If you notice that your website is not displaying or is not responding, there are several things we can check to find the issue and get it back up for you.
Is it really down?
First of all, be sure that your website isn't coming up if you try a different network. A quick way you can try this is taking your phone off of the local wi-fi so it uses the cell network and going to your site through there.
I can see it on a different network
If the site comes up on your phone, then it most likely means that your local network that your computer is using may have gotten its IP blocked for some reason. The good news in that case is that your site is not really down, but you will need to look up your IP on the computer (through a site like http://www.supportdetails.com/) and contact hosting@sharefaith.com to get the block removed. If it is outside of support hours, you may just need to sit tight and allow the block to expire since most are just temporary and will go away after an hour or so.
I can't see it on a different network
If you can't see your site on a different network, then that eliminates the possibility of an IP block and means that the site is encountering an issue. Some common issues that can cause a site to be unresponsive:
- Domain renewal or verification failed - If your domain name expires or if you fail to verify it within 15 days from the time that you register or renew it, or whenever you change ownership or update contact information on the domain, then this will cause your site to become unavailable. If the domain is expired, you should see a notice telling you that when you try to go to your site and can simply contact whoever you have it registered through, whether that's us or someone else. If you don't respond to the OpenSRS domain verification email, your site will appear blank or say it can't connect. If you don't remember responding to that email, contact hosting@sharefaith.com to verify the email address that the verification was sent to and a hosting technician can help you in getting this issues resolved.
- An unexpected error occurred during an update - If you were processing an update and the site became unresponsive in the process, it's possible that an interruption occurred and it may need to be manually processed. When this happens, the site will typically appear completely blank and it is recommended to submit a support ticket so that a Member Coach can identify and correct the issue.
- Sharefaith account expired - If your Sharefaith account is not kept current, your hosting service could be suspended. Log into your Sharefaith account and it should prompt you to renew if it was expired. Once renewed, your site should be back online within about 5 minutes.
- DNS changes have taken place for your domain or website - If you change the DNS on your domain or if your site needs to be migrated to a different server for any reason, this can cause the domain to point to the wrong area. Check where your website's IP address is in your hosting control panel and then verify that your domain is pointing to the same one. If it's different, make sure to update the A NAME record for the domain to point to the correct IP address.
When you run into an issue where the site is down and does not appear to be related to domain or renewal issues, follow these steps:
- Take a screenshot of what you see when you go to your website.
- Create a support ticket, explaining whether or not you were working on the site and what you were working on right before the site quit responding and when this took place.
- Attach a screenshot to your ticket so we can make sure that we are able to compare what we are seeing and what you are seeing.
A Member Coach will receive and review the ticket to troubleshoot and investigate the cause behind your site not displaying and correspond with you if any further information is required.
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