Step 1: check from another network (20 seconds)
Take out your phone, turn off Wi-Fi, open the site over mobile data.
- It loads → the site is alive. The problem is your network, your router or your computer. Go to step 2.
- It doesn't → go to step 3.
This single check resolves most cases and costs nothing.
Step 2: if it works for others but not for you
In order of likelihood:
- Browser cache. Open the site in a private window, or press
Ctrl+Shift+R(Windows) /Cmd+Shift+R(Mac). - A different browser. If Chrome fails and Firefox works, it was the cache.
- Your computer's DNS cache. Windows: Command Prompt →
ipconfig /flushdns. Mac:sudo dscacheutil -flushcache - The router. Unplug it for ten seconds.
- Did you change domain or host recently? Then you're waiting on a cache, not down. See how DNS works.
Step 3: check from outside, objectively
Open one of these on your phone:
You type the address and the service checks it from its own servers. If it fails there too, the site really is unreachable from outside.
Step 4: read exactly what it says
Different errors mean completely different things. This is the single most useful piece of information you can give us.
| What you see | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| "This site can't be reached" / DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN | The domain doesn't resolve. Expired domain, or a DNS problem. The server may be perfectly healthy. |
| "Your connection is not private" / NET::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID | The SSL certificate expired. The site works, the browser won't let you in. See about SSL. |
| 500 Internal Server Error | The server is alive, the site's code is crashing. Usually right after an update or a change. |
| 502 / 504 Gateway Timeout | The server is overloaded or a process has hung. |
| 403 Forbidden | File permissions are wrong. |
| 404 Not Found | The site works — that particular page doesn't exist. |
| A blank white page | Almost always a PHP error that isn't being displayed. |
| Spins and eventually times out | The server is slow or overloaded, not down. |
Take a screenshot. Even if it looks useless to you.
Step 5: two things that expire quietly
Before you go looking for a server problem, rule these out. Both take the site down completely and neither has anything to do with hosting.
The domain expired. Check it in seconds at who.is — look for the "Expiration Date" line. If that date has passed, that's your cause and nothing else matters.
For .bg domains this is serious: you get a 30-day grace period, suspension on day 7 after expiry, and deletion on day 40. After that there is no restore — the registry's rules don't provide for one. If your domain is with us, we track the date. If it's elsewhere, you track it.
The SSL certificate expired. Click the padlock in the address bar → certificate details → valid until. The site is running fine, but nobody gets in because the browser shows a red warning screen.
When it's our fault and what happens next
If your hosting is with us and the server is the cause, that's our problem and we own it.
We aim for 99.5% monthly availability and publish the real measurements on the status page. That is a target, not a contractual guarantee with automatic credit — the infrastructure is one server with no standby, and a promise we cannot keep helps nobody. If the service is unavailable through our fault for more than 4 consecutive hours, contact us and we will compensate the corresponding part of that month's fee. The exceptions are scheduled maintenance announced in advance, force majeure, and problems outside our infrastructure — for example your domain expiring, or your own ISP having trouble.
What to send us
So we don't go round in circles:
- The exact address where you see the problem — with
https://and the full page, not justcompany.com. - A screenshot of the error.
- Since when. "Since this morning" is enough.
- Whether it's only you, or it also fails on mobile data.
- Whether anything changed — an update, a new plugin, a DNS change, new content.
Send it to contact@hostika-bg.com or through the client area.
When we respond: Basic — within 8 business hours. Business — within 4 business hours, prioritised. Enterprise — within 2 business hours, plus phone 09:00–18:00 and an emergency line for outages.
If the site is completely unreachable and you're on Enterprise — call, don't write. That's what the phone line is for.