What to Do When Your Website Goes
Down
Paul Tero
Have you ever heard a colleague answer the phone like this: “Good
afterno... Yes... What? Completely?... When did it go down?... Really, that
long?... We’ll look into it right away... Yes, I understand... Of course... Okay,
speak to you soon... Bye.” The call may have been followed by some cheesy
’80s rock ballad coming from the speaker phone, interrupted by “Thank you
for holding. You are now caller number 126 in the queue.” That’s your boss
calling the hosting company’s 24 hour “technical support” line.
An important website has gone down, and sooner or later, heads will turn
to the Web development corner of the office, where you are sitting quietly,
minding your own business, regretting that you ever mentioned “Linux” on
your CV. You need to take action. Your company needs you. Your client
needs you. Here’s what to do.
1. Check That It Has Actually Gone Down
Don’t take your client’s word for it. Visit the website yourself, and press Shift
- Refresh to make sure you’re not seeing a cached version (hold down Shift
while reloading or refreshing the page). If the website displays fine, then the
problem is probably related to your client’s computer or broadband
connection.
If it fails, then visit a robust website, such as google.com or bbc.co.uk. If
they fail too, then there is at least an issue with your own broadband