The first question to answer when your site seems unreachable is whether it is down for everyone, or just for you. The answer determines everything that comes next.
Step 1 — Check from outside your network
The fastest check is downforeveryoneorjustme.com. Enter your URL and it will tell you within seconds.
Other useful tools:
- ping.eu — tests from multiple locations worldwide
- GTmetrix — tests loading and gives a response code
- Your phone on mobile data (turns off your home Wi-Fi to get a clean outside view)
Step 2 — Check your hosting control panel
Log in to your hosting control panel and look for:
- Server status — most hosts display this on the dashboard
- Error logs — found under Advanced or Logs in cPanel
- Resource usage — if you have hit your CPU or memory limit the site may be suspended
Step 3 — Check DNS
If the server is responding but the site is still unreachable, DNS may be the issue. Use dnschecker.org to see whether your domain is resolving correctly from different locations.
Common DNS problems:
- Recently changed nameservers that haven't propagated yet (can take up to 48 hours)
- Expired domain registration
- A records pointing to the wrong IP
Step 4 — Check your SSL certificate
An expired SSL certificate will cause browsers to block access to your site entirely. Check your certificate at sslshopper.com/ssl-checker.html.
If it has expired, renew it through your hosting control panel. Most hosts offer free Let's Encrypt certificates with auto-renewal — make sure this is enabled.
What to do if the server is genuinely down
Contact your host's support — most offer live chat. Give them:
- Your domain name
- The time the problem started
- Any error codes you are seeing (503, 500, 502 etc.)
Keep a note of your host's support URL and login credentials somewhere offline so you can access them even when your site is down.