Are you having a common error on your WordPress site? Do you want to solve these errors in the best possible way? Most of these errors can be resolved by following the easy troubleshooting steps. In this beginner's guide, we'll show you how to troubleshoot common WordPress errors.
1 - Create a full backup of your WordPress site
The first thing you need to do is create a full backup of your WordPress site. If you are already using a WordPress backup plugin, then make sure you have a recent backup stored safely somewhere.
If you don't use a backup plugin then you should start using one immediately. However, in case you don't have dashboard access for your WordPress site, then you will need to manually back up your database and files.
Backups allow you to restore your WordPress site easily when something is not working properly. They are your first and most important defense against security threats, hacking, and data loss.
2 - Disable all plugins installed on your website
Most of the time errors are caused by incompatibility of plugins with each other, your theme, or WordPress core. Disable all WordPress plugins on your site will most likely be the solution to your problem. You can then find out which plugin was causing the problem by enabling plugins one by one on your site.
This can be done from your dashboard.
First you need to select all plugins and then select "Disable" from the drop-down menu Grouped Actions ". Click the Apply button to disable all selected plugins.
If you do not have dashboard access then you will need to use a FTP ou phpMyAdmin to disable all plugins.
Just connect to your website using an FTP client. If you haven't used FTP before then you can read our tutorial on how to use FTP to transfer files to WordPress.
Navigate to the wp-content folder and rename the folder " plugins " in " plugins.desactives "(or plugins.deactivated).
3 - Switch to a default WordPress Theme
Sometimes your WordPress theme can cause problems on your site. You can easily find out if your theme is causing a problem by using a WordPress theme default as " Twenty Sixteen " or " Twenty Fifteen ».
Meeting on " Appearance> Themes », Then click on the button« Enable Next to a default theme.
However, if you do not have access to the admin area of your WordPress site, then you will need to use FTP to change the theme.
Log in to your website using an FTP client, and then go to " wp-content / themes / folder / ", or " dossier Is the name of the folder of your active theme. Upload your current asset theme as a backup on your desktop.
After that you need to delete all themes except one WordPress theme default as " Twenty Sixteen ". Since your active theme will no longer be available, WordPress will now switch automatically using the default theme available.
If your theme was the source of the problem, then you should be able to login to your WordPress site now.
4 - Update the permalinks
WordPress uses an SEO URL structure or " Permalinks ". Sometimes the permalink structure is not updated or configured correctly, which may cause 404 unexpected errors on your site.
You can easily refresh the permalinks without changing anything on your WordPress site. Visit the page Settings> Permalinks »And click on the button« Save Changes Without changing anything.
5 - Save and Delete the .htaccess file
A corrupted .htaccess file is often the cause of the internal server error.
First, you need to connect to your website using an FTP client. The .htaccess file is located in the root directory of your site.
Since it is a hidden file, you may have to force your FTP client to display the hidden files. Check out our tutorial on why you can not find the .htaccess file on your WordPress site
You must download the .htaccess file to your computer as a backup and then delete it from your web server.
You can now try to connect to your WordPress site access " Settings> Permalinks ". Click on the button " Save Changes To refresh your permalinks and regenerate a new .htaccess file for your site.
6 - Fix WordPress Site URL
Having incorrect settings for on the WordPress URL and the site URL can also cause redirection problems, 404 errors, and some other common problems.
The WordPress URL and Site URL options can be changed from your dashboard by visiting " Settings> General ».
Make sure both URLs are exactly the same.
If you don't have access to the admin area of your WordPress site, you can edit these URLs through FTP. There are two ways to do this using FTP:
Update the WordPress URL and the site URL in the wp-config.php file.
Once connected to your website using an FTP client, locate the wp-config.php file. Now you have to edit this file in a text editor like " Notepad ».
Go to the line that says / * That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. * /, and just before, add this code:
define ( 'WP_HOME', 'http: //example.com'); define ( 'WP_SITEURL', 'http: //example.com');
Don't forget to replace "example.com" with your own domain. Now save your changes and upload the file to your server.
Update URLs with a file functions.php
You can also update URLs using your theme file.
Open your FTP client and navigate to "wp-content / themes / folder /" where "folder" is the name of your active theme. Open the folder for your current active theme and locate the functions.php file inside. Now you will need to edit the functions.php file in a text editor like Notepad.
Just add these lines at the end of the file:
Update_option ('siteurl', 'http://example.com'); Update_option ('home', 'http://example.com');
Remember to change the WordPress URLs from the settings page after you log into your site. Once you have added them on the settings page, you need to remove these lines from the "functions.php" file.
That's all for this tutorial, I hope it will allow you to fix common errors on WordPress.
