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My website isn't loading or can't be reached

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If your direct booking website shows nothing, an error page, or "this site can't be reached", the most common cause is that the site was never published: putting it live needs a paid plan. If it is published and still down, the next most likely cause is that your own domain's DNS records don't point at your site, or don't point at it anymore.

First, check

Open your free Smoobu subdomain, the address that looks like your-name.myweb.smoobu.com (you chose the first part in Configuration > Website Builder, on the Basics tab). If the subdomain loads but your own domain doesn't, your website itself is fine and the problem sits in your domain's settings: go straight to the DNS section below. If neither address loads, start with publishing.

Your site isn't published yet

Publishing your site to a live address needs a paid plan. Without a paid plan you can build the site but not put it live, so its address shows nothing. Upgrade your plan, then open Configuration > Website Builder, click Go to Editor, and click Publish. The full setup walkthrough is in create-your-website.

Your domain's DNS records are wrong or outdated

If you connected a domain you own, three entries must be in place at your domain provider (the company where you bought the domain), in its DNS settings. DNS is the internet's address book: it tells browsers where to find your site, and each record is one entry in that book. Your domain needs exactly these:

  • A CNAME record on www pointing to s.eu-multiscreensite.com. This entry sends visitors who type www.yourdomain.com to your Smoobu-built site.
  • Two A records on the root (@, which stands for your bare domain without the www) pointing to 18.197.248.23 and 52.59.120.70. An A record links a name to the numeric internet address of a server, so these two entries send visitors who type yourdomain.com to the same site.

Any other records on www or on the root are leftovers from a previous website and cause problems. The step-by-step setup, including how to clean out old records, is in connect-your-own-domain.

A DNS change usually takes effect within a few hours, but it can take up to 48 hours to reach everywhere. Your Smoobu subdomain keeps working the whole time, so use it as a fallback link while you wait.

If your site had been working for a long time and stopped around April 2026, your DNS most likely needs an update: the values a Smoobu website needs most likely changed around then, and your domain provider may still have the old ones. Update your records to the values above; connect-your-own-domain has a dedicated section on this.

The site shows "Not secure" or a certificate warning

A "Not secure" label or a privacy warning means your site is reachable but its SSL certificate (the technology behind the padlock browsers show next to a secure address) isn't in place yet. That has its own set of checks, from cleaning up DNS records to a small settings change: work through ssl-certificate-problems.

Your domain provider won't accept two A records on the root

Some domain providers, Strato in particular, don't let you create two A records on the root (@), which the setup above needs. The workaround is to point the root with a CNAME record instead of the two A records. This works with many providers but not all: if your site still doesn't load that way, the reliable fix is to move the domain to a provider that supports two A records on the root (IONOS, for example). If you're not sure which situation you're in, contact Smoobu Support.

The page loads but the booking form is missing

If your website opens fine but the booking form or the Book button is gone or does nothing, that isn't a loading problem: the booking part of the page needs to be re-added and the site republished. The fix is in The booking form or BOOK button on my website isn't working.

Check it's fixed

Open your site in a private browser window. It loads with a padlock and no warning, and your booking form appears. Try both www.yourdomain.com and yourdomain.com, plus your Smoobu subdomain.

Still stuck?

If these steps didn't fix it, contact the Smoobu team: open the Help menu to open a ticket or book a call slot, or use the chat bubble in the bottom-right corner. To get the fastest answer, please include:

  • Your Smoobu User ID (in the profile-icon menu, top right).
  • The property name or ID, if it's about one property.
  • The Booking ID, if it's about one booking (Bookings, then View more).
  • The channel name, if it's about channel sync (Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo, and so on).
  • A short step-by-step: what you did, what you expected, and what happened.
  • Screenshots or a short screen recording of the problem.
  • Your browser and operating system, if something looks wrong on screen.

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