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My website does not open

Last updated on Sep 16, 2026

Work down this list in order. Each step tells you what a good answer looks like, so you can tell where the problem is rather than changing things at random.

1. Is it the whole site, or just you?

Try the site on mobile data with wifi off. If it opens there, your office network or your computer is caching an old answer. Try a private window, and wait a few minutes.

2. Does the server answer on its IP address?

In a browser, type http:// and your server's public IP.

  • The site opens: the server is fine, the problem is your domain name. Go to step 5.
  • It spins and times out: a firewall is closed. Go to step 3.
  • "Connection refused": the web server program is not running. Go to step 4.

3. Are ports 80 and 443 open in both places?

There are two firewalls, and web traffic needs both.

On the server:

sudo ufw status

You should see 80 and 443 allowed. If not:

sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

In the console: Networking, then Security Groups, open the group your server uses, and confirm it has ingress rules for TCP 80 and TCP 443 from 0.0.0.0/0. New servers do not have them. The step-by-step is in How to open a port on your server.

4. Is the web server running?

systemctl status apache2

If it is not running, start it and read why it stopped:

sudo systemctl start apache2
journalctl -u apache2 -n 30 --no-pager

A common cause is a configuration typo. Check it with:

sudo apache2ctl configtest

Syntax OK means the configuration is fine.

5. Does your domain point at this server?

nslookup yourcompany.com

The answer must be your server's public IP. If it is an old address or nothing at all, fix the records in Point your domain name at your server and allow time for the change to spread.

6. Does the site load but show the wrong thing?

  • Ubuntu's default page: your files are not in /var/www/html, or the home page is not named index.html.
  • A list of file names: there is no index.html in the folder.
  • A blank white page: usually PHP failing. See the WordPress notes in Host a WordPress site.
  • "Not secure" in the address bar: HTTPS is not on yet. See Turn on HTTPS.

7. Still down

Contact support with: your server name and public IP, your domain, which step above you reached, and the exact message you see. That turns a day of questions into one answer. See What to include when you report a problem.