Website Status Checker

Is the website down for everyone or just for you? The Website Status Checker visits the address from our server and reports whether it is up, the HTTP status code, how long the server took to answer, and every redirect along the way. It is the quickest way to tell a real outage from a problem with your own connection.

What the status checker tests

When you type an address, the tool sends a normal request to it, just like a browser would, but without loading images or scripts. It records the response, and if the server answers with a redirect, it follows that redirect step by step, up to six steps. For every step you see:

• The exact address that was requested.
• The HTTP status code the server returned.
• How many milliseconds the server took to answer.
• The server software name, when the server shares it.

The final step decides the verdict. A final code in the 200 range means the page loaded, so the site is up. Codes in the 400 and 500 range, or no answer at all, mean something is wrong.

How to use it

1. Type the address. You can enter example.com, www.example.com or a full link to a specific page. If you leave out https://, the tool adds it.

2. Press Check status. The result usually appears within a few seconds.

3. Read the verdict. Up and reachable, or Down or not reachable, with the final status code explained in plain words.

4. Look at the steps. If there are redirects, each one is listed in order with its own code and time.

HTTP status codes in plain words

Down for everyone or just me?

If this tool says the site is up but you cannot open it, the problem is likely on your side. Common causes:

• Your internet connection. Try another site, or switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data.
• Old DNS on your device. If the site recently moved hosting, your device may still use the old address. Restart the browser or the router, or wait for the DNS TTL to pass. Compare with the DNS Records Checker.
• A block on your network. Some offices, schools and providers block certain sites.
• Browser cache or extensions. Open the site in a private window to rule these out.

If the tool says the site is down, and you own it, move on to the fixes below.

Fixing a site that is down

No response at all

The server did not answer in time. Check your hosting dashboard for an outage or a suspended account, and confirm the domain points to the right IP. If your domain expired, the site stops working too. Check the expiry date with the WHOIS Lookup.

500 Internal Server Error

Usually a broken plugin, theme or code change. If it started after an update, disable the last plugin you installed or changed. On WordPress you can rename the plugin folder through the hosting file manager to switch it off.

403 Forbidden

A security rule is blocking the request. Security plugins and server firewalls sometimes block data centre traffic, so the site may work in your browser but not in this checker. If real visitors see 403, check file permissions and security settings.

503 Service Unavailable

The server is overloaded or the site is in maintenance mode. On shared hosting this often means a traffic spike or a heavy process. Caching and a lighter theme help, and growing sites may need a bigger plan.

SSL errors

If the request fails with a certificate error, check the certificate with the SSL Certificate Checker. An expired certificate makes browsers block the site even though the server is running.

Redirect chains and why they matter

A redirect chain is when one address sends the visitor to another, which sends them to a third. A common chain looks like this: http://example.com goes to https://example.com, which goes to https://www.example.com. Each step adds a little delay, especially on mobile networks.

Good practice:

• Have at most one redirect from any common version of your address to the final one.
• Use 301 redirects for permanent moves so search engines pass value to the new address.
• Update internal links to point straight at the final address, not at an old one that redirects.
• Avoid redirect loops, where two addresses point at each other. The checker stops after six steps and shows the loop clearly.

Response time: what is fast enough?

The time shown is how long the server took to send its first answer, measured from our server. It is not the full page load time in a browser, which also includes images, scripts and fonts. As a rough guide:

• Under 300 ms: very fast.
• 300 to 800 ms: normal for many sites.
• Over 1 second: slow. Caching, a lighter theme or better hosting will help.

Distance matters too. A server in Europe answers a check from a far away region more slowly than a server close by. Choose a data centre near your main audience when you set up hosting.

Monitoring your own site

Checking by hand is useful when something feels wrong. For your own sites, it is better to know about downtime before your visitors tell you. A simple routine:

1. Use an uptime monitor. Free monitoring services check your site every few minutes and send an email or app alert when it goes down. Set one up for your home page and one important inner page.

2. Watch the renewal dates. Expired domains and expired hosting are a big cause of “sudden” downtime. Put both dates in your calendar.

3. Keep backups. If an update breaks the site, a recent backup gets you back online in minutes.

4. Update carefully. Update plugins one at a time on important sites, and check the site after each update with this tool.

5. Read the error log. Most hosts give you an error log in the dashboard. It usually names the file or plugin that caused a 500 error.

Using the checker for SEO tasks

Status codes matter for search engines as well as visitors:

• After moving a site or changing URLs, check old addresses to confirm they return a 301 to the right new page, not a 404.
• Pages that should not exist anymore should return 404 or 410, not a 200 page that says “not found”. Search engines call that a soft 404.
• Check that the http and non-www versions of your site each redirect in a single step to your main https address.
• If search tools report server errors, run the affected URLs here to see whether the error still happens.

Safety and limits

The checker only visits public web addresses. Private and local network addresses are blocked, so the tool cannot be used to scan internal systems. It downloads only a small part of each page, does not run scripts and does not store the content. Results are cached for two minutes.

Frequently asked questions