If for any reason you cannot point to your site in your web browser, here is a list of things you can do to troubleshoot the problem. It is recommended that you follow the steps in the order presented.

Check that your DNS has fully propagated

If you have just recently set up your hosting account with us, your site DNS records may not have fully propagated yet. It generally takes 24-72 hours for all the root servers around the world to update any changes in your DNS records. If you have a name based hosting account, try pointing to http://yourIP/~username using the IP and username provided in your Welcome Email. If you have an IP based hosting account, try pointing to http://yourIP. Assuming you have uploaded your site files to the server properly, you should be able to see your site. If so, it just means you will have to wait a bit longer for DNS to fully propagate.

Make sure your DNS is configured properly

Ensure that you have properly configured your DNS records in your domain name account. Login to your account at your domain registrar and double-check the nameservers. You can also perform a whois online to check the records attached to your domain.

Try surfing other sites

Try pointing to other sites in your browser. It's entirely possible your ISP is experiencing connectivity problems, in which case the issue is with your Internet connection rather than your site's connectivity.

Ping your site

Try pinging your site. Ping is a program that "bounces" a request off of another computer/server over the internet to see if the remote computer is responding. To ping your site, click Start>Run and enter command. Click OK. Then type ping yoursite.com (where yoursite.com is your actual domain). Hit Enter on your keyboard. The results will show 4 attempts to send a packet to your site. If your site is reachable, it will show no lost packets.

Do a traceroute

Perform a traceroute on your site. A traceroute is a utility which allows you to literally trace your connection to a server/computer. It measures the time it takes to reach each point needed for the connection. There are many online tools which will allow you to perform the traceroute. Alternatively, you can do it yourself. To traceroute your site, click Start>Run and enter command. Click OK. Then type tracert yoursite.com (where yoursite.com is your actual domain). Hit Enter on your keyboard. The results will show you the number of hops between your local computer and your site server. It can give you a good indication of any connectivity disruption along the way.

Ask a friend to point to your site

Ask a friend (who preferably uses a different ISP than you) to try pointing to the site. It will be a good indication as to whether the problem is with your connection or your ISP.

Check for forum announcements

If there is interruption in connectivity in our network, whether it is unexpected or scheduled, we will make an announcement in our Forum. We will also keep the information current with frequent updates so that you know what is going on with your site, the server and the network. The URL for the Forum is listed in the table at the top of this page.

Check your email

If we are experiencing connectivity problems, we keep you up to date via email. Please remember to keep an off-site email address in your account profile so that if for some reason your site is down, you will still be able to receive email notification and updates.

Send in a support ticket

If all else fails, send in a support ticket to our Help Desk. The URL for our Help Desk is listed in the table at the top of this page.

Contact us via Instant Messaging

Contact us by Instant Message so that we may assist you in finding the source of the problem. Our IM handle is listed in the table at the top of this page.

Call us by telephone

Call us by telephone so that we may assist you in finding the source of the problem. Our telephone number is listed in the table at the top of this page.