You open your website and it won't load. That's worrying, especially if customers use it to contact you, book work or place orders.
The first thing I'd do is pause before changing anything. A few simple checks can tell you whether the problem is the website, the hosting or just the connection you're using.
Check from another connection
Try the site on your phone using mobile data rather than the same WiFi as your computer. Open a service or product page as well as the homepage.
Write down what you see: a blank page, an error code, a certificate warning or a page that loads but won't let you submit a form. Take a screenshot and note roughly when it started.
If it works elsewhere, that narrows the investigation. It doesn't automatically tell you which setting to change.
Look for an obvious account or service problem
Check your hosting provider's service-status page. Look for notices about an outage, account suspension, storage limits or a renewal that hasn't gone through.
Check the domain registration too. An expired domain or an unexpected change to domain settings can make a working website appear unavailable.
If you see a security certificate warning, don't bypass it or ask customers to ignore it. Ask whoever manages the site to check the certificate and the address it's issued for. Domain-setting changes can also appear at different times on different networks.
Think about what changed recently
Did someone update a plugin, publish a new version or change a hosting setting just before the problem started?
That gives you somewhere to look. It isn't a reason to start disabling things at random. Keep error logs and a current copy of the site where possible before making repairs.
If there's a known working release and a safe rollback process, your developer may be able to restore it. If you aren't comfortable with those steps, stop and pass on the information you've collected.
Give support something useful to work with
Send the domain name, the error message, when it started, whether it happens on another connection and any recent changes.
That is much easier to investigate than “the website is broken”. Don't send passwords in the message; agree a secure way to provide access if it's needed.
Give customers another way to reach you
If the outage is affecting enquiries, use an existing business profile or social account to share a monitored phone number or email address. Keep the message clear and factual.
If the site takes payments, avoid repeatedly retrying uncertain transactions. Check the payment provider before asking a customer to pay again.
Be careful with restoration
A backup can help, but restoring yesterday's database could also remove today's orders or bookings. Agree what needs recovering and what data might be lost before overwriting anything.
If a compromise is suspected, preserve evidence and get appropriate technical help. Restoring a clean copy without fixing the cause can leave the same problem in place. My backup guide explains how to prepare recovery points before they're needed.
Test the whole journey afterwards
A working homepage is a good start. It isn't the end of the check.
Test key pages, mobile navigation, enquiries and email delivery. Where relevant, check logins, bookings and payments using an appropriate test process.
Then record what caused the problem and what would make recovery easier next time: renewal reminders, monitoring, more suitable backups or a tested rollback.
Keep hosting, domain and technical contact details somewhere outside the website. If you'd like help investigating a problem, send me the address and what you're seeing. I'll let you know whether I can help and what access is needed.