I can't log in to my website

Check these first, in order

1. The address. Use the log-in page your website company gave you, not a link from an old email. Try it with and without www. at the start. Once it works, bookmark it.
2. The email or username. Lots of people have two addresses (work and personal) and signed up with the one they don't expect. Try the other.
3. The password. Check Caps Lock is off. Clear the box first, because your browser may be filling in an old saved password. Then paste the password from your password manager rather than typing it.
4. Sign out and back in. If you're half signed in, or signed in as someone else, sign out completely and close the tab before trying again.
5. A private window or another browser. This rules out old saved data and add-ons. If it works there, clear your cache and check you haven't turned cookies off for the site.
6. Another network. Turn off Wi-Fi on your phone and try on mobile data. Work networks and security software sometimes block log-in pages. If it works on your phone, ask whoever runs your network or security software.
7. Reset the password with the "Forgot password?" link on the log-in page.

The password reset email isn't arriving

• Wait ten minutes, then look in spam or junk and any other folders or tabs your email has.
• Search all your email for the website company's name or the word "password".
• Check which address the account uses. The reset goes to that address, which might be an old one, a shared one or a colleague's.
• Ask for one reset, then use the newest email. A new request usually cancels the old link, and links run out, often within a day.
• On a work address, ask whoever runs your email to look in the quarantine (where suspicious mail is held).

Many sites say "If an account exists, we've sent an email" whatever you typed, so that nobody can test which addresses have accounts. If nothing comes, the account may use a different address.

Locked out after too many tries

• Stop trying. On many sites every new try starts the wait again.
• Wait as long as the message says, then reset the password instead of guessing.
• If the message says your connection or "IP address" is blocked, the site's security has blocked your internet connection. Ask your website company to unblock it, and send them your address from What's my IP address?

2-step codes and backup codes

Two-step login (2-step verification, or 2FA) asks for a code from your phone as well as your password.

• The code from your app is refused. These codes change every 30 seconds and depend on your phone's clock. Set your phone's date and time to automatic, then type the code that's showing now.
• The text message doesn't come. Check you have signal, wait a minute, and ask for one more. Check which phone number the account has.
• New or lost phone. Use one of the backup codes (also called recovery codes) you were given when you turned it on. Each one works once.
• No backup codes. Use the website company's account recovery. It usually means proving who you are and can take a few days.

Once you're back in, save a fresh set of backup codes somewhere safe and offline: Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) shows how.

The account belongs to someone who left

• Don't guess their password or sign in as them.
• If the account uses an email address your organization owns, whoever runs your email can give you access to that mailbox. Then reset the password, add your own account, and remove theirs.
• If it uses their personal address, ask them to add you as an administrator.
• If you can't reach them, contact the website company. They'll ask for proof you speak for the organization, such as an invoice or the account number.

Then go through every account behind the site: Taking over a website from someone who left has the checklist.

Who to ask

• Your website company's support, for the website log-in and account recovery.
• Whoever built your site, if they set up the accounts.
• Whoever runs your email or network, for reset emails that never arrive and blocked log-in pages.

What PageKiwi can help with

PageKiwi can't see log-in pages or accounts. It can help you send the right details: My setup makes a link with your browser and device, and Take a screenshot shows how to capture the error.