A website down check takes about 10 minutes: first test on mobile data and another device to see if it is down for everyone, then check whether the domain or SSL certificate has expired, whether the hosting account is suspended or full, and whether a recent update caused an error. Each cause has a different person to call.
Key Takeaways
- First confirm the site is down for everyone, not just your office network or browser.
- Expired domains and SSL certificates are among the most common and easiest causes to fix.
- Hosting suspensions often follow an unpaid invoice or a site using too many resources.
- A blank page or server error straight after an update usually points to a plugin or theme conflict.
- Knowing who controls the domain, hosting and code saves hours when something breaks.
How Do You Run a Website Down Check?
When your website stops opening, customers cannot find you and the phone goes quiet. Before calling anyone, spend ten minutes working out what kind of problem it is. The steps below go from the quickest checks to the more technical ones, and the table at the end tells you who to contact for each cause.
Step 1: Is It Down for Everyone or Just You?
- Open the site on your phone using mobile data, not office Wi-Fi.
- Try another browser, or a private window, to rule out your browser cache.
- Ask someone in another city to open it.
If it works elsewhere, the problem is likely your network, browser or a local DNS cache, not the website. Restart your router or try again later. If it fails everywhere, continue.
Step 2: Has the Domain Expired?
An expired domain is one of the most common causes, and one of the easiest to fix if caught quickly. Look up your domain with ICANN's lookup tool for generic domains such as .com, or ask your registrar for .pk domains, and check the expiry date. Signs include a parking page or advertisements in place of your site, and email stopping at the same time. Renew immediately; some registrars release expired domains after a grace period.
Step 3: Has the SSL Certificate Expired?
If browsers show a warning such as "Your connection is not private", the SSL certificate may have expired or be misconfigured. Visitors may still be able to click through, but most will not. Most hosts now issue free certificates through Let's Encrypt and renew them automatically; when renewal fails, the host can usually reissue it quickly.
Step 4: Is the Hosting Account Working?
Log in to your hosting control panel. Look for a suspension notice, an unpaid invoice, or warnings that the account has hit its limits on disk space, memory or processing. Check the host's status page for outages. Shared hosting accounts are sometimes suspended when a site uses too many resources, for example after a traffic spike or a hack.
Step 5: Did an Update or Change Break It?
A blank white page, a "critical error" message or a 500 error right after updating a plugin, theme or WordPress itself usually means a conflict. Your developer can disable the last updated plugin through the hosting file manager, check the error log and restore the previous version. If you changed DNS settings or moved hosting recently, those changes may also be the cause.
Who Should You Call for Each Cause?
| Symptom | Likely cause | Who to call |
|---|---|---|
| Works on mobile data, not on office Wi-Fi | Local network or DNS cache | Your internet provider or office IT |
| Parking page or adverts instead of your site | Domain expired | Domain registrar, or whoever registered it |
| "Not secure" or certificate warning | SSL expired or misconfigured | Hosting company |
| Suspension or "account limit" page | Unpaid hosting or resource limits | Hosting company |
| Site does not respond at all | Server outage or DNS problem | Hosting company, then registrar |
| White screen or 500 error after an update | Plugin, theme or code error | Your developer |
| Strange pages or redirects | Possible hack | Developer and host; see our hacked guide |
If you see signs of a hack, follow our website hacked guide instead.
How Do You Prevent the Next Outage?
- Turn on auto-renewal for the domain and hosting, with a card or reminder you will see.
- Keep the domain, hosting and logins in your own name, with your own email as contact.
- Use uptime monitoring that alerts you by email or WhatsApp when the site goes down.
- Take a backup before every update, and test updates on a staging copy for important sites.
- Keep a one-page list of who controls what: registrar, host, developer and their contacts.
How We Can Help
Our maintenance plan at Rs 7,200 a month includes uptime monitoring, renewal reminders, backups before updates and fixes when something breaks. If your site is down now, message us on WhatsApp with the address and what you see. See our pricing page, the security checklist and the guide to getting your website on Google.
Frequently Asked Questions
How We Researched This Guide
Domain lookup and registrant points follow ICANN and PKNIC, SSL points follow Let's Encrypt, and backup advice follows WordPress documentation, checked 29 October 2026. The step order and symptom table reflect how we diagnose outages for clients. The maintenance price is our own.
Sources
- ICANN Lookup — check domain registration details
- ICANN — Registrants' benefits and responsibilities
- PKNIC — .pk domain registry
- Let's Encrypt — Free, automated certificate authority
- WordPress Developer Resources — WordPress backups
Disclosure: Kamboh Associates sells the web development services discussed here. Other providers' prices are quoted from their own public pages on the dates shown and may have changed. We correct errors as soon as they are reported. First published ; last reviewed .
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