Whether you run a WordPress business site, a Shopify store, or a custom-built website — the problems are usually the same: layouts break, pages load slowly, Google refuses to index you, and visitors cannot get through your contact form. Here is exactly how to diagnose and fix a broken website for each scenario.
Fix a Broken Layout on Your Website
Broken layouts are the most common website problem business owners face.
Pages that look misaligned, overlapping, or completely broken on certain browsers or devices.
- Clear your browser cache and check if the issue persists
- Check if the broken layout is specific to one page or everywhere
- If it happened after an update, check which plugin or theme was updated last
- Disable recently updated plugins one at a time to isolate conflicts
- Check your theme CSS for syntax errors using your browser DevTools (F12 → Console)
- Test in incognito mode to rule out extension conflicts
Fix White Screen of Death (Blank Page)
You visit your site and see nothing — a completely blank white page.
The white screen of death is almost always a PHP error. Your site crashed silently.
- Enable WordPress debug mode: add define('WP_DEBUG', true); to wp-config.php
- Check the error message — it will tell you which file and line caused the crash
- Access your site via FTP and rename /wp-content/plugins/ to /wp-content/plugins_old/
- If the site comes back, rename it back and reactivate plugins one by one to find the conflict
- Increase PHP memory limit: add define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M'); to wp-config.php
- Check your hosting error logs — your host can provide these from your control panel
Fix Slow Website Load Times
Your site takes 5+ seconds to load, and visitors leave before seeing anything.
Slow load times hurt user experience, conversions, and Google rankings.
- Test your speed at Google PageSpeed Insights — note your LCP, CLS, and INP scores
- Compress all images to WebP format and resize them to no larger than 2000px wide
- Enable caching plugins (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or your host's built-in cache)
- Defer render-blocking JavaScript and CSS — move non-critical scripts to load after the page
- Use a CDN like Cloudflare to serve static files from servers closer to your visitors
- Consider upgrading hosting — shared hosting is often the bottleneck on speed
Fix Website Not Showing on Google
Your site exists but does not appear in Google search results at all.
Indexing issues mean Google cannot find or cannot access your pages.
- Run site:yourdomain.com in Google — no results means you have an indexing problem
- Check your robots.txt file at yourdomain.com/robots.txt for "Disallow: /"
- In WordPress, go to Settings → Reading and uncheck "Discourage search engines"
- Search your homepage source for "noindex" — if present, remove it immediately
- Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console under the Sitemaps section
- Review the Coverage report in GSC — fix errors for each affected page
Fix Mobile Responsiveness Issues
Your site looks fine on desktop but breaks on phones and tablets.
Over 60% of web traffic is mobile. A broken mobile experience drives visitors away.
- Open your site in Chrome DevTools and toggle device toolbar (Ctrl+Shift+M)
- Check if the viewport meta tag is present in your <head>: <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
- Look for fixed-width elements that overflow — change them to percentage-based widths
- Check your navigation menu — mobile menus often fail on smaller screens
- Test tap targets (buttons, links) — they need to be at least 48×48px for comfortable tapping
- Use CSS media queries to adjust font sizes and spacing for screens under 768px wide
Fix Broken Contact Forms
Visitors fill out your contact form but you never receive the submission.
Missing leads because your contact form is broken — this costs you direct revenue.
- Test your form yourself — submit a test entry and check if it arrives
- Install an SMTP plugin (WP Mail SMTP, Post SMTP) to send email through a reliable provider
- Configure SMTP with a service like SendGrid (free tier: 100 emails/day) or your email host
- Check your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC DNS records — missing records cause email to go to spam
- Test with a different form plugin — sometimes the plugin itself is the issue
- Check your hosting provider's email limits — some hosts block PHP mail() entirely
Fix 404 Errors and Broken Links
Visitors click links on your site and land on "Page Not Found" errors.
Broken links frustrate users, waste crawl budget, and hurt your SEO.
- Use a free tool like Broken Link Checker or Dr. Link Check to scan your entire site
- Fix internal links by updating them to the correct URLs
- Set up 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones (use a plugin like Redirection)
- Check your sitemap — remove any URLs that return 404 errors
- Set up a custom 404 page that guides lost visitors back to your homepage
- Review your site structure — avoid changing URLs without setting up redirects
Fix Website Hacked or Showing Malware Warnings
Your site shows a red "Deceptive Site Ahead" warning in Chrome or has been defaced.
A hacked website damages your reputation, SEO, and can get you blacklisted by Google.
- Immediately change all passwords — admin, FTP, database, and hosting account
- Check your .htaccess file for suspicious redirect code or base64-encoded strings
- Scan your site with Wordfence or Sucuri SiteCheck for malware and injected code
- Check your theme and plugin files for unauthorized modifications — look for recent file changes
- Restore from a clean backup if you have one — backup before the hack occurred
- Submit your site to Google Search Console for review once cleaned — use the Security Issues section
When You Need Professional Website Fix Help
These DIY fixes work for most common problems. But if you have tried everything and your website is still broken, slow, or invisible on Google, the root cause may be buried in your server configuration, custom code, or site architecture — areas that require experience and proper tools to diagnose.
Our website fix service handles all of this for you. We diagnose the real problem, fix it properly, and verify everything works — within 24 to 48 hours. Plans start at $69/month with no contracts. If your site needs a speed fix or Google indexing fix, we handle that too.
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