What should I do if my website suddenly goes down?

Take a breath, because most outages are fixable and rarely mean your site is gone. First, check that the site is really down for everyone and not just on your device. Then look at the three usual suspects: an expired domain, a problem with your hosting account, or a recent change such as an update. Write down what you find, contact your hosting support with those details, and let your customers know where else to reach you while you wait.

I look after small business websites, and I have seen that moment of dread many times: you type in your address and get an error, a blank page, or a strange warning. Here is how I would walk you through it, in the order I would do it.

First, confirm it is really down

Before anything else, rule out the simple explanations.

• Try your site on your phone using mobile data instead of your wifi.
• Try a different browser, or a private window.
• Ask a friend or family member to try it from their own home.
• Look at the exact message on the screen and write it down, or take a screenshot.

Sometimes the problem is only your own connection, or a saved copy of the page in your browser. If the site loads for other people, you can relax. If it fails everywhere, move on to the next step. That error message you saved will be useful later, so keep it.

Check the three usual suspects

In my experience, most sudden outages come down to one of three things.

1. Your domain name

Your domain is your web address, and it has to be renewed on a schedule. If a renewal was missed or a payment method stopped working, your address can stop pointing to your site even though the site itself is perfectly healthy. Log in to wherever you registered your domain and look for a notice or an expiry date.

2. Your hosting account

Hosting is the place where your website files live. Check your email, including the spam folder, for any message from your hosting company. Accounts can be paused for a renewal problem, or limited when a site is using more than its plan allows. Your hosting dashboard will often show a status message at the top.

3. A recent change

Think back over the last day or two. Did anyone update the site, add a new plugin, change the theme, or edit a page? A change that works on its own can clash with something else and take a site down. If you remember a change, tell your support person or your website helper right away, because it narrows the search a great deal.

What to say to your hosting support

If the three checks do not solve it, contact your hosting company's support. You will get further if you arrive with facts. Tell them:

• Your domain name.
• The exact error message, or your screenshot.
• When you first noticed the problem.
• Whether anything was changed or updated beforehand.
• What you have already tried.

Be polite and specific. Support teams are much quicker to help when they can see exactly what you see. I cannot promise how long a fix will take, because it depends on the cause, but a clear report gives everyone the best start.

Keep your customers in the loop

While the site is being fixed, your business is still open. Use the places you control right now.

• Post a short note on your social media pages with a phone number or email address.
• Add a line to your email signature if the outage looks like it will last.
• Update your business listing or map profile if it links to your website.
• Let anyone who answers the phone know, so they can take orders or bookings the old fashioned way.

A simple, honest message such as "Our website is having a hiccup, please call or email us" keeps trust intact. People are generally understanding when you tell them what is going on.

What not to do

When something breaks, it is tempting to start pressing every button. Please resist.

• Do not delete plugins, themes or files in a panic. That can turn a small problem into a bigger one.
• Do not reinstall everything unless a professional has told you to.
• Do not share your passwords in an email or a public message. Share them only through a secure method your helper recommends.
• Do not assume the worst. A blank page is usually a symptom, not a disaster.

Get ready before it happens

The best time to prepare is while everything is working. A few small habits make an outage much less stressful.

• Keep a single note with your domain registrar, your hosting company, and the email address each account uses.
• Make sure renewal reminders go to an email address you actually read.
• Ask that backups are being taken, and find out how to restore one.
• Know who your website helper is and how to reach them.
• Consider an uptime monitor, which sends you a message when your site stops responding, so you hear about it before your customers do.

This is part of what I do for the sites I look after. I keep watch, so a problem is noticed early and the right person has the right details. Even if you handle your site yourself, a little preparation goes a long way.

Common questions

Does a website going down mean I have been hacked?

Not usually. Expired renewals, hosting limits and update clashes are more common causes. That said, if you see strange content on your pages or messages you do not recognize, tell your hosting support straight away so they can check.

Will I lose my website content if it goes down?

In most cases, no. The content typically still exists on the server even when the page will not load. This is why regular backups matter, since they give you a safety net if something truly is lost.

How can I find out sooner when my site is down?

An uptime monitoring service can email or text you when your site stops responding. You can also ask the person who looks after your website to set up alerts, so you are not relying on a customer to tell you.