My website isn't displaying
If your website is not displaying, we're here to help! Follow these steps (in order) to troubleshoot some of the most common causes.
1. Clear your caches
Clear your web browser cache, and then check if your website will display. If you're using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) or Virtual Private Network (VPN) you may need to clear those caches as well.
2. Check if your domain registration or hosting is expired
- Go to your GoDaddy Renewals & Billing.
- If your products or services are expired, you may need to add or update your payment method, and then manually renew.
We recommend you add a backup payment method and turn on auto-renew to avoid future expirations.
3. Make sure your domain's DNS is pointed correctly
Before troubleshooting your website files and code, make sure your DNS is configured correctly. If you notice an issue and make a DNS change, it'll usually show within an hour, but can take up to 48 hours to update globally.
- Configuring DNS for your Web Hosting (cPanel) domain
- Configure DNS for domains in my Windows Hosting
4. Make sure your website files are in the correct directory
- Web Hosting (cPanel): Website files must be uploaded to
/public_html(for your primary domain) or your addon domain root directory. - Windows Hosting with Plesk: Website files must be uploaded to
httpdocs/(for your primary domain) or your secondary domain root directory.
5. Check the name of your default file
Make sure your default file has an appropriate name. If you have multiple default files, make sure your desired one has the correct priority:
- Default files and their priorities for Web Hosting (cPanel)
- Default files and their priorities for Windows Hosting with Plesk
6. Check your file and directory permissions
Overly strict or incorrect file permissions can make your website inaccessible. Consult your developer or Content Management System (CMS) requirements on what permissions should be set for your files and directories:
- Set file or directory permissions in my Web Hosting (cPanel) account
- Set directory permissions in my Windows Hosting account
7. Check your file and directory ownership
If you've built your site locally or moved from another server, you may need to update your ownership. Updating file and directory ownership uses chown and should be performed by an expert. Consult your developer on what ownership should be set for your files and directories:
- Web Hosting (cPanel): Connect with SSH, and view cPanel's documentation on using chown.
8. Create a test file and check its accessibility
- Web Hosting (cPanel): Using your file manager, navigate to the appropriate root directory, and then create a test file (for example,
/public_html/test.txt). Enter some text in the file, save your changes, and then try to view it in a web browser (for example, mycoolexample.com/text.txt). - Windows Hosting: Using your file manager, navigate to the appropriate root directory and create a test file (for example,
httpdocs/test.txt). Enter some text in the file, save your changes, and then try to view it in a web browser (for example, mycoolexample.com/text.txt).
If you can view the test file, this means your domain is technically accessible.
9. Troubleshoot your site
If you've reached this step, it's likely your developer will need to review your site files, code, applications, database, etc. to determine the cause of your site not displaying. This is not covered in the Statement of Support, but some common troubleshooting steps can include:
- Temporarily disabling plugins and widgets
- Changing to a default theme
- Temporarily disabling the .htaccess file
- Updating your CMS version
- Updating URLs, image paths and database names from hard coding to relative paths
- Updating your image paths to match exactly (case sensitive)
More info
- Seeing error messages on a WordPress site? Troubleshooting WordPress explains common errors and how to address them.
