Client SMS
"Nothing has been loading since 7am this morning. No visitor can access the site. It's back-to-school season and I have promotions running."
🚨 Site fully down · Immediate action
Your PrestaShop is not responding at all?
Your PrestaShop is not responding at all?
we identify the layer that's failing.
Diagnostic and recovery of unreachable PrestaShop stores
Timeout, ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED, page loading forever, host saying "everything is fine":
your site is unreachable. We test the full chain — DNS, network, web server, PHP-FPM, MySQL —
and bring the broken layer back online.
✓ Free diagnostic
✓ Quote within 24 business hours
✓ From €60/h excl. VAT
✓ No commitment
👀 What do you see
4 ways to confirm a site is truly unreachable
The exact message you see points us to the layer at fault. Recognise yours.
A. Infinite loading (browser timeout)
The browser icon spins for 30+ seconds, then shows ERR_TIMED_OUT or "This page is taking too long to respond". Typical cause: PHP-FPM saturated or stuck, MySQL not responding, or a looping query. The server receives the request but never returns a response. Layer at fault: application (PHP) or database.
B. Immediate connection error
The browser instantly shows ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED, ERR_CONNECTION_RESET or This site can't be reached. Typical cause: Apache/Nginx is not running, port 443 closed by the firewall, or IP banned. The server actively refuses the connection. Layer at fault: web server or firewall.
C. DNS / domain name error
The browser shows DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN or ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED. Typical cause: expired domain, A/AAAA record removed, DNS propagation in progress, or registrar that suspended the domain. Layer at fault: DNS / registrar. Often a forgotten domain renewal payment.
D. Host's error page
Custom page from Kinsta, WP Engine, SiteGround, GoDaddy or OVH saying "Site suspended", "Account suspended", "Maintenance in progress". Typical cause: unpaid invoice, disk or bandwidth quota exceeded, manual suspension after detected abuse (spam script, mining). Layer at fault: hosting account. Commercial or compliance action.
🔎 Method
Our 4-layer diagnostic
We test in order, from the most external (DNS) to the most internal (DB). The first layer that fails gives us the root cause.
⚡ Sample intervention
Store back online in 1 h 12
Real case · Sports equipment store · PrestaShop 8.2 · UK shared hosting · January 2026.
Layer 1 → 2 diagnostic
dig OK (correct IP), ping OK (server responds), curl -I times out after 30s. So: network OK, web server or application is failing.
SSH access recovered
systemctl status apache2 → active. systemctl status php-fpm → all PHP-FPM workers in state R (running) since 6:30 am. All saturated on a single request.
Root cause identified
SHOW PROCESSLIST MySQL → 89 queries running on ps_product_attribute in lock. A stock-cleanup query started at 6am via a poorly written cron that did not use a transaction, blocking everything else.
Fix applied
KILL on the blocking query. service php-fpm restart. Site responsive in under 2s. Cleanup cron disabled for cold analysis.
Post-mortem report
Email with timeline, root cause (cron without transaction), recommendation: rewrite the cron + set up 5-min uptime monitoring to catch saturation before the full down.
1 h 12
Total intervention
~ €72
Billed on quote
(1 h 12 × €60/h excl. VAT)
(1 h 12 × €60/h excl. VAT)
~ €4,200
Revenue lost over 3 h
(back-to-school promos)
(back-to-school promos)
💰 Pricing
Pricing stated up-front
Diagnostic is free. For the intervention, you know exactly what it costs before we touch the code.
🔍 Diagnostic
Diagnostic
find the failing layer
0€free
30 min · no commitment
- DNS / network / web server test in 4 layers
- Layer at fault identified
- Firm quote sent immediately
- You decide if we continue
⚡ Most requested
🔧 Intervention
Targeted intervention
bring the store back online
from 60€excl. VAT
per diagnostic · price stated up-front
- Backup of files + DB before intervention
- Restart services (Apache, PHP-FPM, MySQL)
- Root cause identification (cron, query, quota...)
- Written report + preventive recommendation
- 30-day warranty on the fix
🛡️ Maintenance
Monthly maintenance
detect before the full outage
from 50€/ month
24/7 monitoring · no commitment
- 5-min uptime monitoring · immediate SMS alert
- Daily automatic backups externalised
- Quota tracking disk, bandwidth, DNS, SSL
- Priority intervention if site is down
🧭 Don't confuse
"Site unreachable" is not...
❌ Not a 500
If your site responds with an error message (HTTP ERROR 500), it is reachable, just broken. The server is doing its job. Dedicated page.
If the browser receives an HTTP 200 status with an empty body, the server is responding — it's the application failing silently. Dedicated page.
White screen page →
❓ FAQ
Unreachable PrestaShop store — frequently asked questions
Four families of causes. (1) DNS / domain: expired A/AAAA record, interrupted propagation, registrar suspending for unpaid invoice →
ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED. (2) Hosting: Apache/Nginx not running, PHP-FPM crashed, disk quota exceeded, host in maintenance. (3) Database: MySQL/MariaDB refuses connections → 'Cannot connect to database' or fully blank. (4) Server network: firewall blocking after DDoS, server IP banned, port 443 closed after a failed SSL renewal. Diagnostic always starts with external dig/curl then SSH on the server.Three tests: (1) open the site on your phone's 4G (not Wi-Fi) — if it works, it's your local network. (2) Test from isitdownrightnow.com — it tests from outside. (3) Incognito mode on a different browser — eliminates cache and extensions. If all three confirm the down, we are on a server or DNS issue.
Classic. The host tests its infrastructure, not your application. Three typical causes: (1) site replies to
ping but PHP-FPM is saturated, so Apache waits for a response that never comes, (2) DB on another server which itself is down, (3) a module looping infinitely. The host is technically right (infra is running) but your site is unusable. You need SSH access to diagnose on the application side.Depending on the cause: DNS: 1 to 24 h (TTL/propagation). PHP-FPM / MySQL crashed: 30 min to 1 h. Disk quota: 30 min. Firewall blocking: 15 min once the rule is identified. Host infra outage: we depend on the host. On average, 80% of cases in under 2 h once the diagnostic is done.
Partially. Without server access, we can still: test the DNS from multiple regions, check the SSL state, inspect the HTTP headers, identify the failing layer. With those elements, we can tell you what to ask your host. If the intervention requires SSH/FTP, we guide you to recover them (1 to 4 h depending on the host).
Orders already placed are in the DB and are not lost. Orders currently being paid are trickier: if the customer paid but your site didn't receive the PSP webhook, the PrestaShop order is not created. You'll need to cross-reference Stripe/PayPal payments with PS orders once the site is back online and manually create the missing ones. This operation is included in the intervention if it concerns fewer than 10 orders.
🔗 Related topics
Other issues I handle
Is your store down right now?
Free 30-min diagnostic: we identify the layer that's failing. Quote within 24 business hours, intervention from €60/h excl. VAT.