Start with the simplest test first

When a website won't load, the problem is usually on your end — your internet connection, your browser, or something cached on your device — not the website itself. Before you assume the site is down, reload the page by pressing Ctrl+R (Windows) or Command+R (Mac). If that doesn't work, try opening the site in a different browser. If it loads in Firefox but not Chrome, the problem is your browser, not the website.

Next, check whether your internet is actually working. Open a different website you know is popular and stable — Google, Wikipedia, or your bank's homepage. If those load fine but the site you want won't, then that specific site has a problem. If nothing loads, restart your router by unplugging it for 30 seconds, plugging it back in, and waiting two minutes for it to reconnect.

Key Takeaways

  • Most "site is down" problems are actually your browser cache, internet connection, or DNS settings, not the website itself.
  • Test with a different browser and a different website to narrow down whether the problem is your device or the actual site.
  • Third-party status checkers like Down Detector and Is It Down Right Now tell you whether other people are experiencing the same problem at the same moment.
  • If the site is actually down, there is nothing you can do except wait — the website's owner has to fix it on their end.
  • Clearing your browser cache and flushing your DNS can fix false "site is down" problems caused by your device holding outdated information.

Use a third-party status checker to see if others are affected

If the site won't load in multiple browsers and your internet works fine elsewhere, check whether the problem is widespread. Go to Down Detector (downdetector.com) or Is It Down Right Now (isitdownrightnow.com), type in the website address, and see whether other people are reporting outages at this exact moment. If the graph shows a spike in reports in the last few minutes, the site is genuinely down. If the graph is flat, the problem is probably specific to your location or your device.

These checkers work by collecting reports from users around the world. A real outage shows up as a sudden cluster of reports from different locations. A single report or a slow trickle usually means one person's internet is broken, not the website's servers.

Clear your browser cache and DNS if the site should be working

Your browser stores copies of websites you visit so they load faster next time. Sometimes that cached copy is so old that the site appears broken even though it is actually fine. Clear your cache by going to your browser's settings: in Chrome, click the three-line menu, select Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Clear Browsing Data. Choose "All time" and make sure "Cached images and files" is checked. Restart your browser and try the site again.

Your computer also caches website addresses through something called DNS — a system that translates website names into the numbers your computer actually uses to find them. If that cached address is wrong, the site won't load even though it is online. Flush your DNS by opening Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac) and typing the command for your system. On Windows, type: ipconfig /flushdns. On Mac, type: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache. Restart your browser and try again.

Check the website's social media or status page

Most large websites have a status page — a separate website that shows whether their servers are working. Look for a link at the bottom of the site's homepage, usually labeled "Status" or "System Status". If the site is down, that page will say so, and it usually shows when the team expects to have it fixed.

If there is no status page, check the website's official social media accounts — Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. If the site is down, the company usually posts about it there within a few minutes. Search for the site's name plus "down" on Twitter to see whether people are talking about it. If you see dozens of recent posts saying the site is broken, it is down. If you see nothing, the problem is probably yours.

Try accessing the site from a different network

If you are on your home WiFi and the site won't load, try using your phone's mobile data instead. Turn off WiFi on your phone and try to visit the site using your cellular connection. If it loads on mobile data but not on your home WiFi, the problem is your internet provider or your router, not the website. Restart your router or contact your internet provider.

If you are at work or school and the site won't load, it might be blocked by your network's firewall, not actually down. Try again on a different network — your phone's mobile data, a friend's WiFi, or a public WiFi at a coffee shop. If it loads on a different network, your original network is blocking it intentionally.

Understand what "down" actually means

A website being "down" means its servers are not responding to requests. This can happen for several reasons: the hosting company's servers crashed, the website's code has a bug that makes it crash on startup, the domain name expired and is no longer pointing to the right servers, or the company is doing maintenance and intentionally took the site offline temporarily.

When a site is truly down, there is nothing you can do except wait. You cannot fix it from your computer. The website's owner or their technical team has to restart the servers, fix the bug, renew the domain, or finish the maintenance. If it is a major website, they usually have it back up within minutes to an hour. If it is a smaller site, it might take longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean when a site shows a 404 or 500 error instead of loading?

A 404 error means the specific page you are looking for does not exist — the site itself is up, but that URL is broken or was deleted. A 500 error means the site's server is having a problem processing your request. Both are different from the site being completely down. Try going to the site's homepage instead of the specific page you were looking for.

Why does a site load on my phone but not my computer?

Your phone and computer might be on different networks — your phone on mobile data and your computer on WiFi. Your WiFi router or internet provider might be blocking the site. Try restarting your router, or switch your computer to mobile data by using your phone as a hotspot to test whether the site loads.

Can I tell if a site is down before I try to visit it?

Not reliably. You can check Down Detector or Is It Down Right Now before visiting, but the only real way to know is to try. These checkers show reports from other users, but if you are the first person trying to visit in a few minutes, there might not be any recent reports yet.

What should I do if a site I need for work is down?

First, confirm it is actually down using the steps above — check a status page, try a different network, clear your cache. If it is genuinely down, contact the website's support team through whatever contact method they provide. For critical services, many companies have a phone number or email for outages. There is no way to speed up the fix, but reporting the outage helps them know how many people are affected.

Is my internet provider responsible if a website is down?

No. Your internet provider is responsible for your connection to the internet, but not for whether individual websites are working. If you can reach other websites fine but one specific site is down, that is the website owner's problem, not your provider's. Your provider cannot fix it.