Contact Us and Trouble Shooting Guide
If you have a question about our hosting services, domain names, billing, or your hosting account, please use the contact form below. Including as much information as possible, such as the domain name, any error messages, and the steps you have already taken, will help us investigate your issue more quickly. Fields marked as optional may be left blank. All other fields are required. In case of a technical issue you can also send an email to support@propersupport.com
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Trouble Shooting Guide
Many hosting problems have simple solutions. Before contacting support, it may be worth checking whether your issue is covered below.
Website is offline
If your website suddenly becomes unavailable, first check whether there is a known server issue by visiting the server status page shown in the sidebar. If no outage is reported, verify that your domain name is still active and that your DNS settings point to the correct hosting account.
Slow website loading
Large images, outdated plugins, inefficient code, or overloaded hosting plans are common causes of slow websites. Compressing images, enabling caching, updating software, and using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) can noticeably improve loading times.
500 Internal Server Error
This error often results from a corrupted .htaccess file, incorrect PHP settings, or incompatible plugins. Renaming the .htaccess file, temporarily disabling plugins, and checking server error logs usually helps identify the cause.
403 Forbidden error
A 403 error normally indicates incorrect file or folder permissions, security rules, or an improperly configured .htaccess file. Folder permissions should normally be set to 755 and file permissions to 644.
404 Page Not Found
If pages suddenly return a 404 error, check that the files still exist and refresh your website's permalink settings if you are using WordPress. DNS changes can also temporarily produce missing pages while records are updating.
WordPress memory exhausted
If WordPress reports that the memory limit has been exhausted, increasing the PHP memory limit often resolves the issue. Removing unnecessary plugins can also reduce memory usage.
Unable to log in to WordPress
Login problems may be caused by browser cookies, plugin conflicts, or forgotten passwords. Clearing browser cookies, resetting the password, or temporarily disabling plugins can often restore access.
White screen of death
If your website suddenly displays nothing except a blank white page, the problem is often caused by a faulty plugin, an incompatible theme, or insufficient PHP memory. Disabling recently installed plugins or temporarily switching to a default WordPress theme is a good place to start.
Automatic update failed
Occasionally a WordPress core, theme, or plugin update does not complete successfully. This may leave the website partially updated or inaccessible. Running the update again after removing any temporary maintenance files usually resolves the issue.
Stuck in maintenance mode
If your website displays a maintenance message long after an update has finished, WordPress may have been interrupted during the update process. Removing the hidden .maintenance file from your hosting account normally restores the website immediately.
Plugin conflicts
Not all WordPress plugins work well together. If a website starts behaving unexpectedly after installing or updating a plugin, temporarily deactivating the most recent plugin is often the quickest way to identify the source of the problem.
Theme compatibility problems
Some themes may not be fully compatible with the latest WordPress version or with certain plugins. If layout problems or missing features appear after an update, switching to a standard WordPress theme can help determine whether the active theme is responsible.
Error establishing a database connection
This message means WordPress cannot communicate with the database. Incorrect login details, damaged database tables, or temporary database server issues are the most common causes. Checking the database settings in wp-config.php is usually the first troubleshooting step.
Login redirect loop
If WordPress keeps returning you to the login page after entering the correct username and password, browser cookies, caching, or incorrect website address settings are often responsible. Clearing browser cookies and verifying the site's URL settings frequently resolves the problem.
Scheduled posts not publishing
WordPress relies on its internal scheduling system to publish posts automatically. If scheduled articles never appear, the WordPress cron system may not be working correctly. Replacing it with a server cron job often improves reliability.
Images will not upload
Image uploads can fail because of incorrect folder permissions, insufficient disk space, or PHP upload limits that are set too low. Checking these settings usually identifies the cause.
Missing images in the Media Library
After migrating a website or restoring a backup, images may still exist on the server but no longer appear in the Media Library. Regenerating thumbnails or rebuilding the media database often restores the missing entries.
Too many redirects
An endless redirect loop can occur after changing the website address, enabling SSL, or installing a redirect plugin. Reviewing the site's URL settings and redirect rules normally resolves the problem.
Mixed content warnings
Even after installing an SSL certificate, some pages may continue loading images, scripts, or style sheets over an insecure connection. Updating those resources to use HTTPS removes the browser security warnings.
Security problems caused by outdated plugins
Older WordPress plugins are a common target for attackers. Keeping WordPress, themes, and plugins up to date and removing extensions that are no longer needed greatly reduces the risk of security problems.
Large amounts of spam comments
Spam comments can quickly become unmanageable on busy websites. Enabling comment moderation, using anti spam software, or disabling comments where they are unnecessary helps keep the website clean.
Backup cannot be restored
A backup is only valuable if it can be restored successfully. Testing backups from time to time on a staging website confirms that both the website files and the database can be recovered when required.
Maximum execution time exceeded
This error appears when a script takes longer to run than the server allows. It is often seen during large imports, backups, or updates. Increasing the PHP execution time or performing the task in smaller steps usually solves the problem.
Critical error on the website
Recent versions of WordPress may display a message saying that the website has experienced a critical error. This generally points to a faulty plugin, theme, or PHP incompatibility. Reviewing the recovery email sent by WordPress can help identify the exact cause.
Website changes are not visible
If edits made in WordPress do not appear on the live website, the browser cache, a caching plugin, or a Content Delivery Network may still be serving an older version of the page. Clearing all caches usually resolves the issue.
Broken permalinks
If every page except the homepage returns a 404 error, the permalink structure may need to be refreshed. Simply saving the permalink settings again in the WordPress dashboard often rebuilds the required rewrite rules.
Plugin update causes website errors
Occasionally a plugin update introduces compatibility problems with WordPress or other installed plugins. Restoring the previous version or waiting for an updated release from the developer is often the safest solution.
Website hacked or infected
If your website has been compromised, change all passwords immediately, update WordPress, themes, and plugins, remove malicious files, and restore a recent clean backup if one is available.
SSL certificate warnings
If visitors receive a "Not Secure" warning, check that the SSL certificate has been installed correctly, has not expired, and covers the domain being accessed. Mixed content warnings can also occur if a secure page still loads images or scripts over HTTP.
Emails going to spam
Email messages may be filtered as spam if your domain lacks SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records. Correct email authentication significantly improves email deliverability.
Unable to receive email
If incoming messages never arrive, verify that the mailbox has available storage space, that the MX records are correct, and that your email client is configured with the proper server settings.
DNS changes not working
DNS updates are rarely immediate. Although many changes appear within a few hours, worldwide propagation can sometimes take up to 48 hours.
Domain name not resolving
A domain may stop resolving because it has expired, uses incorrect nameservers, or contains invalid DNS records. Double checking the domain's registration status and DNS configuration usually identifies the problem.
Disk space exceeded
If your hosting account runs out of storage, remove unnecessary backups, old log files, unused plugins, and large media files. Upgrading to a larger hosting plan may also be appropriate if your website has grown significantly.
Inode limit reached
Even if disk space remains available, hosting accounts can reach their inode limit when storing too many files. Removing unused themes, plugins, cache files, temporary backups, and old emails often solves this problem.
Database connection error
The "Error establishing a database connection" message usually indicates incorrect database credentials, a damaged database, or a temporary database server issue. Confirm the database settings in your configuration file before attempting repairs.
High CPU usage
Resource intensive plugins, automated bots, or sudden traffic spikes can increase CPU usage. Website optimization, bot protection, caching, and upgrading to VPS hosting may improve performance.
Website migration problems
After moving a website to a new server, broken links, missing images, or configuration errors can occur. Always verify database settings, file permissions, and DNS records after a migration.
Browser shows an old version of the website
If recent changes are not visible, clear your browser cache and any website caching plugins. CDN services may also need their cache refreshed before new content becomes visible.
Still need assistance?
If your problem is not listed above, simply complete the contact form (or use our email address) and describe the issue in as much detail as possible. Including your domain name, screenshots, exact error messages, and the time the problem occurred will help speed up the investigation.