How do I know if my website is working?

Updated 2026-10-16

Short answer: a website can load and still be broken: a contact form whose emails go to spam, a page that errors after an update, a certificate or domain about to lapse, a block that stops some visitors. "Working" means it loads for everyone, the important pages load, email from it arrives, and nothing is quietly exposed. The only reliable way to know is to check those things from the outside, the way a visitor and a search engine see the site, on a schedule.

How to check it yourself

  1. Open the site in a private window on your phone, on mobile data, not just your own computer.
  2. Click through the pages that make you money: contact, booking, shop, checkout.
  3. Send yourself a test through your contact form and check it arrives in your inbox, not spam.
  4. Search Google for site:yourdomain.com and check the results look like your site.
  5. Check when your domain expires, and that the renewal email goes to an address you read.

What Preventionlabs shows

One click checks the whole list from the outside, with up to 25 checks: whether the site loads on every version of its address, up to 50 pages from your sitemap, JavaScript errors in a real browser, HTTPS and redirects, email records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), leaked files, domain expiry and DNS. It checks uptime every 5 minutes and emails you when the site goes down and when it's back. Each report lists problems first, each with the evidence and what to do, then what's fine.

Price

First report free, no card needed. Then A$50 a month, up to 10 domains.

Run your first report free

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