Why Is My Website Down?
If your website isn't loading, one of a handful of things has usually gone wrong — and the server can even be "up" while visitors still can't use the site. Here are the common causes, how to narrow down which one you're facing, and how to be told the moment it happens again.
Common Reasons a Website Goes Down
Most outages trace back to one of these. Several can leave the server running while the site is broken for visitors.
Hosting or Server Outage
Your hosting provider or server has a problem, so nothing responds. Check your host's status page.
DNS Problems
A DNS misconfiguration or expired record can stop visitors from reaching the server even when it's healthy.
SSL Certificate Issues
An expired or misconfigured certificate makes browsers show a security warning instead of your site. See SSL certificate monitoring.
WordPress / Plugin Failures
A bad plugin, theme conflict, or failed update can white-screen a WordPress site. See WordPress website monitoring.
Database Errors
An "error establishing a database connection" makes the whole site unavailable even though the web server is fine.
Domain Expiration
If the domain name lapsed, the site simply stops resolving. Check your registrar.
Traffic or Resource Limits
A spike in traffic or a shared-hosting resource cap can slow the site to a crawl or take it offline.
Configuration Changes
A recent change to hosting, a CDN, a proxy, or server config can introduce an error that breaks the site.
Security Incidents
A compromised site or server can create availability and trust problems that need immediate attention.
How to Figure Out What's Wrong
A few quick checks usually point you at the cause.
- Is it down for everyone, or just you? Try another device or network (e.g. your phone on cellular). If it works there, the problem may be your local network or DNS cache. See how to check if a website is down.
- Read the error. A browser security warning points to SSL; "error establishing a database connection" points to the database; a white screen often points to WordPress/PHP.
- Check the domain and host. Confirm the domain hasn't expired and look at your hosting provider's status page for an ongoing incident.
- Review recent changes. Did a plugin update, deployment, DNS edit, or config change happen right before it broke? That's often the culprit.
The Real Problem Is Usually Discovery
For most businesses the outage isn't the worst part — it's not finding out until a customer mentions it. By then you've lost time, and maybe business.
That's what website downtime monitoring solves: Site Detection checks your website around the clock from outside your hosting and alerts you by email, SMS, Slack, Teams or Google Chat when it detects downtime — so you can act before customers do. It also tracks uptime history, response time and SSL information so you have the context to fix it faster.
Don't Wait to Discover the Next Outage
Site Detection watches your website 24/7 and tells you the moment it goes down — by email, SMS, Slack, Teams or Google Chat.
Start Monitoring Your WebsiteFrequently Asked Questions
Why is my website down?
A website can go down for many reasons — a hosting or server outage, a DNS problem, an expired or misconfigured SSL certificate, a WordPress plugin or theme failure, a database error, an expired domain, a traffic spike that exhausts resources, or a configuration change. The server may even be online while the site is unusable for visitors.
How do I find out why my website is down?
Check whether it's down for everyone or just you, read any specific error (a security warning suggests SSL; a database error suggests the application), confirm the domain hasn't expired, and check your hosting provider's status. External monitoring shows when it went down and the response it returned, which helps narrow the cause.
How can I be told the moment my website goes down again?
Use website monitoring. Site Detection checks your website around the clock from outside your hosting and sends email, SMS, Slack, Teams or Google Chat alerts when downtime is detected, so you find out before your customers do.