Hi Maureen
The official site for ESTA submissions is
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov so hopefully this is the one you used.
If so, it sounds like your submission was made successfully. It may be that the ESTA website was struggling to run smoothly because so many people were trying to register before the £9 charge began.
I haven't been to the US since ESTA began but I believe you can log in again and check your application's progress. You could have another look today or tomorrow and try to log in. If you did just miss the deadline, you may also find out how to pay the £9 fee.
If this doesn't resolve the problem, please call us on 0844 567 8844.
Kind regards,
Olly, your editor