WordPress is unquestionably one of the greatest CMS platforms for creating a website for your business. It is one of the world’s most widely used content management systems (CMS), powering at least 43% of total websites on the internet. Check out more real stats here: WordPress statistics to checkout.
But, still, it is prone to errors and faults.
Because of the problems, it will become inconvenient for your users and redirect them to your competition, which you most likely do not want. Therefore, it’s critical to address these problems as soon as possible to avoid negative effects like missing out on sales and stopping people from coming back to your website.
A single hour of website outage can cost your company more than $300,000 this downtime can harm both the revenue the and reputation of your business. It’s crucial to understand which bugs are causing these problems and how to fix them if you want to keep your WordPress website operating.
Once you’ve found the culprits (frequently glitchy plugins and themes!), you can take the required actions to repair your website and avoid similar problems in the future. We will be covering the 15 most common WordPress problems and the best ways to fix them.
Let’s get started then!
How to Prevent WordPress Errors?
Before finding the common WordPress errors and their solutions, there are certain best practices that you can follow to prevent frequent errors or any errors at all.
Let’s find some of the best ways to prevent WordPress errors…
1. Make routine backups of your website
Running a WordPress website without frequent backups is risky because you could lose all of your data and posts if there is a significant problem or your website is hacked. To reduce WordPress mistakes, you can utilize free plugins that perform regular backups of your website.
You may set up daily backups for saving your themes, plugins, and the database that contains all of your content. In other words, you don’t have to start over in the event of an unforeseen error.
2. Make Frequent Updates
Regular WordPress updates will not prevent mistakes from occurring but will reduce the risks. To prevent conflicts that could lead to issues on your website, you’ll need to implement a stringent updating process for your plugins and themes.
The modifications page in your WordPress dashboard displays updates for plugins, themes, and the WordPress core. Verify that you are running the most recent version, and upgrade it if one has been released. If you fail to update WordPress plugins, your site will begin to experience problems.
3. Clean Your Cache Often
Emptying your cache regularly ensures that any changes you make are reflected as soon as possible. This is required because the cache does not always recognize that you have made updates to your website, so it loads the previous version.
To obtain the most recent version, you must empty the caches on your WordPress site and web browser. By doing this, you may reduce errors and ensure that your most recent website is constantly up to date.
4. Keep Strong Passwords
Your passwords act as the first line of defence against unauthorized access to your WordPress site. So, make sure to create strong, unique passwords for your WordPress admin account, FTP/SFTP access, and database. You should set passwords that are at least 12 characters long and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Avoid using easily guessable passwords or common phrases.
A tip
Consider using a password manager to generate, store, and autofill complex passwords securely.
5. Incorporate the best security Plugins
Enhance your site’s security with the best security plugins such as Wordfence, Sucuri Security, or iThemes Security offer to fortify your site against threats. It includes firewall protection, malware scanning and removal, login lockdowns, two-factor authentication, and real-time threat monitoring. Also, don’t forget to configure the security settings according to your site’s specific needs and regularly review security reports for any signs of suspicious activity.
6. Test Changes
Before implementing major changes to your WordPress site, it’s wise to test them in a controlled environment. Setting up a staging site allows you to replicate your live site and experiment with changes without affecting your website or your customer experience. Alternatively, you can use plugins like WP Staging or Duplicator to create a staging site on your server.
15 Most Common WordPress Errors and How to Solve Them!
1. Fatal Error
The fatal error is a huge red flag indicating that there was a coding mistake on your website. When that occurs, there will be downtime since your clients are unable to access your website. Therefore, you must resolve this issue as soon as possible.
Here are the solutions for the fatal error:
To isolate the issue, go back to the default theme and use the plugin deactivation procedure to make sure that there are no difficulties with any suspicious plugins or themes.
You must change the file and include the following line at the bottom: php_value max_execution_time 300; if necessary, raise the value. After saving the file, double-check.
You must edit the php.ini file. If it isn’t already there in your folder, you can make one by adding the following: max_execution_time = 60 (or higher if necessary). After the changes, you need to save the file and upload it to the server.
2. Resolving WordPress’ Mixed Content Error
Mixed content errors arise when non-HTTPS URLs are still being used to serve content on your HTTPS/SSL-enabled website. This may affect both the user experience and SEO of your website.
You can take the following actions to repair this error:
Download and activate the SSL Insecure Content Fixer plug-in.
Select the suitable fix level (Simple, Content, Widgets, Capture, or Capture All) from the plugin’s options page.
Configure the HTTPS detection mechanism based on your website configuration.
Save the changes, then delete your WordPress cache.
Check your website to verify whether the mixed content issue has been rectified.
The SSL Insecure Content Fixer plugin instantly resolves the mixed content issue by guaranteeing that all scripts, stylesheets, and media library images are served over HTTPS. It provides various fix levels based on the complexity of your website. After making the necessary adjustments, make sure to test your website and choose the proper level.
3. Error too many redirects
WordPress Message “Error too many redirects” Usually, a misconfigured redirection or a conflicting plugin is the source of this WordPress issue. This mistake may prevent users from accessing their websites and interfere with normal operation.
To resolve the “Error too many redirects” issue with WordPress, consider the following solutions:
Delete the cache and cookies in your browser.
Change the name of the plugins folder using FTP to deactivate all WordPress plugins.
Make sure that the WordPress Address and Site Address settings are consistent to fix WordPress URLs.
By downloading a backup, erasing the current file, and refreshing permalinks, you can reset the WordPress .htaccess file.
If the problem continues, get help from your WordPress hosting company.
4. The White Screen of Death
The WSoD is this terrifying display. Incompatible plugins, improper themes, RAM limit exhaustion, and PHP code issues frequently lead to this problem.
After backing up your website, here are some possible fixes to get this resolved:
Plugin deactivation and reactivation: To disable all of your plugins at once, rename the plugins folder. If the issue goes away, a plugin is likely the cause.
Go back to WordPress’s default theme: To check if your WordPress theme is the problem, temporarily switch to the default theme. If the error goes away, a bad theme is to blame. Alternatively, rename your themes folder to disable all of your themes at once.
Delete the cache: To fix common WordPress display issues on your device, clear the cache in your browser and WordPress.
Turn on WordPress debugging mode: To generate a log file displaying all of the faults on your website, turn on debugging mode via FTP or your website.
Raise the PHP memory limit: Extending your PHP RAM limit can be the source of the WSoD; doing so will fix the issue.
Fix any syntax issues: The smallest mistype may have resulted in the WSoD issue if you made changes to your website. If you don’t know what triggered the problem, restore a backup and try again.
5. 503 Service Not Found
A 503 Service Unavailable error indicates that your server cannot be reached for any reason. Your website is operational, but users won’t be able to access it.
This could be the result of regular maintenance, heavy traffic, or a more significant issue with your server. The good news is that your search engine rankings won’t be impacted by a 503 error. Visitors may still find it extremely bothersome, though.
Here are some possible fixes:
Switch off the plugins you use.
Switching to the default theme.
Turn off your CDN.
restricting the Heartbeat API for WordPress.
boosting the resources on your server.
Turning on WP_DEBUG.
The best thing to do is contact your host’s support staff if none of these fixes resolve the issue.
6. Failed to Write File to Disk During Upload
Adding photos to your posts and pages can make them more informative, and engaging, and attract more organic traffic. If, however, you encounter an error notice such as “Upload: Failed to write file to disk” each time you attempt to upload a media file to your website, you will find it challenging to accomplish this.
This issue is commonly caused by incorrect file permissions. You can resolve this issue by modifying your file permissions using File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
It can potentially be a problem with your server, though. The files you post to WordPress are initially stored on your server in a temporary folder. They are then transferred to the relevant WordPress directory.
If changing your file permissions does not resolve the error, contact your host and request that they delete your temporary files directory, since it may be overflowing and blocking uploads.
7. Error Establishing Database connection
Your WordPress installation is made up of two main components: files and databases. Even though you’re more likely to deal with the former frequently, the correct operation of your website also depends on your database.
If your website cannot establish a connection with your MySQL database, it will be unable to retrieve the data required to display your content. Instead, a screen stating that there was a problem establishing the database connection will appear.
This will lock you out of your WordPress dashboard and prevent visitors from seeing the front end of your website. The most frequent reason for this issue is that your database credentials are not right. You can change them in the wp-config.php file.
8. There Is No WordPress Theme Stylesheet
CSS is a coding language that controls the styling’ of your webpage. This could contain a range of eye-catching features for your website, such as colours and typefaces.
All of the CSS that is required for WordPress themes is housed in a file known as a “stylesheet.” If the stylesheet for your theme is unavailable, an error will appear and your website won’t load correctly.
This can also happen when a theme installation is underway.
This might occur because the stylesheet for your theme is missing from your server or is named wrongly and cannot be found. Go to the theme’s subfolder on your server using FTP to resolve the issue.
Then find your theme’s stylesheet. If it isn’t there, get it from the files included with your theme and upload it to your server. Make sure the file is titled style.css and saved in the proper theme folder.
9. The error “Destination Folder Already Exists” appears.
While installing a plugin or theme, you may get this problem. It indicates that the theme or plugin was previously installed but not properly deleted.
What to Do
First, confirm that the theme or plugin isn’t already installed and active. If your theme or plugin is not listed, you will need to manually remove the current directory. You can accomplish this by using FTP to access the site files. Search for the plugin or theme directory mentioned in the error message.
This is normally found in the /wp-content/plugins or /wp-content/themes folder. After that, you can manually remove the directory. You should be able to successfully install the plugin or theme from the WordPress dashboard.
10. Issue: A warning that reads, “The Site Ahead Contains Harmful Programs,” appears.
Some browsers display this message to protect users from fraudulent activity. If you receive this warning when trying to visit your website, it has most certainly been hacked. You’ll want to correct it right away to avoid losing content, harming your reputation, or jeopardizing your visitors’ privacy.
How do we solve this problem?
Restoring your website from a backup is the simplest method of fixing it. If you have a WordPress.com plugin-enabled plan, Jetpack already provides automated, real-time backups.
Jetpack requires you to search for anything fishy, such as sites you haven’t edited or successful logins that don’t belong to you. Then, with a single button click, you can restore a backup from just before that activity.
If you are not using any plugins, please contact WordPress.com support. They may assist in safeguarding your website and swiftly remove any infection, allowing you to resume operations as soon as feasible.
A tip for you: It could take some time for browsers to remove the warning after your site has been cleaned.
11. Your Site Stuck in Maintenance Mode
WordPress has an automatic feature called maintenance mode that normally disables your site while it is being updated. In maintenance mode, the users can’t be able to use the website.
Even though the update procedure is typically quick, occasionally it could end before it’s finished. After that, the website gets stuck in maintenance mode. Visitors will receive the notice “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance.” Kindly return in a moment.
This indicates that the maintenance file may not have been properly erased. The first step is to ask your managed WordPress server to handle this for you, but if that is not possible for any reason, you can delete the. maintenance file from your site root. This can be accomplished using SFTP or SSH.
Before conducting the automatic upgrade again, you should ensure that your plugins and theme are up to date.
12. Are You Sure You Want to Do That?
You may have seen the “Are you sure you want to do that?” problem when navigating the WordPress admin page. This frequent mistake can be very annoying because it keeps you from being able to do key admin duties.
The problem happens when a theme or plugin fails to use Nonce appropriately. WordPress security keys like Nonce shield your URLs from harmful intrusions. It needs a few plugins in order to function properly. They may, however, occasionally use it improperly, which brings up this error message.
To solve it, simply identify the plugin that is causing the problem. You can achieve this by individually deactivating each plugin.
Check to verify if the error has been resolved, and if so, identify which plugin is to blame. The error that is occurring is only related to the plugin; therefore, for further troubleshooting, you should consult the plugin documentation or support channels.
The admin page is locked and the login page keeps reloading.
You may be locked out of your website for a variety of reasons. Even after you’ve entered the right login information, the login page may occasionally keep refreshing.
Typical causes include some of the following:
Conflicts between plugins and themes
A corrupted .htaccess file.
obsolete browser cache
Begin by deleting the cache and cookies in your browser.
If the error continues, you can try disabling your plugins and theme using the File Manager or FTP. To create a new one, navigate to Settings > Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard, delete the existing one, and then hit Save.
13. WordPress Keeps Logging Out
The problem is precisely as it sounds: you continually getting locked out of WordPress. WordPress uses cookies associated with a specific URL in your settings to validate your login session. When you try to log in from a different URL, you will receive this error.
How to fix this issue?
You must ensure that the URL you are accessing from has access to the settings to resolve this issue.
To accomplish this, navigate to the settings menu in your WordPress admin account and choose the general tab. Check that the URL is right from this point on, and you’re done.
14. Error: Maximum execution time exceeded
You may get this issue when attempting to upgrade a WordPress plugin or theme. This occurs because WordPress has imposed time limitations on its PHP script to protect it from abuse. Usually, it lasts for thirty to sixty seconds. This error occurs when the script takes longer than expected to execute.
How can it be fixed?
Deactivating the plugin that is causing the issue would be the best course of action.
If you want to keep the plugin, edit .htaccess file and include the following line of code: php_value max_execution_time 300. If the issue continues, you can try the 600 instead of the 300.
15. Issue: There is unexpected or invalid content in a block.
An error notice stating that a block contains unexpected or invalid content occasionally appears while creating a page or post using the WordPress Block Editor. This can be a sign of a flaw in a third-party block or a problem with any custom HTML you inserted.
How do we solve this problem?
A box titled “Resolve” and “Convert to HTML” will display along with the error message. There will also be a tiny menu with three dots that has further options.
These provide you with four options for resolving your problem:
Resolve. Click the Resolve button to have WordPress attempt to repair the HTML problem. This typically works best when a tiny error or missing closing tag in custom HTML is the issue.
Transform to HTML. Use this button to turn this block into a Custom HTML block if it isn’t already in HTML. Next, examine your code to see if there is a typo or mismatched tag that is the source of the issue.
Transform to Classic Block. Return the block to “classic” format by selecting the three-dot menu. If you’re working with an older page or post, this may be the best solution.
Attempt block recovery. Choose this option from the three-dot menu to request that WordPress return the block to its previous state.
To Conclude
To sum it all up, here are some of the most common WordPress issues and their effective solutions as well. We hope I have helped you in solving your problem. We have also mentioned some of the best practices that you can follow to prevent these errors. Make sure to follow them and ensure a seamless browsing experience for your customers.
On top of it, remember, that staying proactive and informed is key to maintaining a healthy and secure WordPress website for your business or personal endeavours.
And, if you are stuck somewhere and unavailable to find the solution, you can reach out to a WordPress development company. Our team of skilled WordPress professionals with rich industry experience can understand your requirements and help your WordPress site run in no time.
A Technical Architect, proficient in WordPress, Drupal, Laravel, and DevOps tasks, crafts robust IT solutions with a blend of expertise and versatility in web development and infrastructure management.
