You open your web-browser of choice and type in the address for your new state-of-the-art, no-expense-spared website only to land on the dreaded “Server not found” page. After a few minutes of frantically re-typing the address, refreshing the page and shouting and swearing, you grab the phone and demand to speak to the site developers. After a few minutes of shouting and swearing at them, it turns out that they can see the site fine, and in actual fact, its a problem with your connection. Luckily, new website downforeveryoneorjustme.com is here to spare you this embarrassment in the future.

The plain minimal interface doesn’t leave much room for mis-interpretation (enter the address and hit go, there is nothing else), and within seconds, you will have your answer. A quick test of the haycroft media site tells me (in a slightly mocking and disdainful way) that:

“It’s just you. haycroftmedia.com is up.”

Just to keep the cynics happy, a test of the non-existent surelynoonehasthisurl.com (and no, no one does have that url), returns a slightly more urgent message:

“It’s not just you! surelynoonehasthisurl.com looks down from here.”

So there you have it, a quick and easy way to establish whether your site is definitely down before you establish whether to take a contract out on the developer or the hosting company.