Your phone rings: "I'm trying to get to your website and it won't open." You try on your own phone and get an error page or a blank screen. Meanwhile one customer is calling to book an appointment, another wants a price, and you don't even know why the site is down.
At a moment like this people either start calling everyone at once or freeze. Yet most cases of a website not loading come down to a handful of simple causes, and you can find which one by checking in order. In this article I explain what to check first, who to ask next, and what to tell customers while you wait.
Step 1: Is it just you, or everyone?
Sometimes the site is working and the problem is your own connection. Try these:
- Switch your phone off Wi-Fi and open the site on mobile data.
- Open it in a different browser.
- Ask someone on a different network to look at it.
- Use one of the free "is this site up" checking services and enter your address.
Here is how to read the result:
| What you see | Likely meaning |
|---|---|
| Opens on mobile data, not on Wi-Fi | The problem is in your own internet connection |
| Nobody can open it | The problem is the site, the domain or the hosting |
| Only one page won't open | The problem is that page or a recent change |
| A warning screen appears | It may be a security or certificate problem |
If it doesn't open for anyone, go on to the next step.
Step 2: Could the domain name have expired?
A domain name is your website's address (for example yourcompany.com). You rent it from a company, usually by the year. If it isn't renewed, the address stops working. It is like a shop lease ending and the key no longer fitting the door.
To check:
- Look through the emails from the company where you bought the domain. Reminder emails often land in the spam folder.
- If you don't know who registered the domain or with which email address, ask the person who built your site.
- Find out whether the domain is registered in your name or in the name of whoever built the site. This matters a great deal later on too.
If it has expired, renewing usually fixes things quickly. If you wait too long, though, someone else can end up with the address, so renew today if you can.
Step 3: Has the hosting been paid?
Hosting is where your site's files live; think of it as a digital storage space you rent for your website. If a payment isn't made, or a card has expired and the automatic renewal fails, the company can suspend the site.
Look at:
- The latest emails from your hosting company, especially anything titled "suspended" or "payment failed".
- The expiry date and limit of the card on file.
- Whose name the invoices are in, and which email address the notices go to.
A suspended site usually comes back quickly once the payment is made, but the company sets the timing.
Step 4: Is there a fault at the hosting company?
Sometimes the problem is on the hosting side and is nobody's mistake on your end. There may be server maintenance, heavy load or a technical fault. Write to the company's support with these points:
- My site at this address hasn't opened since this time.
- Is there a fault or maintenance on the server?
- Do you see a suspension or restriction on my account?
Send the message in writing so the date and time are on record. If you talk by phone, note the name of the person and what they said.
Step 5: Was there an update or change recently?
If the site worked yesterday and doesn't today, think about whether something was changed. A software update, a newly added feature or an edit by your designer may have broken it. This usually shows up as an error message or a completely white screen.
What to do is clear: tell whoever made the last change and ask, "What did you change last, and can it be undone?" Don't touch the files yourself. If there is a backup of the site, going back to the last healthy day is often the solution, and someone with technical knowledge should do it.
Keep in mind, too, that the site could have been hacked. The signs are a topic for another article of mine, but if the site won't open and you see strange warnings, be sure to tell the specialist about that possibility.
Who to ask, in order
A short roadmap:
- You first: try mobile data and a different network.
- The domain company: has it expired, and in whose name is it registered?
- The hosting company: is there a payment problem, a suspension or a fault?
- The person who built the site: what changed recently, is there a backup?
- If you can't reach any of these: ask an independent web specialist for a diagnosis.
At each step, note the date and time. Being able to say "since this time I see this error" speeds up the fix.
What to tell customers while you wait
While the site is down, keep other channels open so you don't lose customers:
- Post a short notice on your social media or business listing: "We have a temporary technical problem on our website. You can reach us by phone or message."
- Tell whoever answers the phone to say the same thing.
You don't need to explain the cause in detail. Short, calm and focused on the solution is enough. If you take bookings, decide who handles that day's requests by phone or message.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my Google ranking while the site is down?
A short outage usually isn't a big problem. If it goes on for a long time, the chance of Google dropping the site from its listings rises. That is why it matters not to put it off, though I can't predict the outcome.
What if the domain isn't in my name?
Renewal and ownership matters go through the registered person. Making clear with whoever built your site who holds the domain avoids problems later.
Can this kind of problem be prevented in advance?
To a large extent, yes. Putting domain and hosting renewal dates in your calendar, keeping the payment card up to date and having regular backups made prevents most outages.
Conclusion
If your site won't open, don't panic. Go in order: is it just you or everyone, then the domain, the hosting and the last change. Once you know what happened, the fix is often simple. If you think your site keeps causing trouble or is stuck on an old foundation, you can reach me through my website redesign page and we can look at it together.