When you are starting out, WordPress errors can be intimidating or even throw you into a panic frenzy.
WordPress is undeniably the most popular Content Management System (CMS). WordPress developers have made it so simple to install and customize to suite virtually any kind of website, from a simple hobby blog to complex e-commerce websites with multiple online payments.
The robustness of the software paired with its ease of use has made it a favorite attracting both personal businesses to corporates.
While WordPress is really easy to use, there are some common WordPress errors that can make you panic. The good thing is that the WordPress error you are seeing on your site is most likely been reported and resolved by someone before you.
So, what are some of this WordPress Errors and how can you fix them?
Note: Before you make any changes to your site, make sure you have a backup of your WordPress site.
1. 500 Internal Server Error
WordPress throws this error when there is unidentified error on the server. The server software is unable to point out exactly what the problem is and it’s pretty much on you to figure it out.
Confusing, huh?
There are a handful reasons as to why you are seeing this error, a broken plugin or theme. Other possible causes of internal server error in WordPress that we know of are: corrupted .htaccess file and PHP memory limit.
Follow these steps to fix internal server error in WordPress:
- Check Your .htaccess File: Rename your .htaccess file in the root folder of your WordPress installation to something like .htaccess_backup. You can access it via ftp or file manager app like cPanel the try to load your homepage. If it works fine, congratulations you just fixed it.. Now head over to Settings > Permalinks and save without editing anything it will recreate a new .htaccess file with new rules written. If it did not work don’t worry read on…
- Increase Memory Limit: Sometimes your WordPress site can go over the default PHP Memory Limit set in the wp-config.php file. When that happens, you have to adjust it in by adding
define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ’64M’);at the end of wp-config.php file in the root directory of your WordPress installation. - Switch to default theme: If you are able to access the WordPress dashboard you can head over to Appearance > Themes and select a default WordPress theme. If you can’t access the dashboard you can access themes directory via ftp or file manager app like cPanel, and in the root directory go to wp-content > themes and rename the directory for the theme you are using. Doing this forces WordPress to to set default theme and if it’s not there it is installed and set as default theme.
- Deactivate All Your WordPress Plugins: Access plugins directory via ftp or file manager app like cPanel, and in the root directory go to wp-content > plugins and rename the directory to something like plugins_backup. This deactivates all plugins. Try reactivating them one by one to see which one is causing the error
- Re-uploading Core Files: If the error still persists, try re-uploading and replacing WordPress core files with new ones form WordPress.org. This will fix any broken WordPress core files.
2. Error Establishing Database Connection
When you see the error message “Error Establishing a Database Connection,” it simply means that WordPress couldn’t connect to your MySQL database server.
This is a pretty much straight forward, when a user modifies or enters database credentials (database name, database user, password) incorrectly.
In some case the database server may be unresponsive or your database is corrupt. Here is how you can be able to resolve error establishing database connection WordPress error.
3. White Screen of Death (WOSD)
Perhaps the most puzzling WordPress error you will ever come across in your walk with WordPress. It results into a blank white screen with no errors making it difficult to fix for there is no clue what is causing the error.
White screen of death is usually a sign of a PHP fatal error. Here is how to fix White Screen of Death WordPress error.
4. Pages and Posts Returning 404 Not Found Error
This error normally occurs when you are able to access all other areas of the website but get 404 Not Found when you try to access pages and/ or posts. Probably the easiest of them all to solve.
The culprit here is usually your .htaccess. In the event you are using pretty URLs and WordPress was not able to write to .htaccess file will always return this error.
In 99% of the cases, this problem goes away by simply clicking the Save Changes button on the Permalinks Settings page on your WordPress Admin dashboard. This will force WordPress to rewrite the new changes to the .htaccess file.
