WordPress is the most common Content Management System (CMS) that you will find hosted with almost all modern website hosting companies since it is easy to use, efficient, and SEO-friendly. However, there are common problems that you may face working with WordPress and may cause lots of panics more so if you are new to web designing using WordPress. The good part is that all problems you will find working with WordPress are not new, and have been faced and most probably resolved by others too. Here are the most common WordPress errors that are encountered by users.
1. Internal Server Error
Also known as 500 internal server error, this problem is one of the most common WordPress errors that most new users encounter. The Internal server error occurs when there is a problem in the hosting server, but the server is unable to locate where exactly the problem is or the exact cause of the problem. However, this type of error is not specific to WordPress and can be caused by a number of things in the server. The internal server error in WordPress though is caused by:
- Plugins or theme functions
- Corrupted .htaccess files
- PHP memory limit
2. Locked Out of WordPress Admin
In most cases, you will find out that you are locked out of your WordPress admin area and can’t log in: This type of WordPress error is common when you forget your login password and you don’t have the recovery email either. Also, there are some plugins that attempt to login with incorrect credentials, which may cause this error in WordPress. Another possible cause of this error is when your WordPress website is hacked by other users. The best way to correct this login issue is to reset your WordPress password from the phpMyAdmin by logging into your hosting cPanel account.
3. Login Page Refreshing and Redirecting
This is also another common problem most WordPress Users encounter; where they are automatically redirected to the login page when they try to login. This type of WordPress error has two possible causes, and one of them is when values for site URL or home URL are incorrect in WordPress options table. To resolve this problem, it is usually advisable to clear cookies since WordPress uses cookies for login authentication.
4. Syntax Error
The syntax error is another common type of error found in WordPress, and it always occurs when you try to add a code snippet to WordPress, but in the process, miss something important or the code itself has incorrect syntax. The error message usually indicates the unexpected thing in the code snippet and the exact location of the script where the error occurs in a given line of a code. The syntax error is normally caused when you omit a character, use a wrong character, or as a result of bracketing issues and can be corrected by correcting one of the mentioned problems.
5. Error Establishing a Database Connection
When you see this error in WordPress, that means that your website is unable to access the database. Error establishing a database connection message normally occurs when your database server is unresponsive (corrupted) or when a user enters incorrect database login credentials or recently made some modifications to the database login information in a wrong manner. To correct this type of WordPress error, you need to check your database login credentials that include:
- Database host
- Database username
- Database password
6. WordPress White Screen of Death
Another common type of WordPress error is the white blank screen with no error message at all, making it difficult to trace where the problem is. This problem may cause login issues and it may be difficult to access your WordPress admin area when you need to login. In most cases, the white screen will be noticed in the whole screen, but sometimes it covers just a section of the screen. If you see this type of WordPress error, the problem could be one of the following:
- A script has exhausted PHP memory limits
- There is configuration issue with the server
7. Posts Returning 404 Error
This is also another common type of error in WordPress that occurs when a user tries to visit a post or a page on their website, and they get a 404 page meaning the page not found. However, the user can visit all other pages and posts on their website including the admin section. This type of WordPress error is common when there is a problem with the permalink settings, and can be corrected by reconfiguring the permalinks settings or manually updating the permalinks of the affected pages or posts.
8. Sidebar Below Content Error
Another common problem most new users will encounter with WordPress is sidebar positions. In some cases, sidebars tend to appear below the content instead of appearing next to the content. This issue is normally caused by WordPress themes, as result of modifying the CSS and forgetting some important attributes like closing the HTML div tag or closing it incorrectly leading to a broken theme layout. Another common cause may be using disproportionate widths in the CSS. You can correct this WordPress error by checking your CSS where you made changes and see that everything is correct.
9. 403 Forbidden Error
403 Forbidden Error is another common type of error you are like to encounter when using WordPress and may limit login and visit to some pages of a website: This type of error is seen when your server permissions don’t allow access to some pages. Other causes of 403 forbidden error in WordPress is the use of incorrect file permission, incorrectly coded security plugins, faulty server configurations. The very first step to take when resolving this issue is to disable all security plugins installed and see if there is any change. Another solution is to repair corrupt .htaccess file via the FTP client or file manager in the cPanel.
10. Maximum Execution Time Exceeded Error
For web server security issues, there is a time limit set for how long a script can run in PHP, which is the main programming language that WordPress is coded. This error message in WordPress is therefore seen when the time limit set by the hosting provider is exceeded. This type of error can be fixed in two ways; by manually editing the .htaccess file and changing the maximum execution value to your preferred time, or the easiest way by just installing and activating a plugin called WP Maximum Execution Time Exceeded and use to set your own execution limit.
