Is it down?
Find out whether a website is down for everyone or only for you. We test it from our server and from your browser at the same moment, then tell you what the answer means and what to do next.
Free, with no sign up or download.
Result
Two tests, one answer.
Enter an address above. Our server and your browser both try to reach the site, and the two results together show whether it is down for everyone or just for you.
amazon.com is up
The site answered with 200 OK.
Where the time went
275 ms- Finding the server
- 144 ms
- Connecting
- 12 ms
- Waiting for the page
- 119 ms
- Route
301https://amazon.com/200https://www.amazon.com/- Web server
- AkamaiGHost
- IP address
- 23.47.202.67
- It redirected once before the final answer.
Checking every 30 seconds
Leave this page open. Checking stops after 30 minutes.
Your monitored sites
Free accountGet an email when your site stops working, and another when it is back. We check up to five sites every hour.
Checked on this device
What the answer means
Every reply from a web server starts with a three-digit status code. The first digit tells you most of what you need.
- 200 to 299Working
- The page loaded. 200 OK is the normal answer.
- 301, 302, 307, 308Redirect
- The site sent us on to another address. The checker follows each step and shows the route.
- 401, 403, 429Running, but refused
- The server is up and wants a login, or turned an automated check away. Bot protection on large sites often answers 403 or 429.
- 404, 410Page missing
- The server works but that page does not exist, or no longer does. Check the address for typos.
- 500Something broke
- An error in the site’s own code or settings, often straight after an update to a plugin, theme or app.
- 502, 503, 504Server overloaded or unreachable
- A server in front of the site could not get a proper answer from the one behind it, or the site is busy or in maintenance.
- 520 to 530Cloudflare cannot reach the site
- Cloudflare is working, but the website’s own server behind it is down, slow or refusing connections.
- No codeNo answer at all
- The domain does not point anywhere, the server refused the connection or nothing came back in time.
Reading the timings
The coloured bar in each result splits our server’s request into stages. Where most of the bar sits tells you where a slow site is losing time.
- Finding the server
- Looking up the domain to get the server’s address. Usually under 50 ms. A long lookup points at the domain’s DNS provider.
- Connecting
- Opening a connection to that address. Grows with the distance between our server and the site’s.
- Securing the connection
- Agreeing the encryption for https. Normally a little longer than connecting.
- Waiting for the page
- The server building its reply. Over about 800 ms usually means slow hosting, a heavy page or a database under strain.
- Receiving
- The first part of the page arriving. We stop reading after that, so this is not the full page weight.
If it is your site that is down
Start with the answer the checker gives. A domain that does not point anywhere usually means the domain has expired or its DNS records were changed, so log in to your registrar and check the renewal date and the nameservers before anything else. A refused connection or no answer at all points at the hosting: look for a status page or an outage notice from your host, and check that the account has not been suspended over an unpaid invoice.
A 500 error that appears straight after an update is almost always the update. On WordPress, rename the folder of the plugin you changed last, through your host’s file manager, and reload. If the page mentions the database, the database server is down or its password has changed.
Cloudflare codes between 520 and 530 mean Cloudflare is fine and your server is not. Pause Cloudflare for the domain only if your host asks you to; the useful clue is in your server’s error log at the time of the check.
Certificate problems stop visitors cold, because browsers show a full-page warning instead of the site. Most hosts renew certificates on their own, so an expired one usually means the renewal failed after a DNS change. A free account here can check your site every hour and email you when it fails, so you hear about it before your customers do.
Questions about the checker
How the two tests work, what the codes mean and what happens to the addresses you check.
How does the check work?
Our server requests the address, follows any redirects and records the status code it gets back and how long each stage took. At the same moment your browser tries to reach the same site directly. If our server gets an answer and your browser does not, the problem is most likely between you and the site rather than the site itself.
What does “It looks like just you” mean?
Our server reached the site, but your browser could not. The usual causes are your Wi-Fi or mobile connection, a VPN, a work or school network that blocks the site, a browser extension, or an out-of-date DNS record on your device or router. Try the site on mobile data or in a private window, then restart your router if it still fails.
The checker says it is up, but it will not load for me. Why?
The check confirms that the server answers. It cannot log in, so a broken checkout, app or account area can still fail while the home page loads. If your browser test also failed, the fault is probably on your side; if it passed, clear the site’s cookies and cache or try another browser.
Why does it say the site turned the check away?
Large sites and security services such as Cloudflare often refuse automated requests with a 403 or 429 code, or ask for a challenge. Any reply means the server is running, so the site counts as up.
What do 502, 503 and 504 mean?
All three come from a server that sits in front of the website, such as a load balancer, a proxy or Cloudflare. 502 means it got a bad answer from the server behind it, 503 means the site is overloaded or switched into maintenance, and 504 means the server behind it took too long to reply. Each one points at the site’s hosting, not at you.
Do you keep the sites I check?
The address you enter is sent to our server so it can run the check. We keep the result for 15 seconds so repeat checks are quick, then it is thrown away. Recent checks are listed on your own device, where you can clear them. Sites you choose to monitor are kept with your free account until you remove them.
How does site monitoring work?
With a free account you can watch up to five sites. We check each one every hour. If a check fails, we try again half a minute later, and only email you when both fail, so a single slow answer does not wake you up. You get one more email when the site is working again.
Hear about it before your customers do
A free account checks up to five of your sites every hour and emails you when one stops working, then again when it is back. We will also tell you when new tools go live.