What To Do When Your WordPress Site Is Down: A Complete Guide

When your WordPress site is down, it can feel like a wrench thrown into your plans. Suddenly, your site isn’t loading. Visitors can’t access your content or services, and everything comes to a halt. We understand the frustration—it’s a situation we’ve faced ourselves, often when we least expected it.

This downtime can be stressful, making you anxious about how it affects your visitors and if it might shake their trust in your website.

But don’t worry. We’ve been in your shoes and have found some helpful solutions along the way. We’re here to share those with you. By understanding common reasons for downtime and following a few simple steps, you can get your site back up and running.

TL;DR: A WordPress site may be down for various reasons such as server issues, domain problems, or plugin conflicts. Be cautious when editing core files—ensure you take a backup of your entire site to prevent mishaps like data loss while troubleshooting.

Reasons why your WordPress site is down

1. Your hosting server could be down

Your website relies on a hosting server to stay online. Sometimes, these servers need a little tune-up and undergo scheduled maintenance, causing temporary downtime. Other times, servers face unexpected issues, such as a cyber attack, and might be taken offline by your provider to protect your site.

2. Your domain has expired or has been hijacked

Every website is linked to a domain, like xyz.com, and if it’s expired or not properly set up, visitors won’t be able to reach your site. In some unfortunate situations, your domain might even get hijacked, meaning it ends up controlled by someone else, creating major access problems.

3. Sudden spike in traffic

While having a huge amount of visitors on your site at once sounds exciting, it can overwhelm your hosting plan if it’s not equipped for heavy traffic.

4. Plugin and theme conflicts

Plugins and themes help your site look great and work smoothly. However, if they’re outdated or not compatible with each other, they can lead to errors and cause your site to go down. Also, using too many plugins at once can slow your site down and cause issues.

5. There is an error in your custom code

Adding custom code can introduce special features to your site. But if there’s a mistake in the code or it doesn’t work well with WordPress or other plugins, it can cause your site to crash.

6. Your site is not secure

Security matters. If your site isn’t protected with a strong password or security plugins, hackers can get in and cause downtime. Features like two-factor authentication (2FA) add extra layers of security, helping to keep your site safe.

7. Your permalinks are broken

Permalinks are what you see in your browser’s address bar for each of your pages. If these links break because of misconfigurations or changes, like moving your site to a new server, your visitors might hit a dead end instead of reaching your content.

Troubleshooting steps to get your site back online

When your WordPress site experiences downtime, it can disrupt your online activities. However, there are straightforward steps you can take to resolve the issue. Here’s how you can address it:

Check if your site is down

First, verify whether your site is down for everyone or just inaccessible to you. Use a tool like Is It Down Right Now? to determine if the issue is local to your connection or a more widespread server problem.

Check hosting provider status

Visit your hosting provider’s status page or contact their support team. They can inform you of any server-wide problems or maintenance activities happening. If it turns out to be a server issue, it’ll save you time and prevent unnecessary efforts on your end.

Verify domain validity

Ensure that your domain registration is up-to-date and your DNS settings are correct. An expired domain or incorrect DNS configuration can prevent access to your site. Fixing these ensures that your visitors can reach your site without interruption.

Upgrade your hosting plan

If your site is experiencing a traffic spike that your current hosting plan can’t handle, consider upgrading your package. More bandwidth and improved performance can help reduce downtime related to high traffic demand.

Update plugins and themes

Outdated plugins and themes can cause compatibility issues leading to site errors. Keep them updated to fix bugs, enhance security, and ensure a smoother performance. You can do this from your WordPress dashboard or, if needed, through FTP by replacing the files with the latest versions.

Deactivate or delete plugins

Plugins can sometimes conflict with each other. Temporarily deactivate all plugins and reactivate them one by one to identify any causing issues. If you lack dashboard access, use FTP to rename the plugin directories, to disable them.

Switch to a default theme

Custom themes can sometimes lead to conflicts, especially after updates. Switching to a default WordPress theme can help identify if the theme is the issue. Change the theme via FTP by renaming the theme’s folder if you can’t access the dashboard.

Review WordPress and PHP Versions

Make sure your WordPress core and PHP are updated to their latest versions. Running outdated versions can create compatibility issues. Update WordPress carefully and change your PHP version via your web host’s dashboard if needed.

Check database connection

Verify the credentials in your wp-config.php file are correct. A wrong database connection causes loading failures, preventing your site from accessing necessary data. Correcting this restores site operations.

Get a security plugin

Install a security plugin to scan for malware. This adds protection against hacks that disrupt site functionality. Removing malware is crucial for maintaining site integrity and restoring full functionality.

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

Implementing 2FA boosts site security, making unauthorized access much harder and thereby preventing potential disruptions.

Limit website access

Restrict access to your site’s admin area and vital directories to protect against unauthorized changes that could lead to downtime.

Install a firewall

A firewall helps block malicious traffic and protects against attacks, such as DDoS, that can take your site offline.

Install a CDN

A CDN (Content Delivery Network) distributes your site’s content across multiple servers, reducing load on your primary server and improving speed and reliability, which minimizes downtime.

Fix permalinks

You can fix your broken permalinks, by trying to: reset permalinks on your wp-admin dashboard, disable conflicting plugins, check to see if your links are updated to SSL standard, and regenerate your .htaccess file.

Increase memory limit

If your site is running out of memory, increase the limit in your wp-config.php file. This allows your site to handle resource-heavy tasks better, reducing errors and making the site more stable.

Add this line of code just before the line that says “That’s all, stop editing! Happy publishing.”

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

This code sets the memory limit to 256 megabytes, which should be sufficient for most WordPress sites. However, you might need to adjust this value based on your hosting environment or specific site needs. 

Restore from backup

When all else fails, restoring your site from a recent backup can revert it to a stable state, free of current errors.

How to prevent downtimes for your WordPress site in the future

1. Choose a hosting provider with a strong reputation for uptime and consistent server performance to reduce the risk of server-related outages.

2. Regularly schedule backups of your site. This includes both your databases and files to enable quick restoration if needed.

3. Optimize your site by regularly cleaning your database, implementing caching, and optimizing images to reduce load times and server strain.

4. Use tools that provide real-time alerts about downtime, allowing for swift resolutions and minimizing impact on site availability.

5. Enhance security by limiting login attempts to prevent brute force attacks and block unauthorized access that could disrupt your site.

6. Conduct routine site audits to assess performance and identify vulnerabilities, helping maintain site stability and security.

Parting thoughts

Addressing WordPress downtime becomes manageable when you understand its causes and apply the right fixes to get your site back online. Update your WordPress themes, plugins, and software to prevent issues. 

By continuously monitoring and optimizing your site’s performance, you ensure that it stays robust and accessible for all your visitors.

FAQs

What to do when a WordPress website is down?

When your WordPress website is down, first check if the issue is just on your end or with the hosting server, using online tools to confirm. Then, check your hosting provider’s status and ensure your domain and DNS settings are correct. Disable plugins and switch to a default theme to troubleshoot further. Make sure your database credentials are accurate to identify and resolve the issue.

Can I get my WordPress site back?

Yes, you can usually get your WordPress site back by identifying what’s wrong, such as server issues, technical problems or plugin problems, and applying the right fixes. Sometimes, restarting your server or refreshing plugins can do the trick.

How do I fix my website when it’s down?

Begin with simple fixes like checking your internet connection, rebooting your router, or clearing your browser’s cache. If those don’t work, investigate hosting issues or outdated plugins that might need attention.

What happens when a site is down?

When a site is down, visitors can’t see your content, which can be both annoying for them and stressful for you. However, it’s usually a temporary issue that can be resolved.

How do I access a website that is down?

Accessing a website that’s down might require some patience. You can try viewing cached pages or see if only parts of the site are down. Checking the site’s status page or contacting support might also provide more information.