will help you identify and fix the problem systematically.

Quick Diagnosis (Under 2 Minutes)

Step 1: Is It Down for Everyone?

Go to downforeveryoneorjustme.com and enter your URL.

If it's just you:

• Clear your browser cache
• Try a different browser
• Try from your phone (on cellular, not WiFi)
• Flush your DNS: ipconfig /flushdns (Windows) or sudo dscacheutil -flushcache (Mac)

If it's down for everyone: Continue to Step 2.

Step 2: Check the Error Message

What do you see when you try to load your site?

Error	Likely Cause	Jump To
Connection timed out	Server or DNS issue	Server Issues
500 Internal Server Error	Server/code problem	500 Errors
502 Bad Gateway	Server overload/config	502 Errors
503 Service Unavailable	Server maintenance/overload	503 Errors
SSL/Certificate Error	SSL certificate issue	SSL Issues
DNS_PROBE_FINISHED	DNS problem	DNS Issues
White screen	PHP error (WordPress)	WordPress Issues

Step 3: Did You Change Anything Recently?

The most common cause of a working site suddenly breaking is a recent change:

• Installed a plugin or theme update?
• Made code changes?
• Changed hosting settings?
• Updated WordPress/PHP version?
• Modified .htaccess file?

If yes: That's likely your culprit. See if you can revert the change.

Detailed Troubleshooting

Server/Hosting Issues

Check your hosting provider's status page

Most hosts have status pages (e.g., status.siteground.com, status.cloudways.com). Check for known outages.

Check if your account is suspended

• Overdue payment?
• Resource limits exceeded?
• Terms of service violation?

Log into your hosting control panel. Suspended accounts usually show a notice.

Check server resources

• Is CPU/memory maxed out?
• Is disk space full?
• Have you hit bandwidth limits?

DNS Issues

If you see DNS errors, your domain isn't pointing to your server correctly.

Check DNS propagation: Use whatsmydns.net to see if your DNS is resolving globally.

Verify DNS settings:

• Log into your domain registrar
• Check that nameservers point to your host
• Verify A record points to correct IP

Recent DNS changes? DNS can take up to 48 hours to propagate, though usually it's much faster.

SSL Certificate Issues

SSL errors often show as "Your connection is not private" or similar warnings.

Check certificate expiry: Click the padlock in your browser → View certificate → Check expiry date

Certificate expired?

• Many hosts auto-renew Let's Encrypt certificates
• Log into hosting and check SSL settings
• Manually renew if needed

Mixed content? If some resources load over HTTP instead of HTTPS, browsers may block them.

WordPress-Specific Issues

White Screen of Death:

1. Enable debug mode - add to wp-config.php:

define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);

2. Check /wp-content/debug.log for errors

3. Try disabling plugins via FTP:

   • Rename /wp-content/plugins folder to plugins_old
   • If site loads, a plugin is the issue
   • Rename back and disable plugins one by one

4. Try default theme:

   • Rename your theme folder in /wp-content/themes
   • WordPress will fall back to a default theme

Database connection error:

• Check wp-config.php credentials
• Verify database server is running
• Contact host if database is down

Code/Application Errors

Check error logs:

• Apache: /var/log/apache2/error.log
• Nginx: /var/log/nginx/error.log
• PHP: Check php.ini for error_log location
• Hosting control panel usually has log viewer

Recent code deployments?

• Check version control for recent changes
• Roll back to last known working version

PHP errors:

• Version incompatibility?
• Memory limits exceeded?
• Fatal errors in code?

When to Contact Support

Contact your hosting provider when:

• Their status page shows no issues but your site is down
• You've ruled out DNS and SSL issues
• Error logs point to server-side problems
• You see database connection errors
• You're not technical enough to diagnose further

Information to provide:

• Your domain name
• The exact error message
• When the problem started
• Any recent changes you made
• Steps you've already tried

Prevention: Avoid Future Downtime

Basic Measures

• Enable automatic backups
• Keep WordPress/plugins/themes updated
• Use uptime monitoring (UptimeRobot, Pingdom)
• Set up email alerts for downtime

For Business-Critical Sites

• Use a CDN (Cloudflare, etc.) for redundancy
• Consider managed hosting with high uptime SLAs
• Implement staging environment for testing changes
• Have a rollback plan for deployments

Still Stuck?

If you've gone through this checklist and your site is still down:

1. Take screenshots of error messages
2. Document what you've tried
3. Contact your host with all this information
4. Consider hiring help if it's business-critical and you're out of your depth

Every minute of downtime costs something. Sometimes the fastest solution is paying an expert to fix it quickly.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels

Common Error Codes Explained

500 Internal Server Error

What it means: The server encountered an error processing your request.

Common causes:

• PHP fatal errors
• Corrupted .htaccess file
• Plugin conflicts
• Memory limit exceeded
• Database connection issues
• Corrupted WordPress files

How to fix:

1. Check error logs in hosting control panel
2. Temporarily rename .htaccess file
3. Disable plugins via FTP
4. Increase PHP memory limit
5. Check database connection in wp-config.php

502 Bad Gateway

What it means: One server received an invalid response from another server.

Common causes:

• Server overloaded
• PHP-FPM process crashed
• Reverse proxy issues
• Upstream server timeout

How to fix:

1. Wait a few minutes (may be temporary)
2. Check server resources (CPU, memory)
3. Restart PHP-FPM service
4. Contact hosting support

503 Service Unavailable

What it means: Server is temporarily unavailable.

Common causes:

• Server maintenance
• Overloaded server
• Resource limits exceeded
• DDoS attack

How to fix:

1. Check hosting status page
2. Wait for maintenance to complete
3. Check resource usage
4. Contact hosting support

404 Not Found

What it means: The requested page doesn't exist.

Common causes:

• Permalink structure changed
• File deleted
• Incorrect URL
• .htaccess rewrite rules broken

How to fix:

1. Check if URL is correct
2. Reset permalinks in WordPress
3. Restore .htaccess from backup
4. Check file exists on server

AI-Assisted Diagnosis

Using AI Tools for Troubleshooting

ChatGPT/Claude prompts:

• "My website shows [error code]. What are the most common causes?"
• "I changed [X] and now my site is down. How do I fix it?"
• "My WordPress site shows a white screen. What should I check first?"

AI can help:

• Interpret error messages
• Suggest troubleshooting steps
• Explain technical concepts
• Generate code fixes

Limitations:

• Can't access your actual server
• May suggest generic solutions
• Always verify AI suggestions
• Use as starting point, not final answer

DIY Fixes vs. Professional Help

When to DIY

You can likely fix it yourself if:

• Error message is clear
• You made a recent change you can revert
• It's a simple configuration issue
• You have time to troubleshoot
• You're comfortable with basic technical tasks

Common DIY fixes:

• Clearing cache
• Disabling problematic plugins
• Restoring from backup
• Fixing DNS settings
• Renewing SSL certificate

When to Call a Pro

Hire help if:

• Site has been down for hours
• You've tried everything and it's still down
• It's business-critical and losing money
• Error logs show complex issues
• You're not technical and feeling overwhelmed
• Database corruption is suspected

What to provide to a professional:

• Error messages (screenshots)
• Recent changes log
• Hosting account access
• Error logs
• Timeline of when it broke

Prevention Checklist

Regular Maintenance

Weekly:

• Check site is accessible
• Review error logs
• Monitor uptime
• Test backups

Monthly:

• Update WordPress/plugins
• Review security logs
• Check SSL certificate status
• Review resource usage

Quarterly:

• Test disaster recovery
• Review hosting plan
• Update security measures
• Performance audit

Monitoring Tools

Free options:

• UptimeRobot (50 monitors free)
• Pingdom (1 check free)
• Google Search Console (uptime alerts)
• Hosting provider monitoring

What to monitor:

• Site uptime
• Response times
• SSL certificate expiry
• Disk space usage
• Error rates

Emergency Contacts

Keep these handy:

• Hosting support phone/email
• Domain registrar contact
• Backup service contact
• Developer/agency contact
• Hosting account login URL

Document:

• Hosting account number
• Domain registrar account
• Recent changes log
• Backup locations
• Access credentials (securely stored)

Conclusion

Website downtime is stressful, but most issues are fixable. Start with the quick diagnosis steps, work through the checklist systematically, and don't hesitate to contact support when needed.

Key takeaways:

• Always check if it's down for everyone first
• Recent changes are usually the culprit
• Error messages tell you where to look
• Keep backups and know how to restore
• Monitor your site proactively

The bottom line: Most website downtime is caused by preventable issues. Regular maintenance, monitoring, and careful change management can prevent most problems. When issues do occur, this checklist will help you resolve them quickly.

For more troubleshooting help, check out our slow website diagnosis guide or learn about email deliverability issues.