How to Test a Website to See if It Is Working

The "ping" command is one way of checking if a website is down.

It is not uncommon for a website to experience a brief outage. A website can stop working for a number of reasons, including server issues and deliberate interruptions by the site owner for maintenance reasons. Plenty of tools are at your disposal for determining if a website is up, including commands embedded within computer operating systems and resources on the Internet.

Instructions

1. Type in the URL of the desired website in your Web browser's address bar and press "Enter." If the website is working, it should load onto the page shortly, depending on the speed of your network.

2. Send a "ping" command to the website from your computer. Click "Start," select "Run" and type "cmd" in the dialog box. Type "ping" in the command window, followed by a space and the address of the website you want to ping. Click on "Network Utility" and click on the "Ping" tab.

3. Initiate the "ping" command. The computer sends up to four ping queries to the website of your choice. If the website is functioning, you see four replies revealing the website's IP address and the time it took to respond. If the website is not working, you see "Request timed out" for all four queries.

4. Use a website that checks whether a website is down (see the Resources section for links). Browse to the service you want to use. At the website, type the URL of the website you want to check and press "Enter." The service tells you if the website is down or not.

References

• Ghacks.net: Ways to Check if a Website Is Really Down
• Daily Blog Tips: Test if a Website is Down for Everyone or Just for You

Resources

• Princeton University OIT: Traceroute Tool
• Watchmouse: Down or Not
• Down For Everyone or Just Me?