WordPress is an undoubtedly strong software application. You will, however, encounter technological difficulties from time to time. These WordPress problems may be annoying and waste time. While many errors may appear at first appearance, most WordPress errors are caused by minor issues that are typically simple to resolve. You can usually conduct some basic troubleshooting on your own as long as you identify the cause of the problem.
In this post, we’ll go over a few useful techniques to get you started. Then, we’ll go over 13 most common WordPress problems and how to resolve them. Let’s get started!
Most Common WordPress Errors and How to Fix
1. Parse Error/Syntax Error
Unlike many of the mistakes we’ll be looking at, which may be annoying owing to how little information they provide. The ‘parse error’ (also known as ‘syntax error’) is at least useful enough to tell you exactly what’s wrong.
When there is a problem with the code of your website, most frequently in the functions.php file, this error occurs. An uncomplicated notice that describes the problem and the location where it happened will show instead of loading your page.
How to fix Parse Error/Syntax Error
You’ll need to use SFTP to access the given file in order to solve the issue. We will use FileZilla because it is a free and open-source program. Simply log in to your website’s backend using the SFTP credentials that your web provider has supplied.
You can see from the example image that the issue is with the theme’s functions.php file. We will open the theme’s folder, right-click functions.php, and choose View/Edit.
Find the line as in message and fix the issue. Let’s fix that since in our example there is just a basic case of a missing parenthesis. When your FTP client asks if you want to overwrite an existing file on the server, choose Yes after saving your file.
2. Internal Server Error
Internal Server Error will show up when the server has an unforeseen problem and is typically brought on by one of the following:
- The.htaccess file on your website has an issue.
- Your website’s memory has been used up.
How to fix Internal Server Error
.htaccess is a file that specifies how the server interacts with your WordPress website. This file may be used to modify some of the default server parameters and boost the security of your website. You only need to deactivate this file to check to see if it’s the culprit behind the Internal Server Error.
Using SFTP to disable .htaccess file. The file is often found in the root directory of your website, which is frequently called public_html. Simply change the file’s name to deactivate it. You may examine your site to see whether the problem is fixed, for instance, by renaming it to .htaccess-disabled.
If this manages to solve the issue, all you have to do is create a new .htaccess file by navigating to Settings > Permalinks in your admin dashboard and simply choose Save Changes to get a new .htaccess file.
If it doesn’t, you might need to be increased your PHP memory limit.
3. White Screen of Death
The terrible White Screen of Death is one of WordPress’ most known and perplexing problems (WSoD). With no error warnings or further information, this mistake just replaces your entire website with a blank, white nothing. This issue, which can happen for a number of reasons, often signifies that your site couldn’t load correctly.
How to fix White Screen of Death Error
- Disable your plugins: Try to disable them all and see if that fixes the problem.
- Disable your theme: Use SFTP to replace it with one of WordPress’ default themes to check the issue
- Activate the WordPress debug mode: The ability to examine faults immediately on each page is a helpful tool that can help you identify the root cause of the WSoD.
- Purge your cache: You should try clearing your cache to see if it fixes the issue.
- Raise your memory limit: It’s possible that your site’s memory is full. By making changes to your php.ini file, you can increase your upper limit.
4. Connection Timed Out Error
If you see the “ERR CONNECTION TIMED OUT” problem in WordPress, it typically indicates that your website is attempting to do more tasks simultaneously than it can handle. This is especially true if your website is hosted on shared hosting. Plugins that consume a lot of resources, malfunctions with your theme’s functionality, and PHP memory depletion are some of the main reasons of this issue.
How to fix Connection Timed Out Error
Deactivating each of your plugins individually and attempting to visit your website after each deactivation can help you start solving this problem. You could discover that the problem is being caused by one of your plugins.
The procedures we described previously in the article may be used to increase your RAM limitations in PHP and WordPress as an additional option.
It’s a good idea to get in touch with your hosting company to see if they can help if none of that succeeds.
5. Establishing a Database Connection Error
Your website’s inability to connect to your database is indicated by the error establishing a database connection issue. This may occur if you erroneously changed or inputted your database information, such as:
- Your database host.
- Database username.
- Database password.
How to fix Establishing a Database Connection Error
Check to see the same problem on both the front and back ends of your website before attempting to resolve this frequent WordPress issue. If you get another issue on your website’s wp-admin page, such as “One or more database tables are inaccessible. It’s possible that the database has to be repaired, thus you should fix your database.
Login into your website FTP and add the following line of code into your wp-config.php file just before the ‘That’s all, stop editing!’ line:
Defining "WP ALLOW REPAIR" as true;
Visit this page once you’ve saved the edits and uploaded the file again to your server.
http://www.yoursite.com/wp-admin/maint/repair.php
Remember to remove the line from your wp-config.php file when you’ve finished repairing your database.
6. WordPress 404 Error
Your permalink settings need to be updated, which is one of the reasons you can see a WordPress 404 error while accessing a post or page on your website. Another reason for a 404 error might be that you deleted your .htaccess file by mistake or that a problem with your rewriting rules happened.
How to fix WordPress 404 Error
You must edit your WordPress permalink settings to resolve a 404 issue. Simply click the save changes button after navigating to Settings » Permalinks in your dashboard section to accomplish this. This refreshes your permalink settings and resets your site’s rewrite rules. This usually resolves the 404 error.
If not, you may update your .htaccess file to resolve the WordPress 404 problem.
Additionally, All in One SEO allows you to quickly locate and resolve 404 issues. Any 404 pages on your website will be immediately found by All in One SEO and shown in an easy-to-read log. You may easily correct them with a few clicks. Additionally, you can confirm that all of your redirects are operating properly using the built-in redirect checker.
7. 403 Forbidden Error
When your server forbids you access to a certain page, WordPress often displays the 403 banned error code. You’ll often encounter the following error message:
403 Forbidden – You don’t have permission to access ‘/’ on this server. Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
How to fix 403 Forbidden Error
There are several potential causes for this issue, but the biggest offenders are frequently bad plugin code and wrong file permissions.
Testing your WordPress plugins is one of the most popular fixes for this WordPress problem. Deactivate any plugin you have installed, including any security plugins, to do this.
If the fault is fixed after doing this, a plugin is unquestionably the issue. Reactivate each plugin one at a time until the error reappears and you can identify the problematic plugin.
8. Unable to Access the Admin Area Error
All of the faults we’ve spoken about so far have been caused by technological difficulties. But accessing your WordPress dashboard after being locked out is a bit different. To put it briefly, this often occurs when you forget your password.
How to fix Unable to Access the Admin Area Error
There is no reason to worry right now. You can still access your site even if you’ve forgotten your password. You can start by clicking the link labeled “Lost your password?” on the login page. You may do this by providing your username or email address to retrieve your password.
You may also try changing your admin password manually or establishing a new admin account in phpMyAdmin.
9. SSL Error
Keeping your website secure is easy and effective with an SSL certificate. The majority of top-notch hosts even provide them without charge. The procedure, nevertheless, can be difficult and can lead to a number of distinct WordPress issues.
How to fix SSL Error
Setting up your certificate correctly the first time is the easiest approach to avoid them. The built-in SSL certificate installation tool that most hosts provide may be used to do this. After that:
1. Verify that your WordPress site is correctly set up to use HTTPS.
2. If your host doesn’t take care of renewing your SSL certificate for you, be sure to do so (most hosts will do it automatically).
Consider getting in touch with customer care if you’re still experiencing problems with your host’s SSL certificate.
10. Images Aren’t Working Error
WordPress photos will occasionally not appear. You’re likely dealing with damaged media files if your media library like this:
How to fix Images Aren’t Working Error
There are several potential explanations for this, from malevolent actors to server issues. Try disabling any plugins you’ve just added or changed to see if they’re the problem.
Incorrect file permissions might be a contributing factor in this issue. Therefore, we advise you to adjust the upload permission to 755. If this doesn’t resolve your image problems, you might want to perform a security audit and ask your hosting company for assistance.
11. Maximum Execution Time Exceeded
Your website often has a maximum execution time restriction in place while processing data. It will time out and fail to finish the procedure if it can’t finish processing within this time frame.
How to fix Maximum Execution Time Exceeded Error
The following line of code should be added to your php.ini file, according to WordPress.org, to fix this problem:
max_execution_time = 60
But this strategy might not always be successful. Therefore, getting in touch with your hosting company can be a better solution to this problem.
12. WordPress Stuck in Maintenance Mode Error
When your site is in maintenance mode, it is automatically disabled while being updated. This is done to prevent scenarios when visitors attempt to utilize your site’s functionality while you’re upgrading it, which might lead to issues.
Most of the time, the updating procedure is so rapid that you hardly even realize the difference. But if the upgrade had to be stopped before it was finished, your website may have been left in maintenance mode permanently.
How to fix WordPress Stuck in Maintenance Mode Error
The good news is that this issue can be resolved fairly quickly. All you have to do is restart SFTP, go to your site’s root folder, and remove the .maintenance file.
Removing this file will return your site to normal because it is this file that initiated maintenance mode. But since this error indicates that the unsuccessful update didn’t finish, you’ll also need to attempt it again.
13. Exceeded Maximum Upload File Size Error
The unique upload cap for your WordPress site is influenced by a number of variables. You will receive an error notice if you attempt to upload a file that is larger than this limit. Go to Media > Add New to view your limit.
How to fix Exceeded Maximum Upload File Size Error
By making changes to your php.ini file, you may boost your upload size. However, not all hosting plans will support this. As a result, we advise speaking with your hosting company or just compressing your images.
WordPress problems happen in all forms and sizes. Some might be minor annoyances, while others can completely destroy your website. Understanding the most prevalent offenders, on the other hand, might help you keep prepared. We addressed 13 most frequent WordPress problems in this article. We also showed you how to repair them and provided you tips on how to prevent problems in the future.