How to troubleshoot a website that is not working with Site Diagnostic

If your website is down, times out, shows an error, or works on HTTP but not HTTPS, NewCP's Site Diagnostic can help you identify where the problem is. It checks the domain registration, DNS, nameservers, Cloudflare/CDN routing, HTTP and HTTPS responses, the website's temporary URL, and the website configuration.

Site Diagnostic is read-only. It tests the current configuration but does not change your website or DNS settings.

How to run Site Diagnostic

1. Sign in to NewCP.
2. Open 24/7 Helpdesk from the left menu.
3. Click Site Diagnostic.
4. Under Domain in your account, select the website domain that is not working. You can search when the list is long.
5. Click Run Diagnostic.
6. Review the Passed, Warnings, and Failed totals, then review the individual checks. Each check shows the Actual result, the Expected result, and What to do.

For security, you can test only domains assigned to websites that your account can access.

How to use the results

Start with Failed checks, then review Warnings. Use the following guide to narrow down the cause.

Domain registration

• If the domain is managed in your SharkASP.NET account, confirm that its registration is active and not expired.
• "Registration is not managed in this account" can be normal for an externally registered domain. Confirm its status and expiration date with the registrar.

DNS address and nameservers

• If the domain does not resolve, confirm that valid authoritative nameservers are assigned at the registrar and that the required DNS records exist.
• If the domain points to a different server, change its A record to the expected hosting IP shown by the diagnostic.
• DNS changes can take time to propagate. Run the diagnostic again after the changes become visible.

Cloudflare / CDN

• When Cloudflare is enabled, confirm that the A or CNAME record points to the correct SharkASP.NET hosting origin.
• Also confirm that Cloudflare's SSL mode matches the SSL certificate and HTTPS configuration on the hosting server.

HTTP and HTTPS response

• HTTP 200-399: the public request reached a working page or redirect.
• HTTP 4xx: usually points to authentication, redirect, firewall, or application-rule problems.
• HTTP 5xx: usually points to an application or server-side error. Review the application logs and IIS logs. If the application is stuck, recycling its application pool may help.
• Timeout: can indicate slow application startup, an unhealthy application pool, a blocked or slow database call, or high server load.
• HTTP works but HTTPS fails: check the SSL certificate, hostname, expiration date, HTTPS binding, and Cloudflare SSL mode.

Temporary URL comparison

• If the temporary URL works but the public domain does not, the website and web server are reachable. Focus on the domain's DNS, website binding, CDN, or SSL settings.
• If both the temporary URL and public domain fail, focus on the application, application pool, database connection, and server or IIS logs.
• If no temporary URL is available, continue with the DNS, HTTP, HTTPS, and website-configuration results.

Website configuration

• If the website is disabled, enable it and run Site Diagnostic again.
• If the website record cannot be loaded, contact support so the website configuration can be checked.

After making a change

Run Site Diagnostic again. The results are a snapshot of the website at the time of the test, so a new run is needed to verify a repair or DNS change.

If you still need help, open a support ticket and include the affected domain, the failed check names, the Actual and Expected results, and the approximate time you ran the test. Do not include passwords or other sensitive information.