A server outage can be a nightmare for your online business. After all the time and money you’ve invested in designing and building a great website, then your customers can’t access it.
This has an impact on your business reputation. Moreover, no access means no traffic, and no traffic means no sales. Finally, the time spent fixing such problems could be better spent working on new growth strategies.
The biggest problem is that server downtime can affect any website. From start-ups to enterprise-level organizations, companies of all sizes face this risk. Thankfully, such problems can be managed, and this article will detail the steps you can take if your server goes down.
Common Triggers of Server Downtime
Unplanned downtime disrupts operations and frustrates users. But why do servers crash?
The most common root causes of a down server include:
- Software issues: Glitches, bugs, corrupted files, or misconfiguration can lead to server downtime. Software updates may introduce compatibility issues that cause a website to crash intermittently.
- Server hardware failures: Hardware failures can be caused by overheating, physical damage, or unmonitored data center changes. These can be as simple as an unplugged ethernet cable or an unexpected power outage.
- Overloads: Overloads happen when a server receives too many requests, which can stem from too much web traffic. High traffic, combined with poorly-optimized scripts or plugins, can lead to overloads. A well-configured content delivery network can reduce bandwidth usage, and keep your site up and running.
Cybersecurity Threats: Identifying Malicious Actors
Cybercrime is another potential cause for server downtime, and one that requires immediate action on your part. The three main types of cyberattacks that can cause server downtime are hacking attempts, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, and malware infections.
Hacking attacks occur when hackers exploit vulnerabilities in server defenses to gain unauthorized access. DDoS attacks are designed to overwhelm the server and force downtime. Malware injects hidden programming into your site’s code, prompting it to secretly complete malicious tasks. This tends to cause site glitches or overload the server.
In a perfect world, you’d spot these threats before they’re a major problem, or prevent them entirely with proper security protections, such as using a web-application firewall. For example, sudden spikes in traffic or unusual patterns may indicate a DDoS attack in progress. Similarly, unexpected page redirects or improper loading can signal the presence of malware.
In the event of a cyberattack, having the right strategy in place can minimize downtime and prevent further damage to your site:
- Identify the threat: Determine the nature and scope of the attack.
- Neutralize the attack: Use containment measures to mitigate the problem and prevent further infiltration.
- Check your server system: Assess the damage to identify compromised systems and spot the source of potential data breaches.
- Restore and repair: Report the attack to relevant authorities, patch vulnerabilities, and repair any damage.
- Recover your data: Restore the last clean, functional version of your site from backups, if a clean version is available.
- Testing stage: Ensure everything is back to normal before you resume operations.
- Learn from the experience: Conduct an analysis and strengthen your defenses against future threats.
Keep Learning: Best Practices for DDoS Attack Prevention and Protection
Action Steps: Getting Your Website Back Online
Server downtime can be nerve-wracking, but with the right approach, you can quickly restore your website and minimize disruptions. We suggest the following actions to work through any downtime crises.
1. Diagnose the Problem
Determine whether the issue is localized to your website or if it’s affecting the entire server. This will help you find the root cause of the problem, including potential issues with the DNS server or network connection.
Check your connectivity settings. It’s possible there’s no issue with the server at all, but something somewhere is preventing connection. Use a device like PingTool to check for a server response; if you get one, the network’s not the problem.
Use an SSH or RDP protocol to remotely access your network’s hardware and assess its performance. If the issue is a physical one – such as your server overheating – you’ll be able to identify that here. You may also need to update your server’s software in order to make sure everything’s working at full capacity.
2. Execute Recovery Operations
After you’ve identified the cause, recovery operations can begin. The steps you take here will vary, depending on the source of the issue.
For example, if you were to check the hardware status and found the server was overheating, you would have to physically address the issue yourself, or reach out to your hosting provider. Other tasks you might need to perform include turning off and restarting certain services, applying software patches, or restoring your site from a backup.
If your troubleshooting efforts don’t produce results, contact your hosting provider. They may have issues they need to address. In many cases, they can also help you identify the root cause of the problem.
For users who’d like a more hands-off approach, a good managed hosting provider should handle most – if not all – of these processes for you. For example, Pressable’s proactive monitoring system will detect issues early on, so the support team can intervene before your website goes down and notify you immediately when there’s a major issue. Even then, however, you have our team’s full support in addressing the problem and getting your site and server working properly again.
3. Communicate with Users
If downtime persists or starts significantly impacting your business operations, consider reaching out to your users or customers to inform them of the situation. It’s important to reassure them that the site is secure. Keep them in the loop as you address the issue, providing updates on your progress. Transparency and regular communication can help soften their concerns and maintain trust in your brand.
Beyond The Fix: Ensuring Server Health for Long-Term Stability
Troubleshooting is just one facet of managing and preventing server downtime. There are several proactive measures you can take to build up long-term server health and stability.
Regular software updates are crucial for preventing glitches and compatibility issues. Keep both WordPress and PHP versions as up-to-date as you reasonably can, taking care to upgrade away from any versions that are no longer in active development. Update plugins and themes as well; older versions may be poorly optimized and often contain vulnerabilities that provide easy access to digital attacks.
Regular, up-to-date backups can help you easily restore a damaged site following instances of server failure, such as due to malware. You can restore a previous backup manually using a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). However, many hosting providers (including Pressable) include automatic backups and restoration as part of their service. If yours doesn’t, there are several tools out there that can help, such as BlogVault or Jetpack Security.
Lastly, reinforce your website to keep cyberattacks at bay. Firewalls are a must-have, but they can only do so much. Advanced intrusion detection systems are recommended to identify threats and deal with them when they arise. Last but not least, run routine health checks and diagnostic tests to spot potential network issues and identify opportunities to optimize server performance.
Optimizing Your Server Response Plan With Pressable
Website downtime is a major challenge that most businesses will face at least once. The ability to identify and solve the problem, however, is the key to helping limit the impact of such events.
Pressable works hard to ensure every site on our servers gets 100% uptime, apart from scheduled maintenance. The infrastructure is designed to keep your site working even when issues occur. Moreover, this is guaranteed in Pressable’s server agreement – if your site goes offline, you’ll get money back for the downtime.
Here’s a closer look at some of the steps Pressable takes to ensure our users’ sites stay online:
- Our server infrastructure, created by WP Cloud, has several layers of built-in redundancies, including duplicate servers and automatic failover, that keep your site up and running.
- We’ve implemented strong cybersecurity measures at every step to help keep your site protected from online threats.
- Our support team continuously monitors your website’s performance, ready to respond and contact you should anything go wrong.
Server downtime can be a common issue when running a website, and it comes at a huge cost. An inaccessible site is frustrating for users, and no business can make money with its doors locked. Add to this the time spent fixing the problem, and it’s clear why most site owners will do whatever they can to avoid downtime.
Working with a managed hosting provider is a fantastic way to keep your site working well without a ton of stress and work on your part.
Take a look at Pressable’s offerings to start enjoying 100% uptime today.
Alfred Bassetti
With over a decade of invaluable experience. Alfred is not just about numbers; he's dedicated to bringing customers closer to their hosting needs through his expertise in Inbound sales, WordPress support, and Google Data Analytics Certifications. His skills in project planning, web design, and development make him a well-rounded contributor to the Pressable team. He focuses in helping people get the best possible experience with hosting by bringing customers closer to their needs!
