Do you want to check whether the website is down and fix the issue? I have got you covered if you are looking for a step-by-step guide. In this article, I will explain how to know a website is up and running and fix it if there’s an issue.
Business is happening online. You should also start building your brand online while running an offline business, such as a fashion store or a food stall. It will help you sell more stuff and also with brand awareness.
Creating a website or an online store would be easy with a powerful tool CMS like WordPress. You do not need to write a single line of code, and the website will be up and running within a few minutes.
But will the website always be up and running?
Things can happen online. For example, the website will go offline if there’s a conflict in the code. Similarly, when a web server is not responding, it can slow down the website or, even worse – completely shut it down.
To help you identify the issue and solve this, I have got something. In this article, I will teach you how to know whether the site is down or not and what are the possible fixes for them. Before going deep into the tutorial, let’s see why checking the website’s uptime is crucial.
Why Checking the Site’s Availability Crucial?
Are you running an online store? Focus on the speed and availability of the website. If the website is offline all the time, it can affect the user experience, and you could start losing potential customers.
On top of that, when the website is offline most of the time, that could affect the search rankings. Your competitor can outrank you easily this way. Hence, your revenue, ranking, and traffic can be in trouble if the website is not online.
Now you know why the website’s uptime matters and why should you check it. So, let’s see how to find out whether the website is running and solve it.
5 Methods To Check If the Site Is Down or Not & Tips To Solve Them
To know if a website is down, there are five major methods. They are:
- Performing a ping test
- Try accessing the website through an incognito window
- Using Site24*7 service
- Looking for DNS propagation
- Identifying the conflicts in the code
When it comes to fixing an offline website, use these methods:
- Reset the internet connection
- Start using a website uptime monitoring tool
- Contact the web hosting company
- Wait for the domain propagation to finish
- Use a VPN
Below, I will explain each method. Hence, let’s start with the first method, performing a ping test.
Method 1: Ping Test
The first thing you need to do is a ping test. When you use a computer, open the command prompt. You can find the Command Prompt tool by searching for CMD.
Run the program and type the below code in it.
ping google.com
You can replace the domain part with your domain name. In my case, I will be using wpglossy.com as the domain name. After entering the code in the command prompt tool, hit enter.
The tool will take a few seconds to complete the process.
You will see 0% of lost packets while the website is up and running. It means the connection to the web server is successful.
While the ping test shows you lost packets, there’s something wrong with the connection between your device and the web server.
Method 2: Try Accessing Through an Incognito Window
Logged into the website as an admin?
Use an incognito window to test the front end. While you use the incognito tab, the cached version of the website won’t be served.
When your website is still offline in the incognito tab, move to the next step.
Method 3: Site24x7
Using a website uptime monitor tool is great when handling an online store or something similar where you serve customers.
You can use Site24x7 for the same.
Once you have added your website to the platform, they will analyze it and inform you about the issues.
Method 4: Look for DNS Propagation
If you have changed the domain name’s nameservers or any records, your website will become unavailable for a while. You can use a tool like WhatsMyDNS to check the same.
Once you have visited the tool, enter the domain name and click search. You can use Site24*7 for the same.
Using the tool, you can check your A records, CNAME, NS, MX, TXT, etc.
Method 5: Look for Conflicts
When the website went offline after you installed a specific theme or plugin, this could be a conflict with the code. Sometimes, code conflicts can cause the front end of the website offline or the backend.
In most cases, both the front and back end will be offline after a code conflict. These are the main methods to know whether the site is online or offline. Next, let’s see how to fix and keep the website running.
Fix 1: Reset the Internet Connection
The first thing you need to do is reset your internet connection. You can restart your modem and see if it helps. When the issue is with your internet connection, this fix will help you.
Or you can also unplug and plug the ethernet cable into your computer. If this fix didn’t help you, keep reading the next section.
Fix 2: Use an Uptime Monitoring Service
Using a website uptime monitoring service is highly recommended. This way, the monitoring tool will let you know through email/SMS when your website goes offline.
The tool will check your website regularly. Some services will help you select an interval for regular checkups. While the monitoring service checks the website, you will be notified when the server doesn’t return an HTTP 200 code.
When serious about your online business, use a website uptime monitoring tool. At the end of the article, I will share some uptime monitoring tools you should check out. So, don’t skip that part when you need a reliable monitoring service.
Fix 3: Contact the Web Hosting Company
When you have done everything you can, and still the website is not up, the best thing you should do is to contact the web hosting provider. Most web hosting companies like Cloudways come with a live chat support system.
So you can quickly contact the support team in case of an emergency. I recommend sending the hosting company a support ticket while the matter is more technical. This way, you and the support agent can deeply understand and solve the problem.
Fix 4: Wait for Domain Propagation
If you have changed the DNS records of the domain name, it will take 24 hours to propagate. There’s nothing you can do to speed up the process.
So, wait till the domain propagation is completed. The WhatsMyDNS tool will come in handy in this situation.
Fix 5: Try a VPN
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. Finally, I recommend using a VPN and checking the website. You can search for a VPN on App Store or Google Play Store.
There are hundreds of free VPN apps available. Download any of them, enable the VPN, choose a different country, and check the website.
For desktop users, check out these VPN options:
- NordVPN
- IPVanish
- ExpressVPN
- CyberGhost
- Surfshark
Download one of them and follow the same process which I described above.
Bonus: Best Website Uptime Monitoring Tools
No matter whether you handle a personal blog or an online store. If you want to monitor the server’s status, use website uptime monitoring tools. Here are the best five website uptime monitoring tools/services you can use:
- Site24x7
- UptimeRobot
- JetPack
- Uptime.com
- Uptime Monitor
Based on your requirement, you can pick a tool. In my case, I am using Uptime Robot, and it is an awesome (and easy-to-use) tool. Uptime Robot will show you your website’s uptime duration and response time. So, I highly recommend checking it out.
Conclusion
Having the website offline could result in profit loss and a search engine ranking drop. If your website is experiencing offline issues, check and solve them quickly.
This article showed you five methods to check your website is up and five fixes. When your website is experiencing offline issues, please go through our guide and find the exact reason.
Which method did you use to Check if the Site is Down? Let me know in the comments.
