Discovering that your website is down can be stressful, but most outages are caused by a small number of common issues. This guide walks you through quick diagnostic checks, the most frequent causes of downtime, and exactly what to do at each stage — so you can get your site back online as fast as possible.
Quick checks first
Before diving into technical troubleshooting, rule out the simplest explanations:
- Is it just you? — Visit downforeveryoneorjustme.com or isitdownrightnow.com and enter your domain. If the site is up for everyone else, the problem is on your end (network, DNS cache, or ISP).
- Clear your browser cache — Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+Delete (Mac) to clear cached files and cookies, then reload the page.
- Try incognito or private mode — Open a new incognito/private browsing window and visit your site. This bypasses cached data, extensions, and saved cookies that might interfere.
- Try a different device or network — If the site loads on your phone using mobile data but not on your computer using Wi-Fi, the issue is likely your local network or ISP DNS.
ipconfig /flushdns. On Mac, open Terminal and run sudo dscacheutil -flushcache.
Common causes of downtime
If your site is genuinely down, the cause is most likely one of the following. Expand each section for details and what to do.
If you recently changed your domain's nameservers or DNS records, the update can take up to 24-48 hours to propagate worldwide. During this period, some visitors may reach your site while others cannot.
What to do: Use a tool like whatsmydns.net to check whether your DNS records have propagated. If they have not, wait for propagation to complete. Make sure your nameservers are set to ns1.hostdog.gr and ns2.hostdog.gr.
An expired domain will stop resolving, making your website inaccessible. You may see a registrar parking page or a browser error instead of your site.
What to do: Log in to your HOSTDOG client area and check your domain's expiration date under Domains. If it has expired, renew it immediately. Depending on the TLD, there may be a grace period during which you can still renew without losing the domain.
If your hosting invoice is overdue, your account may be suspended. You will typically see a suspension notice when trying to visit your site.
What to do: Log in to your HOSTDOG client area and check for unpaid invoices under Billing. Pay any outstanding balance and your account will be reactivated automatically. If you believe the suspension is an error, open a support ticket.
Shared hosting accounts have CPU, memory, and I/O limits enforced by CloudLinux. If your site exceeds these limits (due to a traffic spike, a heavy plugin, or a poorly optimised script), it may become temporarily unavailable or display a 508 or 503 error.
What to do: Check your resource usage in your hosting control panel under Resource Usage (or LVE Statistics). Look for spikes in CPU, memory, or entry processes. Common culprits include un-cached WordPress sites, heavy cron jobs, or brute-force login attempts. See our guide on how to check resource usage for detailed steps.
A 500 error means something went wrong on the server side while processing your request. This is one of the most common errors and is usually caused by a problem within your site's code or configuration, not the server itself.
What to do: Check your site's error log (see the section below on how to access error logs). The most common causes are a corrupted .htaccess file, a PHP error, or a faulty plugin/theme update. Try renaming your .htaccess file to .htaccess.bak via your file manager to see if that resolves the issue.
The .htaccess file controls redirects, URL rewriting, and access rules. A single syntax error can take your entire site down with a 500 error.
What to do: Use your hosting control panel's File Manager to navigate to your site's root directory (public_html). Rename .htaccess to .htaccess.bak. If the site comes back, the issue is in that file. For WordPress sites, you can regenerate a default .htaccess by going to Settings > Permalinks and clicking Save Changes.
A fatal PHP error (such as a syntax error, memory limit exceeded, or an incompatible PHP version) can cause a blank white page or a 500 error.
What to do: Check the error log in your control panel for the specific PHP error message. Common fixes include increasing the PHP memory limit, reverting a recently updated plugin or theme, or switching to a compatible PHP version via PHP Selector. If you recently made code changes, undo them and test again.
If your site displays "Error establishing a database connection" (WordPress) or a similar message, it means your application cannot connect to its database. This can happen after a password change, a database server restart, or if the database has been deleted or corrupted.
What to do: Verify that the database credentials in your site's configuration file (e.g., wp-config.php for WordPress) match the actual database user and password set in your hosting control panel. Also check that the database exists and the user has the correct privileges. If the database is corrupt, you may need to repair it or restore from a backup.
How to check error logs
Error logs are the fastest way to pinpoint what is causing your site to go down. Here is how to access them:
- Log in to your hosting control panel (navigate to the HOSTDOG homepage, click Log in, then go to your hosting service and click Login to Control Panel).
- Look for Errors or Error Log in the Metrics section of your control panel.
- The log displays the most recent errors, with the newest entries at the bottom. Look for entries with today's date and time.
- Common error messages and what they mean:
PHP Fatal error— A critical PHP error that stops execution. The message will tell you which file and line caused it.AH01630: client denied by server configuration— An.htaccessrule is blocking access.mod_fcgid: can't apply process slot— Too many PHP processes running simultaneously (resource limit).Premature end of script headers— A script crashed before producing output, often due to a timeout or memory issue.
When to contact support
If you have worked through the checks above and your site is still down, it is time to open a support ticket. Our team is available 24/7 and can investigate server-side issues that are not visible from your control panel.
When submitting your ticket, include the following information to speed up the resolution:
- Your domain name — the exact URL that is not working.
- What you see — describe the error (e.g., "500 error", "blank page", "connection timed out") or attach a screenshot.
- When it started — the approximate date and time the problem began.
- What changed — mention any recent changes: plugin updates, DNS changes, code edits, or new installations.
- Steps already taken — list the troubleshooting steps you have already tried, so we do not duplicate effort.
- Error log entries — copy and paste any relevant error messages from your error log.
Frequently asked questions
The most common causes of sudden downtime are an expired domain, an overdue hosting invoice, a failed plugin or theme update, or a resource limit breach caused by a traffic spike. Start with the quick checks above and work through the common causes to identify the issue.
Our support team operates 24/7 via the ticket system. Downtime-related tickets are treated as high priority and are typically addressed promptly. Including detailed diagnostic information in your ticket (error messages, screenshots, recent changes) helps us resolve the issue faster.
HOSTDOG offers an uptime SLA of 99.9% for Personal Shared Hosting (credit: one day's cost if exceeded) and 99.95% for Business Shared Hosting (credit: one week's cost if downtime exceeds 45 minutes). This applies to server-side outages, not issues caused by your site's code, expired domains, or unpaid invoices.
Yes. If malicious code is injected into your site, it can consume excessive resources, redirect visitors, or corrupt critical files. HOSTDOG servers are protected by Imunify360 and ModSecurity WAF, which block many threats automatically. If you suspect your site has been compromised, open a support ticket immediately so our team can investigate and help you clean it up.