Troubleshooting WordPress

WordPress is one of the most commonly used website applications. While it's extremely popular, there are some common issues that you can fix in a matter of minutes.

Note: This article contains source material from wordpress.org relating to common errors and their solutions. There are links directly to relevant documentation on that site as a reference for any deeper technical information you may need when available.

Before you start

Built into WordPress is a handy feature for troubleshooting errors called WP_DEBUG. The WP_DEBUG feature can provide additional information when standard troubleshooting steps fail to resolve an issue.

You can enable WP_DEBUG and WP_DEBUG_LOG in the wp-config.php file. The contents of the debug.log file can help you and your site administrator narrow down the problem to a specific plugin, theme, or configuration option that might be causing a problem.

For assistance, see:

• Enable debug errors in WordPress

My WordPress site is slow

Every time a visitor goes to your WordPress blog, the server processes PHP scripts and establishes a database connection, which means it's doing a lot of work. The more complex and busy your site is, the slower this process becomes.

• Troubleshooting a slow WordPress site

(Back to top)

My blog keeps coming up as a blank page

Generic 500 ISE(Internal Server Error), common PHP errors, and database connection string issues can manifest as a blank white screen and is commonly known in the WordPress community as the White Screen of Death (WSOD).

• Troubleshoot a WordPress internal server error

(Back to top)

PHP errors

There are several PHP errors that have their own individual symptoms. The following are the most common PHP errors in WordPress:

• Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent
• Call to undefined function
• Allowed memory size exhausted
• Maximum execution time exceeded

Here are some things you can try:

• Common WordPress Errors: PHP

(Back to top)

Error establishing a database connection

If you manually installed WordPress into your hosting account and are getting an Error establishing a database connection message when trying to connect to WordPress, you need to modify your wp-config.php file to work with our database servers.

• Why is WordPress unable to connect to my database during install?

(Back to top)

Connection timed out

The connection timed out error appears when your website is trying to do more than your server can manage. It’s particularly common on shared hosting where your memory limit is restricted.

Here are some things you can try:

• Common WordPress Errors: Connection timed out

(Back to top)

404 Page not found error

Occasionally after a migration or a domain name change, your WordPress website could experience 404 Not Found errors for links in your site. This could also be an issue with a Home Page not found error.

• Troubleshoot and fix 404 error, broken links, or redirect issues

(Back to top)