Skip To Section

This Emergency Website Rescue guide walks you through what to do in the first hour, how to avoid making things worse, and when it’s time to call in an Emergency Website Rescue specialist.

First, don’t panic – and stop randomly clicking things!

When a site breaks, most people do the same three things:

Install a handful of “security” or “fix” plugins.
Click “update all” and hope for the best.
Start changing settings in the hosting panel without really knowing what they do.

That’s how small problems turn into big ones.

Instead:

Take a breath. A broken site feels urgent, but rushing usually creates extra damage.
Write down what you see. Copy error messages, URLs and warnings. Take screenshots on your phone or laptop.
If the site is half-working, avoid editing content or running updates until you’ve worked out what’s actually wrong.

If you have a web person or hosting support, those screenshots and notes are gold. They show exactly what was happening when things broke.

Most website emergencies are fixable — and knowing when to stop poking and get help matters. Get help →

Step 1 – Check whether your website is really “down”

Sometimes the website is fine, and the problem is local.

Run through a few quick emergency website rescue checks:

Try a different device and browser
- If it only fails on one device, you may be dealing with cache, cookies or browser issues.
Use a different internet connection
- If it loads on mobile data but not your office wifi, there may be a local network or DNS caching problem.
Use an uptime checker
- A simple “is my website down” tool will tell you if the server itself can be reached from outside your network.

If uptime tools say the site is up, but you still see errors, it’s more likely to be a WordPress, plugin or theme issue than a full hosting outage.

If you’re still unsure whether it’s actually broken or just slow or unreachable from certain locations, this is exactly the sort of thing I check first.

Step 2 – Gather your access details before you call anyone

Whether you’re going to DIY or call in an Emergency Website Rescue, you’ll move much faster if you have the basics ready:

WordPress login – username and password, plus the login URL (often /wp-admin/).
Hosting or control panel access – for example, cPanel, Plesk, or your hosting dashboard (EasyWP, VentraIP, SiteGround, etc.).
Domain registrar login – where you pay for your domain name each year.
Backup details – any backup plugin you’ve used, plus the service you stored backups with (hosting backups, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.).

If you don’t have these, now is the time to track them down. They’re the keys to your website. Without them, even the best rescuer has to fight with one hand tied behind their back.

Step 3 – The most common causes of a website emergency

Most “out of the blue” website disasters fall into a handful of categories.

1. Plugin or theme updates gone wrong

You click “update” and suddenly get a White Screen of Death.
A plugin conflicts with your theme or another plugin.
A major WordPress version update breaks older code.

This is one of the most common reasons WordPress sites suddenly fail after an update. Read my WordPress Repair article if you want more clarity on this subject.

2. Hacked or infected website that might require an emergency website rescue

Typical signs include:

Spam pop-ups or redirects to dodgy sites
Strange pages appearing in Google results
Google Chrome is showing “Deceptive site ahead” or “This site may be hacked”
Unexpected admin users or login alerts

3. Hosting or DNS hiccups

Moving to a new host, but the domain still points to the old server
DNS records changed or deleted
The hosting account is suspended due to missed payment

4. Expired domain or SSL certificate

Visitors see “Your connection is not private” or SSL warnings
The domain suddenly shows a holding page from the registrar

5. Checkout, payment or form failures

Customers can’t complete payment
Confirmation emails stop sending
Enquiry forms appear to submit, but nothing arrives in your inbox

6. Performance meltdown

Site becomes painfully slow or times out during busy periods
Budget hosting pushed beyond its limits
Too many heavy plugins and page builders stacked together

Each of these needs a slightly different rescue approach, but the first principle is always the same: stabilise and take a clean backup before making any changes.

Step 4 – When it’s safe to DIY (and when it’s not)

There are situations where a confident site owner can safely have a go at an emergency website rescue, and others where DIY is risky and expensive.

Safer DIY situations

A layout looks odd after editing a page, but the site still loads normally.
A single plugin clearly caused the issue, and you can disable it from the dashboard.
You simply need to renew a domain or hosting service that accidentally expired.

Even then:

Make a backup first (via your host or a backup plugin).
Change one thing at a time and retest after each change.
Keep notes of what you did, in case you need to roll it back or hand it to someone later.

When you should call for Emergency Website Rescue help

Get professional help quickly if:

The site is totally blank (White Screen of Death) or only shows a fatal error.
You suspect or know the site has been hacked or infected with malware.
You have no recent backups, or no idea how to restore one.
Your checkout, booking or lead forms are failing, and it’s costing real money.
DNS or email settings are a mess after a move or registrar change.

At that point, a proper Website Rescue is usually cheaper than days of lost sales, reputation damage and guesswork.

Step 5 – What a proper Emergency Website Rescue should include

If you’re bringing in help (whether that’s Kelly Creative or another trusted specialist), this is what you should expect from the process.

1. Rapid diagnosis and stabilising the site

Identify the real cause, not just the symptoms
Bring the site back to a usable state as quickly as possible
Provide a temporary maintenance or “back soon” page where appropriate

2. Safe backups before anything else

Full file and database backup before major changes
For hacked sites, a copy of the compromised version is kept safely for forensic review

3. Malware scanning and clean-up (if needed)

Deep scan for malicious files, scripts and database entries
Clean removal and repair of infected code
Locking down obvious security holes used to get in

4. Fixing plugin, theme and update conflicts

Rolling back problematic updates
Replacing abandoned or insecure plugins with safer alternatives
Ensuring your theme and WordPress core are running compatible versions

5. Hosting, DNS and SSL fixes

Correcting DNS records and name servers
Renewing or reissuing SSL certificates
Checking PHP version and key server settings for compatibility and performance

6. Plain-English explanation and recommendations

A simple report explaining:
- What went wrong
- How it was fixed
- What needs to change to prevent a repeat
Suggestions for maintenance, hosting upgrades and security hardening

If you’re on the Sunshine Coast – or anywhere in Australia – it’s worth having a go-to specialist who can provide this kind of structured rescue quickly, without jargon and finger-pointing.

Step 6 – After the emergency: how to stop it happening again

Once the fire is out and the site is back online, you have a rare opportunity: use the scare as motivation to set things up properly.

Think in three layers:

1. Ongoing care and maintenance

Regular, monitored updates to WordPress, plugins and themes
Automated daily backups are stored off-site
Uptime monitoring so you know instantly if the site goes down

2. Performance and reliability

Move off bargain-basement hosting if it’s struggling
Remove heavy or unused plugins
Optimise images, caching and database
Regularly test forms, checkout and key user journeys

That’s where a Performance Rescue or dedicated speed-tuning service fits in – once the site is stable, you make it fast.

3. Strategy and trust

A website crisis can also expose deeper issues:

Is your site design old enough that a redesign would be smarter than more patch-up jobs?
Is the site clearly communicating what you do and where you are?
Are you visible in Google locally, or are people finding your competitors first?

Step 7 – Building your own Emergency Website Rescue plan

You can’t prevent every possible issue, but you can reduce the impact by having a simple plan written down and shared with your team.

Include:

Who to contact first (your web person, your host, or me)
Where your logins are stored (securely)
Where backups are kept and how to restore them
Which pages and functions are mission-critical (checkout, booking forms, contact pages, member logins, etc)

Stick that plan in your internal SOPs, or even tape a simple version next to your desk. When someone is panicking, they can follow the steps instead of guessing.

Final thoughts: website emergencies are fixable

A broken or hacked website feels like a catastrophe, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the world.

With a clear head, the right first steps and a trusted Emergency Website Rescue specialist on call, you can:

Get back online faster
Avoid making the damage worse
Turn a nasty surprise into a one-time lesson, instead of a regular drama

If your website is down, hacked, painfully slow, or just behaving strangely, don’t wait and hope it sorts itself out.

Take screenshots, gather your logins, and get help. The longer a broken site sits there, the more customers quietly drift away to someone whose website simply works.