OMG! Is my WEBSITE DOWN? WHY?

This happens to everyone, even to professionals like Aleph Website. Luckily, if your website down, there are tools that can help you and mitigate this problem Some issues are easy to fix, others, however, require that you hire a professional!

1. Check if your website is really down:

It could turn out that your website is fine but maybe some browser is experiencing an error. Maybe Google thinks you’re a robot and stops your HTTPS request. Or maybe your internet connection is not good. The point is, it’s not always your website, it could be something else standing in your way!

To check this, we recommend Is It Down Right Now. This tool quickly eliminates our first hypothesis that it is the browser stopping you from connecting.

Is my website down right now?

2. Check your DNS

Sometimes the error is in the unavailability of your Domain Name System (DNS). There are multiple issues that could occur here to cause this.

DNS Error

If you’re Error note says: “DNS Server Not Responding” then we recommend you check the following article to learn more about the error: https://kinsta.com/knowledgebase/dns-server-not-responding/

In our experience here at Aleph Website, clients come to us complaining about DNS System Down. Some of these clients have just forgotten to pay for the DNS. Make sure you pay in advance and maintain these scheduled payments regularly.

CDN Error

However, sometimes the error could occur with your Content Delivery Network (CDN).

CDN is a proxy platform that helps deliver requests to your website much faster and efficient for users located all around the world. Prime example is Cloudflare. To check if your CDN provider is down, you can visit their website or google for their System Status tool. Here’s Cloudflare’s System Status Tool:

cloudflare cdn down system status

3. Hosting Provider/Server Error

This one is common if you have forgotten to pay your Hosting Provider. Less common is the case that your Hosting Provider is experiencing problems.

If you’re getting a 522 Error. Then your Hosting Server is Down.

Check regularly on your Hosting Provider Pages for maintenance of their Servers. Sometimes the hosting provider sends out emails warning of potential errors as they’re fixing the Base.

4. Your Website Builder or CMS

Ah… This one can occur if you’ve decided to become a developer over night… Some people think they can re-write codes and edit the backend of their websites on their own. Needless to say, this is a HUGE mistake.

4.1. Website edits to Theme Files

There are certain files that are used as building blocks of your site. For example, with WordPress, we call these Child Theme. This is then used as raw material to build on the rest of the site. Modifying these themes is dangerous business.

Make sure to read notifications and contact a developer before implementing changes to your website’s theme.

4.2. Missing Page and Broken Links

You can always connect your website to the Google Search Console to ensure that all your pages are properly handled by Search Engines. A missing page can due to its URL address being changed.

website down - page not found 404 error

Have you done edits to your URLs? This will be reported to you as a 404 Error. This error simply means that the link you clicked leads nowhere. That is, it’s a broken link!

4.3. Website Update Error

This rarely happens, but sometimes updating your website builder or themes can cause bugs in the technology you’re using. These errors usually stick around for a while and then start causing bad user experience.

Some common errors you might get are:

  • Certain browsers stop working
  • The White Screen of Death
  • Internal Server Error
  • Error logging to the Admin Platform
  • Database disappeared Error
  • Connection timed out, etc.

This article provides detailed information about each of these Website Down Errors: Common WordPress Errors.

In such situations we urge you not to try to fix the errors manually. Instead, contact your developer and explain what has been done.

Sometimes a silly little update can be simply fixed. But if you start playing and tweaking, then fixing the site becomes a real challenge that requires time and money!

Suggested Reads:

For free consultancy on any question relating websites:

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Aleph Website Homepage
Why is Website down?

about the author

Višnja

Višnja is a passionate digital marketing advocate that works with Aleph as an author, contributor, and consultant to our clients. She has a degree in psychology and a knack for content marketing.

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