Fix My Website

A website usually stops working because something it depends on changed or lapsed, like a software or plugin update that clashed, an expired domain or security certificate, a hosting problem, or a hack. Less often, a setting was changed by mistake. The cause shows up in the server's error records, the recent changes, and the hosting and domain accounts, and that's where I look first.

To check if your website is down for everyone, turn off Wi-Fi and open it on your phone over cellular data. If it loads there, the trouble is probably your own network. If it doesn't load anywhere, the problem is with the site itself. A free tool like downforeveryoneorjustme.com can also check it from outside your network.

If your website is down, check four things first, starting with whether it loads on your phone off Wi-Fi. Then look for renewal notices from your domain and host, an outage email from your host, and any recent update or new plugin. Then send me what you found through the form, with your web address. Don't delete or reinstall anything while you wait, because what's on the site now is the evidence of what went wrong.

Your website says “not secure” when its security certificate has expired or was never set up, or when a page loads over plain HTTP instead of HTTPS. The fix is to renew or install the certificate (many hosts provide one free), send every page to its HTTPS address, and update any images or scripts still loading over HTTP. Visitors often leave the moment they see the warning, so it's worth fixing right away.

When a website works on desktop but not on mobile, the cause is usually a layout that wasn't built for small screens, a caching or redirect setting that treats phones differently, or a script that fails in mobile browsers. I test the site on a real phone, find which of those it is, and fix it, then check every page on phones and desktops before calling it done.

Website changes usually don't show up because of caching. Your browser, the website, or the hosting company is serving a saved copy of the page from before the change. Clearing the site's cache, or the host's, usually brings the new version through, and a private browser window shows what new visitors see. If the change still doesn't appear, it may not have saved, or it was made on a test copy of the site.

A 500 error means your website's server hit a problem it couldn't handle, usually from a plugin or theme conflict, a recent update, a broken settings file, or the server running out of memory. The server's error log usually names the cause. I take a full copy of the site first, then find the conflict and fix it, so the page loads again without undoing the rest of the site.

AI tools can explain an error message or suggest fixes, but they can't fix your website on their own, because they can't log in, read your server's error records, or test the result on a phone. A suggested fix applied in the wrong place can make things worse. I use AI tools in my own work, and I check every change on the live site before I call it fixed.

A web developer or web designer who works on sites like yours can fix your website, and they don't need to be the person who built it. Look for someone who takes a full copy of the site before changing anything and tells you in plain words what went wrong. I fix sites I didn't build, and if the logins are missing, getting back in is the first job.

Yes, I can fix a contact form that stopped working, starting with test requests to see where they end up, like a spam folder, an old address, or nowhere. The usual fix is to send the form's messages through a proper email service that Gmail, Outlook, and other providers accept. Then I test it from a phone and a desktop until every request lands in your inbox. If the form failed for a while, I check whether the site saved the requests that never arrived.

If your site was hacked, change the passwords for your website login and your hosting account, then tell me what you're seeing, like a browser warning, strange pages, visitors sent somewhere else, or a notice from your host. I copy the site as it is, find how the hackers got in, clean it, close the way in, and ask Google to lift any warning. After that, regular updates on a care plan are the strongest protection against the next attempt.

WordPress security

The cost of fixing a website depends on what's wrong. A form that stopped sending is a small job, and a hacked site that needs cleaning, securing, and a review from Google takes longer. You'll know what the fix involves before the work starts. If the site is down or hacked, say so in the form, so I know where to start.

You don't need a care plan after the fix. Care is optional. I recommend it. Without updates, backups, and security, the problems that break websites tend to come back, and a fix only holds as long as someone keeps the site up to date. On a care plan, that's my job, and your requests go to the person who already knows your site.