My website is down: what to check

This guide takes you through the checks to make when your website won’t load, in the order most likely to find the cause.

1. Check from another connection

First find out whether the site is down for everyone or just for you.

1. Turn off Wi-Fi on your phone and visit the site using mobile data.
2. If it loads there but not at home or work, the problem is with your connection or your IP address. See section 7.
3. If it doesn’t load anywhere, carry on below.

2. Check your domain hasn’t expired

An expired domain stops your website and email at the same time.

1. Log in to your account at billing.webhostgb.com and look at Domains.
2. If the domain shows as expired or due, renew it. See how to renew a domain.

If your domain is registered elsewhere, check with that company.

3. Check your DNS and nameservers

Your domain must point at our servers. If it uses our nameservers, they should be ns1.whgbdns.com to ns4.whgbdns.com.

• If you’ve recently changed nameservers or DNS records, allow time for the change to spread.
• If someone has changed them without telling you, set them back. See how to change your nameservers and how to point your domain at our hosting.

4. Check for SSL warnings

If the browser shows a security warning rather than your site, the certificate may not have been issued or renewed. Our free certificates renew automatically, but this can fail if the domain isn’t pointing at us. See how to install a free SSL certificate.

5. Read the error message

If the page shows a number such as 403, 500 or 508, that tells you a lot. See what website error codes mean. A blank white page on WordPress is covered in how to fix the white screen of death.

6. Check resource limits and recent changes

1. In cPanel, open Resource Usage. If your account has been hitting its limits, the site may be slow or turning visitors away.
2. Think about what changed last. A plugin update, a new theme, an edited file or a PHP version change are common causes. Undo the change, or restore a backup. See how to restore a backup with JetBackup.

7. Check whether our firewall has blocked you

Our firewall can block an IP address after several failed logins, for example to email, FTP or cPanel with an old password. The site then works for everyone except you.

1. Search “what is my IP” to find your IP address.
2. Open a ticket and include it. We can check and unblock it.
3. Update the password in any app or device that might still be using an old one, or the block may happen again.

If it doesn’t work

• None of the above explains it. There may be a problem with the server itself. Open a ticket with your domain name, what you see and when it started, and we’ll check the server for you.
• Your site shows content you didn’t add. See how to scan your site for malware.

Good to know

Support is by ticket. Include your domain, the exact error and a screenshot.

Still stuck? Open a support ticket and we’ll help.