Short answer: Your control panel at controlpanel.infosaic.com has a Stop/Start Server control for your virtual server. Use it to pick up new content, to break out of a runaway script, or to make a newly installed component load. Pressing stop takes your website offline — it comes back only when you press start.
Applies to: Infosaic Windows web hosting · virtual servers
Restarting the virtual server is the web equivalent of turning something off and on again, and it fixes the same class of problems — state that has got stuck rather than configuration that is wrong.
It is a real outage while it is stopped, though, so it is worth knowing when it helps and when it does not.
When restarting actually helps
- To refresh new content. Stopping and restarting the virtual server clears cached state and picks up new content on your site.
- To stop a runaway script. If code has got into an infinite loop, stopping the virtual server ends it. Find the error, fix it, then start again.
- After installing a component. Newly installed components often need a restart before they load properly.
Outside those three cases, a restart rarely changes anything. If a page is wrong because the file is wrong, it will be just as wrong afterwards.
What actually happens
Be clear that this is not a quick blip. Pressing stop shuts your website down, and it stays down until you press start. Visitors during that window get an error, not a slow page.
There is no automatic timer bringing it back. If you stop the server and close the browser without starting it again, the site stays offline — which has happened to people who were interrupted mid-task.
Press start before you do anything else. The most common problem with this feature is not the restart itself, it is somebody stopping the server, getting distracted, and finding out hours later. If you stop it, start it again immediately.
Doing it safely
- Pick a quiet time if the site takes orders or bookings.
- Have the fix ready first. If you are stopping a looping script, know which file you are going to edit before you stop the server, not after.
- Tell anybody who needs to know — a colleague testing at the same moment will otherwise report a fault that does not exist.
- Check the site afterwards in a browser, not just in the control panel. The panel reports the service state; the browser tells you what visitors get.
- Do not restart repeatedly hoping a problem clears. If two restarts have not fixed it, the cause is elsewhere.
If the site does not come back after pressing start, open a support ticket from the control panel straight away and say what you were doing. That is the fastest route to somebody who can look at the server itself.
Questions and answers
How do I restart my website?
Use the Stop/Start Server control in your control panel at controlpanel.infosaic.com.
What does stopping the server do?
It shuts your website down. Visitors get an error until you press start.
Does the site restart automatically?
No. It stays stopped until you press start.
When should I restart the virtual server?
To pick up new content, to stop a script stuck in an infinite loop, or after installing a component that needs a restart.
Will restarting fix a broken page?
Only if the problem is stuck state. If the page itself is wrong, a restart changes nothing.
How long is my site offline?
Only for as long as it is stopped, which is under your control. Press start as soon as you have made your change.
My site did not come back after pressing start. What now?
Open a support ticket from the control panel and say what you were doing before the restart.
Related articles
- Setting your default document
- Setting up custom error pages
- Home folder, redirects and site security settings
- Creating virtual directories
- How do I manage my account and access my control panel?
- How do I contact tech support?
Still stuck?
Open a support ticket from your hosting control panel at controlpanel.infosaic.com — that is the fastest route, because it reaches the team who can already see your account. You can also email [email protected].