Common WordPress Errors and How to Fix Them

Every WordPress site throws an error eventually. Most look alarming and are actually quick fixes once you know what's causing them. Here's what the errors we see most often actually mean, and what to check first before you panic or call someone.

The 500 Internal Server Error

This is the most common serious error, and also the vaguest — it just means "something broke," without saying what. The usual culprits are a corrupted .htaccess file, a plugin or theme conflict, an exhausted PHP memory limit, or a server-side issue on your host's end. Start by checking your host's error log (most hosting dashboards have one) rather than guessing, since it will usually name the exact file or function that failed. If nothing obvious jumps out, deactivating plugins one at a time is the next step — if the error disappears, you've found your conflict.

The White Screen of Death

A completely blank page, with no error message at all, is almost always a fatal PHP error that's being hidden from view rather than displayed — which is actually the correct default behavior for a live site, since showing raw PHP errors to visitors is a security risk. The fix is to enable WordPress's debug logging temporarily (via wp-config.php) so the real error gets written to a log file instead of a blank screen, then deactivate whatever plugin or theme the log points to.

"Error Establishing a Database Connection"

This means WordPress can't reach the database that stores all of your content, and it's usually one of three things: incorrect database credentials in wp-config.php (common after a migration), a corrupted database table, or your host's database server being temporarily overloaded. Double-check your credentials first, since that's the fastest thing to rule out, before assuming anything is actually broken.

A 404 on a Page That Used to Work

If a specific page suddenly returns "not found" instead of loading, your site's permalink structure has usually gotten out of sync with what WordPress expects — often after a plugin update or a server change. Going to Settings → Permalinks in your dashboard and simply clicking Save (without changing anything) forces WordPress to rebuild its internal routing rules and fixes this in the large majority of cases.

Syntax Errors After Editing Code

If you or a developer just edited a theme file, a plugin file, or wp-config.php directly and the site immediately broke, a small typo — a missing semicolon, an extra bracket — is almost always the cause, and the error message will usually name the exact file and line number. If you can't access your dashboard to undo it, connecting via FTP or your host's file manager to fix or revert that one file directly is the fastest path back.

When to Stop Troubleshooting and Call Someone

Most of these are fixable in a few minutes once you know where to look. But if you're not comfortable editing files directly, if the error keeps coming back after you fix it, or if the site handles real transactions and every minute of downtime matters, that's the point where it's worth having someone experienced take over rather than trial-and-error on a live site.

Common Questions