You know that sinking feeling you get when you can’t reach your website or it just doesn’t look right? Oftentimes, it means that there’s a problem with the website or the web server, but not always. Sometimes the problem is with your computer or browser. So, how can you tell?

Get outside of yourself

The trick with diagnosing this kind of problem is to connect to your website from somewhere other than your computer and ISP. There is an online service designed to do just that named aptly, DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com and it’s simplicity itself to use. Just fill in the domain name of your site on the minimalist home page, press Enter and you’ll get one of two responses:

1. It’s just you. [Name of site] is up.
2. It’s not just you! [Name of site] looks down from here.

DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com works by looking for a non-error response code from the web server for your domain. If it gets one, you get message #1, otherwise you get message #2. It doesn’t tell you what the code is or try and diagnose the problem; it’s just a thumbs up or thumbs down. After getting a response, you can copy the URL from the address bar of the browser to recreate the test. These are useful to send to tech support when they don’t believe that your site is really down.

Do you see what I see?

Sometimes you need to know more than just whether the site is responsive or not. To view your site as an anonymous visitor, use a web proxy browser. These websites connect to your site from various locations around the world and reflect the site back to you. I use one called Hide.me, which is very simple to use. Just be aware that some JavaScript effects go a little wonky when viewed through a web proxy.

Either of these tools are worth trying before contacting tech support about your problem. If the website is in fact up and running, your beef may be with your ISP or in-house tech support, whoever that may be.

Let a robot watch it for you

Some people aren’t looking at their site very often, but still need to know if there’s a problem. Automated site monitoring tools work in much the same way as DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com, without the need to visit a website to perform the check. Sites like UptimeRobot will check your site constantly throughout the day and send you a notification if something’s not right.

Most site monitors go beyond simply checking for a working connection to your website by checking for the presence of specific words. This confirms that a page is actually being displayed each time the check is performed. UptimeRobot is a free service for up to 50 websites, each being checked every 5 minutes. It’s well worth the piece of mind to take the time to set it up.

Until next week.