Website down: DNS or hosting first?

nicenic · Jun 24, 2026

When a site goes down, what do you usually check first?

DNS and nameservers, hosting server, SSL, CDN, or cache?

For client sites or small projects, checking DNS early can save time, but hosting logs can also show the problem quickly. What is your normal workflow?

JaxonWP · Jun 25, 2026

First thing I do is check from outside the server, usually curl or a simple uptime checker from another location. If it resolves but throws 5xx then I go straight to hosting logs/load, if it doesn't resolve then DNS/nameservers. SSL/CDN after that, because Cloudflare can make a simple origin issue look like 3 different problems... Cache is last unless it's a WordPress site doing weird plugin stuff.

itsworth · Jun 25, 2026

I usually first use isitdownrightnow.com to see if it's down to me to to everybody. Also, since i almost always use cloudflare in my (and on clients) projects, if the site is down cloudflare straight tell if it's the server. And out of elemination, if the server is ok in the end i check dns

SMM Junction · Jun 25, 2026

most of the time with client sites it ends up being a lapsed domain or a database crash. i usually run a quick ping from terminal first to see if the ip is even responding. if it is, i check the db. if its a blank screen or 500 error, 90% of the time mysql just crapped out because of some cheap hosting they refused to upgrade...

nicenic · Jun 25, 2026

JaxonWP said:
First thing I do is check from outside the server, usually curl or a simple uptime checker from another location. If it resolves but throws 5xx then I go straight to hosting logs/load, if it doesn't resolve then DNS/nameservers. SSL/CDN after that, because Cloudflare can make a simple origin issue look like 3 different problems... Cache is last unless it's a WordPress site doing weird plugin stuff.

Good flow. Checking from outside first saves a lot of time.

itsworth said:
I usually first use isitdownrightnow.com to see if it's down to me to to everybody. Also, since i almost always use cloudflare in my (and on clients) projects, if the site is down cloudflare straight tell if it's the server. And out of elemination, if the server is ok in the end i check dns

Cloudflare does actually help narrow it down quickly.

SMM Junction said:
most of the time with client sites it ends up being a lapsed domain or a database crash. i usually run a quick ping from terminal first to see if the ip is even responding. if it is, i check the db. if its a blank screen or 500 error, 90% of the time mysql just crapped out because of some cheap hosting they refused to upgrade...

Expired domain is a sneaky one. People can spend ages checking the server and forget the simple stuff....

Website down: DNS or hosting first?

nicenic

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