Your site is down and panic is rising. Don't panic: follow this methodical checklist to quickly identify the cause and restore service.
Every minute counts, so this list goes from quickest to check to most complex. Check off each step to not miss anything.
Step 1: Confirm the Outage
- Multi-browser test: Test in another browser and in private browsing.
- Multi-network test: Try from your mobile on 4G to rule out local network issue.
- External tool: Use isitdown.com or MoniTao to confirm from outside.
Step 2: Identify Error Type
- Visible HTTP error: 500, 502, 503, 504? Each code has different causes.
- Timeout/Connection refused: Server not responding at all? Likely infrastructure problem.
- White page: Empty content with 200 code? PHP/application error.
Step 3: Check Infrastructure
- Server accessible: Can you SSH in? Does server respond to ping?
- Services active: Are Apache/Nginx, PHP-FPM, MySQL started?
- Resources: Check CPU, RAM, disk with top, free, df.
Step 4: Check Logs
- Web server logs: /var/log/nginx/error.log or /var/log/apache2/error.log.
- Application logs: PHP, Laravel, WordPress logs depending on your stack.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where to start when everything seems broken?
Always by confirming the problem is real (not local cache) then checking if server responds at all (SSH/ping).
Should I restart the server directly?
It's tempting but check logs first. A reboot can make valuable clues about the cause disappear.
How to know if it's the host or me?
Check host's status page. If SSH doesn't work but other OVH/AWS customers have same issue, it's them.
Can MoniTao speed up diagnosis?
Yes, MoniTao gives you immediately the HTTP error code, response time, and SSL state. You already know where to look.
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