How to Check if a Website is Down

Quick Answer

To check if a website is down: Use ProbeOps "Is It Down" checker at probeops.com/tools/is-it-down to test the site from 6 global locations. If the site is down from all locations, it's a server issue. If it's up globally but down for you, the problem is your local network, ISP, or DNS. Check HTTP status codes: 200 means OK, 5xx means server error, timeout means unreachable.

When to Check if a Website is Down

When a website won't load and you're unsure if it's your connection
To verify if an outage is global or affecting only certain regions
Before reporting an issue to determine if it's server-side or client-side
When monitoring your own website for uptime
To check if a recently deployed site is accessible worldwide

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Enter the Website URL

Go to the ProbeOps "Is It Down" checker and enter the full URL (e.g., https://example.com). You can check any website, including specific pages like https://example.com/api/health.

Step 2: Run Multi-Region Check

The tool tests the website from 6 global locations: US East, US West, EU Central, AP South, Canada, and Australia. This reveals if the outage is global or regional.

Step 3: Analyze HTTP Status Codes

200-299: Website is working normally. 301/302: Redirect (usually OK, check final destination). 403: Access forbidden (IP blocked or authentication required). 404: Page not found (specific URL issue, not full outage). 500-503: Server error (website is experiencing problems). Timeout: Cannot reach server (DNS issue, server down, or network problem).

Step 4: Compare Regional Results

If all regions show "Down": Server is experiencing a global outage. If some regions show "Up" and others "Down": Regional issue, possibly CDN or geo-blocking. If all regions show "Up" but you can't access: Problem is your local network, ISP, or DNS cache.

Step 5: Troubleshoot Local Issues

If site is up globally but down for you: Try a different browser, clear DNS cache (ipconfig /flushdns on Windows), try a different network (mobile data), or use a VPN to test from another location.

Example: Checking Website Status

Input

URL: https://example.com

Output

US East: Up (200 OK, 145ms). US West: Up (200 OK, 98ms). EU Central: Up (200 OK, 210ms). AP South: Up (200 OK, 320ms). Canada: Up (200 OK, 165ms). Australia: Up (200 OK, 280ms). Verdict: Website is up globally. If you can't access it, the issue is on your end.

Understanding Status Codes

200 OK: Page loaded successfully. 301/302 Redirect: Page moved, following redirect. 403 Forbidden: Access denied (check if you're blocked). 404 Not Found: Specific page doesn't exist. 500 Internal Server Error: Server crashed or has a bug. 502 Bad Gateway: Proxy or load balancer can't reach the server. 503 Service Unavailable: Server overloaded or in maintenance. 504 Gateway Timeout: Server took too long to respond.

Common Problems and Solutions

Problem: Site is down globally (all regions show error)

The server is experiencing an outage. Check the company's status page or social media for announcements. For your own site: check server logs, restart services, verify the server is running and has resources available.

Problem: Site is up globally but you can't access it

Your local issue. Try: clearing browser cache, flushing DNS (ipconfig /flushdns), trying a different browser, using incognito mode, switching to mobile data, or using a VPN. Your ISP may be having issues or the site may have blocked your IP.

Problem: Site works in some regions but not others

Regional issue, often CDN-related. The website's CDN edge server in certain regions may be down. Contact the site owner or wait for the CDN to recover. For your own site: check CDN dashboard for regional issues.

Related Tools

Is It Down Checker - Test website availability from 6 regions
Latency Test - Measure response times globally
DNS Lookup - Verify DNS is resolving correctly
SSL Checker - Check for certificate errors

Guides/How to Check if a Website is Down

How to Check if a Website is Down

Determine whether a website is down for everyone or just you. Test from multiple global locations to identify server outages vs local connection issues.

Quick Answer

To check if a website is down: Test it from multiple geographic locations. If the site fails from all locations, it's a server problem. If it works globally but not for you, the issue is your local network, ISP, or DNS cache. Use ProbeOps Is It Down checker to test from 6 regions simultaneously and see HTTP status codes for each location.

When to Use This

When a website won't load and you're unsure if it's your connection
To verify if an outage is global or affecting only certain regions
Before reporting an issue to determine if it's server-side or client-side
When monitoring your own website's availability
To check if a newly deployed site is accessible worldwide

Step-by-Step Guide

Enter the Website URL

Enter the full URL including https:// (e.g., https://example.com). You can also check specific pages like /api/health endpoints.

Run Multi-Region Check

The tool tests from 6 global locations: US East, US West, EU Central, AP South, Canada, and Australia. This reveals if the outage is global or regional.

Read the HTTP Status Codes

200 = Working, 5xx = Server error, Timeout = Unreachable. Status codes tell you exactly what's happening.

200 OK      → Site working
403 Forbidden → Blocked/Auth required
500-503     → Server error
Timeout     → Cannot reach server

Compare Regional Results

All regions down = global outage. Some up, some down = regional/CDN issue. All up but down for you = local problem (your network, ISP, or DNS).

Troubleshoot Local Issues

If site is up globally but down for you: clear browser cache, flush DNS cache, try incognito mode, switch to mobile data, or use a VPN.

Flush DNS: ipconfig /flushdns (Windows)
           sudo dscacheutil -flushcache (Mac)

Example: Checking github.com Status

Input

https://github.com

Output

US East (Virginia): ✓ Up 200 OK 145ms US West (Oregon): ✓ Up 200 OK 98ms EU Central (Helsinki): ✓ Up 200 OK 210ms AP South (Mumbai): ✓ Up 200 OK 320ms CA Central (Canada): ✓ Up 200 OK 165ms AP Southeast (Sydney): ✓ Up 200 OK 280ms Verdict: Website is UP globally. If you can't access it, check your local network.

Common Pitfalls & Quick Fixes

Problem: Site is down from all locations (global outage)

Fix: Server-side issue. Check the company's status page or @status Twitter account. For your own site: SSH into server, check logs (journalctl -xe), restart services, verify disk space and memory aren't exhausted.

Problem: Site is up globally but you can't access it

Fix: Local issue. Try: different browser, incognito mode, flush DNS cache, switch from WiFi to mobile data, or use a VPN. Your IP might be blocked or your ISP may have DNS issues.

Problem: Site works in some regions but not others

Fix: Regional CDN or DNS issue. The site's CDN edge servers in certain regions may be down. For your own site, check your CDN provider's status dashboard for regional incidents.

Try it yourself

Use our free Is It Down Checker to run these checks from 6 global locations.

Open Is It Down Checker

View API Docs

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