Common WordPress errors and how to fix them

WordPress is the most widely used open-source content management system (CMS) today. WordPress is fairly easy to pick up and user friendly. But like any other tool, you can run into unexpected problems while using it, whether user mistakes, software, server or web host issues, and all of them can cut your website's performance significantly. So let MONA Media put together for you right now the most common WordPress errors you may run into while using it, their causes and the most effective fixes. Don't miss it.

1. White Screen of Death (WSoD)

White Screen of Death (WSoD) is one of the WordPress errors is quite frightening for many people. The whole site shows only a blank white screen and you can't do anything.

If you hit this WordPress problem, don't worry too much. You can fix the white screen of death and “revive” WordPress with one of these approaches:

• One of your plugins may be failing. Deactivate all plugins to see whether that fixes the problem.
• Use SFTP to switch off your theme and replace it with a default WordPress theme.
• WordPress also has a debug mode. You can use it to help resolve WSoD.
• Clear the cache is also a way to fix the white screen of death. A full memory or corrupted files can cause the same result.
• Raise the WordPress memory limit, since your site may have reached its maximum memory.

2. WordPress Internal Server Error

Internal Server Error hay HTTP 500 Internal Server Error is also a classic error across the internet in general and WordPress in particular. It can be caused by software conflicts, software failures or interruptions on the server. The server then cannot run, or loses connection to, some server services such as PHP or Apache.

You can apply one of these fixes:

• Reload the page (F5).
• Clear your browser cache.
• Delete the cookies tied to the affected website and restart your browser.
• Change the permalink structure in WordPress.

3. Error 403

403 Forbidden error in WordPress appears when server permissions don't allow you to access a particular page. Being denied access to WordPress is a nightmare for many people. It usually appears for these reasons:

• A 403 error appears when you don't have permission to access WordPress.
• Poorly configured security plugins that block you an IP address because they believe the IP address you are using is malicious.
• The .htaccess file is corrupted.
• Random changes to server settings can also cause a 403 error.

To avoid these WordPress errors, you should first make a complete backup of WordPress. Fixing a 403 error can take quite a while, because each cause needs a different fix. For example:

• If a WordPress plugin causes the 403 Forbidden error, deactivate all WordPress plugins
• If a corrupted .htaccess file causes the 403, locate the root directory, download the file to your computer and delete it from your WordPress site.
• If a 403 occurs because of incorrect permissions, grant the correct access permissions again.

≫ Read more: 403 Forbidden error what is it? Causes and how to fix error 403

4. WordPress 404 Not Found error

The WordPress 404 error may feel familiar, because almost every internet user has met it at least once. This WordPress error usually happens when links URL are changed or broken. The cause may be the .htaccess file or a problem with rewrite rules. You may need to re-upload .htaccess or reset the permalink settings to fix it.

≫ Read more: 404 Not Found errors what is it? A guide to fixing error 404 quickly

5. 502 Bad Gateway error

502 Bad Gateway error is triggered when the server hosting your WordPress site gets an invalid response for the requested page. It can be caused by too much visitor traffic or by wrong server configuration.

For this WordPress error, you can follow these steps:

• Reload your website, because some overload problems clear up by themselves after a few minutes.
• Clear your browser cache. Sometimes all you need to do is press Ctrl + F5 on Windows to restart. On a Mac, you can press the CMD + Shift + R.
• Turn off CDN or your firewall, since some pages can be blocked by it. Once the page opens, you can turn the firewall back on.
• Go to the WordPress plugins to check your theme and find 502 errors caused by plugins.

You should also check the hosting server. This is harder and needs expertise. You can ask the team SEO or a web developer for extra help.

6. Unable to upload images

Sometimes, after using WordPress to publish a post, you can't upload images. The first thing to consider is that you haven't been given permission to change or edit files. Tell your site administrator to look into these errors.

7. Unable to access the admin area

If you are locked out of the WordPress dashboard and can't reach the admin area, you may have forgotten your password. Just click “Lost your password” to get a login link sent to the email address you registered with. This is one of the easier WordPress errors to fix.

8. Scheduled posts not publishing

Some WordPress posts are scheduled for publication but then fail. Your post is missed and does not appear on the site; once you spot this WordPress error, you can publish the post manually.

If you know WordPress better, you can also use a WordPress plugin to control your posts. In particular, check whether WordPress is configured correctly. For scheduled posts that don't publish on time, look at the following:

• Check the WordPress time zone setting, since it may be set incorrectly. That causes trouble with managing the site and scheduling posts.
• Clear the cache or raise the WordPress memory limit so the server stays in sync and runs better.

9. Emails not sending

Fixing WordPress not sending email is one of the errors people ask about most. After testing WordPress, you may find that it doesn't send emails or any notifications to your email address.

The cause may be that your WordPress hosting server is not configured correctly to use the PHP mail function, or that your email doesn't meet email standards and ends up in spam.

You can configure WordPress with the WP Mail SMTP plugin instead of the PHP mail function, or send WordPress email through Sendinblue. Adding a subdomain in WordPress is also well regarded. Sending automatic emails from WordPress to individuals, partners and customers is very important. It is a feature your website needs for online SEO, so fix it as soon as you can.

10. White text error

Many people run into the white text error. Almost everything they type or paste into WordPress shows up as plain white. For this error, try one of these fixes: WordPress errors as follows:

• Clear the browser cache to rebuild the stored data.
• Deactivate the plugins in WordPress.
• Replace the folder TinyMCE.
• Edit the wp-config.php file.
• Install the Advanced TinyMCE plugin.

*Note: In simple cases, the font color may just be set to white. Check the basic possibilities first. Only if they aren't the cause should you move on to more complex fixes.

11. Warning: Cannot Modify Header Information

After updating WordPress, a theme or a plugin, you may see a display error: “Warning: Cannot modify header information – headers already sent by…..”. It may be a blank space before the file you just updated. Check and remove the blank space before the file named in the error. You can also download the faulty file and open it in Notepad++, then choose Encoding >> UTF-8 without BOM.

12. WordPress keeps logging you out

WordPress logging you out again and again leaves many people feeling helpless. You have already deactivated plugins, cleared the cache and browser cookies, and even restored WordPress from backups, but nothing improved.

This can happen because the WordPress URL settings are incorrect. Make sure the address field uses the same URL you need to access. If the two URL fields differ, constant logouts are normal.

To avoid this, follow these steps:

• Log in to the WordPress dashboard.
• Select General Settings and set the WordPress URL correctly, with the same URL in both fields. For example:
  • define(‘WP_HOME’,’http://example.com’);
  • define(‘WP_SITEURL’,’http://example.com’);

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The business's common WordPress errors when running a website There are still many more, and you may not be able to fix every one. Errors rarely come only once, though. After meeting and fixing errors in WordPress several times, we hope you gain more experience. So far there are at least 50 errors that happen often, and you are likely to meet one of them. Keep exploring WordPress website errors and quick fixes with MONA .