Are you having trouble getting a website to load? Don't worry — we're here to help. This article will show you how to fix the problem so you can get back to surfing the web.

First, let's figure out where the problem is

With a little detective work, we can narrow down the cause of the problem.

1. Open a new tab and check to see if you can load another website like google.com or mozilla.com.
   • If you can open another site, skip down to The problem only happens with certain websites
   • If you can't open another site, continue on to the next step.
2. Launch another browser, like Internet ExplorerSafariGoogle Chrome, and try to open the site you were having problems with.
   • If the site works in another browser, see The problem only happens in Firefox
   • If the site doesn't work in another browser, check out The problem happens in all web browsers

The problem only happens with certain websites

If you see any of these error messages, it might just be a problem with Firefox's cache:

• The connection was interrupted
• The connection was reset
• The connection has timed out

Try clearing Firefox's cookies and cache

Do these steps and then reload the website you're having trouble with.

1. Click the menu button to open the menu panel.
2. Click History and select Clear Recent History…
3. In the Time Range to clear: drop-down, select Everything.
4. Below the drop-down menu, select both Cookies and Cache. Make sure other items you want to keep are not selected.
5. Click OKClear Now.

If clearing Firefox's cookies and cache didn't work, it's probably a sign that there is a problem with the website itself. In that case you'll just have to wait for it to get fixed. With big sites like Twitter or Facebook this may only be a few minutes.

If you don't see any of the error messages above, check to see if any of the specific problems below match what you see:

The website loads but doesn't work properly

If the website doesn't look right or doesn't work the way it's supposed to, you should check out the following articles:

The problem only happens on a secure (https) website

Look at the web address in the location bar. Does it start with https:// (notice the "s")? If so, check if you see one of the following error messages. Click on the error message to find the solution for it:

• Secure connection failed and Firefox did not connect
• Error code 500 accessing secure sites
• Fix the "Could not initialize the application's security component" error message

The problem only happens in Firefox

If another web browser works just fine, one of following solutions should fix things:

• Firefox can't load websites but other browsers can - if you can view websites in browsers other than Firefox.
• Fix problems connecting to websites after updating Firefox - if you experience connection problems after updating Firefox.

If you see the following error messages, Firefox is trying to access the internet through a proxy server :

• The proxy server is refusing connections
• Unable to find the proxy server

To check your proxy settings:

1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click Firefox and then select Preferences or Settings, depending on your macOS version.Click the menu button and select Settings.
2. Select the Advanced panel.
3. Select the Network tab.
4. In the Connection section, click Settings....
5. Change your proxy settings:
   • If you don't connect to the Internet through a proxy (or don't know whether you connect through a proxy), select No Proxy.
   • If you connect to the Internet through a proxy, compare Firefox's settings to another browser's (such as Internet Explorer — see Microsoft's guide to proxy settings)(such as Safari — see Apple's guide to proxy settings).
6. Close the Connection Settings window.
7. Close the Settings page. Any changes you've made will automatically be saved.

The problem happens in all web browsers

This is probably a problem with your internet connection. See Firefox and other browsers can't load websites for some troubleshooting suggestions.

Other, less common problems

• A plugin has crashed - This means that a plugin which is being used to display content on the current page has unexpectedly quit. See Send plugin crash reports to help Mozilla improve Firefox for more information.
• Malicious website errors - If you see a "Suspected Attack Site!" or "Suspected Web Forgery!" warning, Firefox has blocked access to the website you're visiting to protect you from malware or web forgery (phishing). For more information, see Phishing and Malware Protection (Mozilla.com).

• The page isn't redirecting properly - This problem can be caused by problems with cookies. See Websites say cookies are blocked - Unblock them for more information.
• If you get a File not found error, try the troubleshooting steps in these articles:
  • Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems
  • Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware
• Content Encoding Error - If you get the error message, Content Encoding Error or The page you are trying to view cannot be shown because it uses an invalid or unsupported form of compression, use these steps to diagnose and fix them:
  1. Check the settings of any Internet security applications you use (including firewalls, anti-virus or anti-spyware programs, and privacy protection programs). You should try to remove any permissions those applications have for Firefox, and then add them again. For program-specific instructions for a number of applications, see Configure firewalls so that Firefox can access the Internet.
  2. Follow the Standard troubleshooting steps.
• This address is restricted - This error occurs when you are attempting to connect to a web server on a port that is reserved for another application. If the website you are trying to visit contains a colon followed by a number in its address (for example, http://website.com:23), try removing that portion (http://website.com) or replacing it with :80 (http://website.com:80). If this doesn't work, you may have been given an incorrect address.

Based on information from Error loading websites (mozillaZine KB)