First find out whether it's down for everyone or just for you: try it on your phone with Wi-Fi off. Then read exactly what the browser shows, because the message tells you where to look. An error number (500, 502, 503) means your server answered but something behind it failed. "This site can't be reached" usually means the domain or DNS. A blank page usually means the code itself crashed.
What's the problem
Customers say the site won't load, or you open it and get an error, a blank screen, or a browser message that the site can't be reached. Sometimes it's only some pages, or only some people.
Why it happens
Almost every outage is one of these:
- The server stopped or is overloaded. The machine running your site crashed, ran out of memory or disk, or got more traffic than it can handle. You'll usually see a 500, 502, 503 or 504 error.
- Something changed. A new deploy, a plugin update, or a settings change in your hosting or Cloudflare. If it broke at a specific time, look at what changed just before.
- The domain stopped pointing at your server. The domain expired, the DNS records were edited, or the nameservers changed. Browsers say the site "can't be reached".
- The hosting account has a problem. An unpaid bill, a suspended account, or an outage at the hosting company.
- A security rule is blocking visitors. A firewall, rate limit or bot protection that's too strict can lock real people out.
How to fix it
- Confirm it's really down. Load it on mobile data, and ask someone elsewhere to try. If it works for them, the problem is your network or browser, not the site.
- Write down the exact error. The number or message on the page is the most useful clue you have. Look it up in the error codes guides.
- Check what changed. Did anyone deploy, update a plugin, change DNS, or touch the hosting in the last day? Undo the last change if you can.
- Check the domain. Make sure it hasn't expired and that its DNS records still point at your host. See domain not working.
- Check your hosting dashboard and status page. Look for an outage, a suspended account, or a server that's stopped or out of resources.
- Read the server's error logs. They usually say exactly what failed and when.
- If you can't find it, contact your host with the exact error, the time it started, and what changed. Hosting support can see things you can't.
What Preventionlabs checks
One click runs the full report on your domain. For this problem it shows whether your site loads, how fast, and where its redirects go; uptime checked every 5 minutes, with an email when the site goes down and when it is back; your DNS: nameservers, addresses, DNSSEC, and records pointing at services that no longer exist; your domain's registration and expiry date. With Cloudflare connected, it also shows which pages returned server errors (5xx) to visitors, and when; recent deploys and account changes, with their times.
Run your free reportYour first report is free, no card needed. Then A$50 a month, up to 10 domains. Read-only: it never changes anything.
Sources
- MDN Web Docs: HTTP response status codesreference
HTTP response status codes indicate whether a specific HTTP request has been successfully completed.
- Cloudflare: Cloudflare 5xx errorsofficial docs
When troubleshooting most 5XX errors, the correct course of action is to first contact your hosting provider or site administrator to troubleshoot and gather data.