Technical Troubleshooting

When your website goes down, every second counts. This guide provides a systematic approach to diagnosing the root cause of common web hosting errors, helping you isolate whether the issue lies in DNS, the server configuration, or your application code.

Isolation Methodology

The key to rapid troubleshooting is isolation. Before you make any changes to your code or server configuration, you must determine exactly *where* the request is failing.

The Diagnostic Order

Always check components in this order: 1) Your Local Connection (try a proxy or mobile data), 2) DNS Resolution (ping the domain), 3) Server Response (check HTTP headers), and finally 4) Application Code (check PHP/App error logs).

Decoding HTTP Error Codes

The server's HTTP response code is your biggest clue. Here is exactly what the most common errors mean and how to fix them.

Common HTTP Errors

Match your error screen to the solutions below.

403 Forbidden

The server understands the request but refuses to authorize it. Fix: Check your file permissions (directories should be 755, files 644). Also, check your `.htaccess` file for restrictive rules.

404 Not Found

The requested file or page does not exist. Fix: If you use WordPress, go to Settings > Permalinks and simply click 'Save Changes' to regenerate your routing rules.

500 Internal Server Error

A generic application crash. Fix: This is almost always caused by a fatal PHP error (like a broken plugin) or a typo in your `.htaccess` file. Check your `error_log` file immediately.

503 Service Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to handle the request. Fix: Your account has likely hit its maximum CPU or RAM limits. Review your traffic logs or consider upgrading to a VPS.

Database Connection Errors

The infamous 'Error establishing a database connection' screen usually means your web application cannot talk to the MySQL server.

Recommended workflow

Verify the Database Credentials: Open your configuration file (like `wp-config.php`) and ensure the DB_NAME, DB_USER, and DB_PASSWORD match exactly what is in your control panel.
Check the Database Host: In 99% of cases on KairoHost LLC, the database host should be set to `localhost`. If it is set to an IP address, change it back.
Verify User Privileges: Ensure that you have actually assigned the database user to the database and granted it 'All Privileges' in the MySQL Databases panel.
Repair the Database: If the credentials are correct but the site still fails, your database tables might be corrupted. Use the 'Repair Database' tool in your control panel.

Notes and best practices

If you recently changed your main hosting account password, it may have desynchronized your database user passwords. Reset the specific DB user password.

How to Submit an Effective Support Ticket

If you cannot resolve the issue yourself, our engineering team is ready to help 24/7. However, 'My site is broken' is very hard for us to debug quickly.

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Provide the exact URL: Tell us exactly which page is failing. Is it the homepage, or only the `/checkout` route?
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Steps to Reproduce: Tell us exactly what you click or do to make the error appear. If we can reproduce it, we can usually fix it in minutes.
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Recent Changes: Did you recently install a new plugin? Change your DNS? Update PHP versions? Let us know what changed right before the site broke.

Scope of Support

Please note that while we will fix any server-side issues or hosting platform bugs immediately, writing custom PHP code, debugging third-party theme layouts, or auditing custom SQL queries falls outside the scope of standard technical support.