Is it just you, or is the website actually down? This is a question every internet user and website owner asks regularly. Whether your own website has gone offline or you can't access a service, knowing how to check server status is an essential skill.
Is the Website Down for Everyone or Just You?
Before panicking, it's important to determine whether the issue is:
- Universal: The website's server is actually down, affecting all visitors
- Local to you: Your ISP, DNS, browser cache, or network might be the problem
Our Server Status Checker tool sends a request from our server, so you can confirm whether the site is truly down or the issue is on your end.
Common Reasons Websites Go Down
- Server overload: Too many visitors (e.g., during a product launch or viral moment)
- Hosting issues: Server hardware failure, maintenance, or provider outage
- DNS problems: Domain name server configuration errors
- SSL certificate expired: Browsers block access to sites with expired SSL certificates
- DDoS attack: Malicious traffic overwhelming the server
- Code errors: A bad deployment or database crash causing server errors
Understanding HTTP Status Codes
| Code | Meaning | What It Tells You |
|---|---|---|
| 200 | OK | Website is working normally |
| 301 | Moved Permanently | Page has been redirected to a new URL |
| 403 | Forbidden | Server is blocking your access (IP ban, htaccess rule) |
| 404 | Not Found | The specific page doesn't exist, but the server is running |
| 500 | Internal Server Error | Server-side error — the website has a problem |
| 502 | Bad Gateway | Server received an invalid response from upstream server |
| 503 | Service Unavailable | Server is temporarily overloaded or under maintenance |
What to Do If Your Website Is Down
- Confirm it's actually down using our Server Status Checker
- Check your hosting provider's status page for known outages
- Contact your hosting support if the issue persists
- Check DNS settings if you recently changed nameservers
- Review recent changes — did you deploy new code or change settings?
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I check if a website is down for everyone?
Use our free Server Status Checker tool. It sends a request from our server to check if the website responds. If it's down for our server too, it's a universal outage. If it works for us but not for you, the issue is on your end.
What does a 502 Bad Gateway error mean?
A 502 error means the web server received an invalid response from an upstream server. This often happens with reverse proxy setups (like Nginx/Apache) when the backend application crashes or becomes unresponsive.
How long does a website outage typically last?
It depends on the cause. Simple server restarts take 1-5 minutes. Hosting provider outages can last 30 minutes to several hours. DDoS attacks may cause intermittent issues for hours or days without proper protection.
Should I set up website monitoring?
Yes! If you run a business website, uptime monitoring is essential. Services like UptimeRobot (free tier available) can check your site every 5 minutes and alert you via email or SMS when it goes down.
Why can I access the website on my phone but not on my computer?
This usually indicates a DNS caching issue on your computer. Try clearing your browser cache, flushing DNS cache (run 'ipconfig /flushdns' on Windows), or switching to Google DNS (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1).
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