StephenHey Remodelers! If your site is down, you could be losing money. Potential customers aren’t able to access your site and you could be losing leads.
A free tool that I use daily is Uptime Robot and it monitors your website. After it’s setup, it will alert you if your site is offline. They have a paid plan but the free plan works fine for most.
To set it up, do the following:
1. Go to https://uptimerobot.com/ and sign up for an account. Then jump back in and login.
2. Click My Settings.
3. Click Add Alert Contact.
4. From the dropdown, select Email-to-SMS.
5. Fill out the info and click Create Alert Contact.
6. Now click on Add New Monitor.
7. From the dropdown, select HTTP(s).
8. Fill out the info and make sure to tick the 2 boxes next to your email and cell number.
9. Click Create Monitor and that’s it!
Why is your site down?
Most websites will go down for a few minutes 1-2 times a week. It’s not a big deal. But if you see a large chunk of time that your site is offline then you’ll want to look into the following:
Your Host: Most of the time your host is either doing an update or fixing something on their end. And as a result, your website goes down. If you see this happen often then it might be a good time to look into a new web host (your web host holds the files for your website on a server).
A Virus: Eekks! This does happen more than you think. Hackers look for security holes and then insert harmful code into your website. This is never fun and you’ll most likely need a web developer to fix the issue.
Issues With Your Site: This is usually the last case scenario after a host problem or a hacker. If something isn’t working properly on your site it could potentially take it offline.
What do I do if my site is down?
First give it a few minutes to see if it comes back online. I like to wait roughly 10-20 minutes. If it doesn’t come back, you’ll want to call your web host. Let them look into it. Even if it’s a virus/hacker, they will let you know. They won’t fix it, but they can tell you why your site is down.
Ways to prevent this
Use a tool like Uptime Robot to keep an eye on your site. A few other ways to prevent your site from going down are:
– Make sure your site is updated. If you are using WordPress, it’s SUPER important to make sure your plugins are up-to-date and also that WordPress itself is up to date.
– Use a solid host. If your host is flakey, your site will be down all the time. You are not married to your host. I highly recommend WPEngine and use them for all of my own sites and clients sites.
– If your site is old, it could be time for an upgrade. Redesigning a new site doesn’t costs 5-10K anymore. You can get a solid, WordPress website design for a few thousand. And it will last you 5-10 years.
If you need help comment below and I’ll try to help you out! If you want to chat strategy about your business, then book a time here.
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