Connection refused or timed out: what each one means
Both errors mean the browser never got as far as asking for your page. Which one you see tells you where to look.
Connection refused
The browser reached the machine, and the machine said no. Something answered, but nothing was accepting web visitors.
- The web server program is stopped or crashed, while the machine itself is on.
- The web server is listening on a different port than visitors use.
- A firewall on the machine is rejecting the connection.
- The server is in the middle of restarting.
Start or restart the web server and read its log. If it stops again straight away, the log says why.
Connection timed out
The browser asked and nothing answered at all. It waited, then gave up.
- The machine is switched off, frozen or unreachable.
- A firewall is silently dropping the traffic.
- Your domain name points to an old or wrong address.
- There is a network problem between the visitor and your host.
Check your host's status page, check that the machine is running in its control panel, and check that your domain still points to the right address.
Rule out your own connection
If only you see the error, the cause may be your own network. A check from somewhere else settles it in a few seconds.