Since the majority of the websites are built on WordPress, the vast majority also have to experience some most common WordPress errors.
On average, almost every internet user faces common WordPress errors almost every day while browsing. But the best thing about WordPress is that it shows errors only when there is a valid reason for that and the best part is, it even lets you know about the issue.
At first, these most common WordPress errors might seem intimidating to many users but the fact is the majority of these errors can be easily fixed. As long as you know the main culprit that triggers the error, you can easily fix these errors with proper guidance and the right approach.
So in this post, you will get to know how you can properly carry out proper error diagnosis and fix the 10 most common WordPress errors.
But before directly jumping on WordPress errors, first, you must know How to identify or find them on your WordPress site.
Let us get started!
How to detect or find WordPress Errors on your WordPress site?
The best method to detect or find WordPress errors on your WordPress site without using any tool or plugin is by simply enabling debug mode. You need to add the following snippets to your “wp-config.php” file.
define(‘WP_DEBUG’, true);
define(‘WP_DEBUG_LOG’, true);
define(‘WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY’, false);
Through this, you will be able to know the exact issue on your WordPress site and fix them accordingly.
But after figuring out and fixing the errors on your WordPress do not forget to turn debugging mode off.
Now let us check out the list of some most common WordPress errors.
List of Some Most common WordPress errors
1. Error 404 – Page not found
Error 404 is one of the most common WordPress errors that you will find easily while surfing the internet. Error 404 signifies that there must be something wrong with the page that you are trying to access and that the content that you were looking for is missing.
Possible reasons
- Incorrect or invalid URL
- An issue with your DNS settings
- The page is either not available or has been removed from the resource.
- Server issues
- Redirection not done properly
- Incompatibility with your installed plugins and themes
- Caching issues
Solution
- Check your DNS settings
- Check your URLs
- Disable themes and plugins
- Reset your permalinks
- Restore .htaccess file
- Purge Cache
2. White screen of death (WSoD)
WSoD is another common WordPress error in which you will find a completely blank white screen without any content on your computer screen while trying to access a URL.
This is what it looks like on your computer screen:
Possible reasons:
- Incompatibility issues with your installed plugins or themes
- Exceeded PHP memory limit
- Cache size exceeded
Solution:
- If you can access your WordPress dashboard try to deactivate all the installed plugins and themes and find out which one is causing the issue.
- If it works and your WSoD gets resolved, start activating plugins one by one and check if the site is working properly or not. The moment when the error comes back after activating a particular plugin, you will be able to find the main culprit and immediately delete it from your website.
- In case, even deactivating all the plugins doesn’t work, you can try to replace your current theme with WordPress’s twenty twenty-one theme and check if the error persists.
- If you are unable to access your WP-admin page, the alternate method you can try is to access your wp-content folder via an FTP client. Change the name of your “plugins” folder to any other name i.e plugin1 or Plugin2. Doing this will deactivate all your installed plugins.
- If it works, create a new folder and name it with a unique name, copy all the plugins one by one from the old folder and check which plugin is the main culprit.
- If the above plugin method won’t work for you, then you can try renaming your theme folder which will deactivate the current theme. Just like you did with the plugins in the above points. After that, it will automatically be set to your WordPress default theme.
3. DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN Error
One of the most irritating and imminent WordPress errors every user will find during their usage cycle. From the name itself, anyone can easily figure out that the DNS_Probe_finished_Nxdomain error is related to DNS issues.
This DNS error generally triggers when there is mismatching happening between the IP address and DNS of the computer. When a user enters a URL on the address bar of the browser, the DNS takes up the charge to look out for the server with the appropriate IP address of the server. And during this process, if anything went wrong the browser will immediately flash a DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error message on your browser as shown below:
Possible Reasons:
- The website you are trying to access doesn’t exist.
- Internet or Browser configuration settings issue.
- Inserted Incorrect URL
Solution
- Restart your DNS
- Change your DNS settings
- Reset your Web browsers
- Stop temporarily your Firewall, CDN or VPN
- Renew your IP addresses
- Check local hosts
- Restart your internet connection
4. 502 Bad Gateway Error
The 502 Bad Gateway error happens entirely from the server end and it has nothing to do with the user side or your machine. The bad gateway error simply states that there has been an inadequate or improper response received from another server and as a result, it shows an error message on your browser as shown in the picture below:
Possible reasons:
- There has been an issue with the server at the origin.
- Requests blocked by Firewalls
- Web Browser issues
- DNS is unable to find the right IP address
- Internet connectivity issues
Solution:
- Restart your internet modem or connection.
- Refresh or Reload your Webpage after 30 seconds.
- Clear browser cookies and cache memory
- Try to access the same website on another browser
- Check your DNS
5. 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable
The WordPress HTTP Error code 503 shows that the webserver is not available at that moment to process the request. It is a generic error message that doesn’t provide much information about the exact cause.
Possible reasons:
- The server is down due to scheduled maintenance
- Hackers’ Attack (DDoS attacks)
- Not properly done DNS configuration
- Your web host has technical issues
- The server is unable to handle the request
Solution:
- Reload or Refresh your browser/webpage.
- Restart your internet devices or modems.
- Restart your Server
- Temporarily disable your firewalls and check their settings
- Check your Server logs
- Deactivate recently installed plugins
6. Parse or Syntax Error
Unlike any other WordPress error codes, the parse or syntax error code revel much of the information about the cause of the error. It gives you an exact idea of what went wrong.
Possible reasons:
- Either something is missing or added in the code which should not be there.
- Error in your PHP structure
- The code is missing a character
Solution:
To fix this parse or syntax error, you will need to access the folder that is mentioned in the error message using any FTP client such as FileZilla.
Login to your Filezilla by providing FTP credentials provided by your web host, and access all your website files. Now you have to find the file or folder that has some issues. For example, in the above picture, you can see the issue found in the function.php file of the twenty sixteen.
In this case, you have to look for the theme folder > function.php file. Select the function.php file, right-click on it to reveal options, and select the View or Edit option.
Now search for the lines that have issues and which have been already specified by the parse error message. Fix the error or code, save the file and click on Yes if your FTP client asks to replace the existing file on the server.
7. Briefly Unavailable for scheduled maintenance
You must have seen this scheduled maintenance message on many websites. Sometimes this happens intentionally and sometimes it can trigger due to an issue. But generally, whenever you are engaging in editing your website, making certain changes, or running updates, your website automatically turns into maintenance mode.
And during this time, whenever a visitor visits your website, a message will appear just right on their screen.
Possible reasons:
- A .maintenance file has been created automatically when you enabled automatic wordpress updates and it shows visitors that the site is under maintenance.
- If the WordPress update fails due to any reason or the file gets corrupted. The .maintenance file will remain in the system files and will show a maintenance message.
Solution:
To fix this issue, you need to access your WordPress root folder through FTP. Find the .maintenance file. and delete it immediately.
8. WordPress admin page login error
One of the most common WordPress errors that almost every WordPress user has to go through during their usage cycle. Not just do users get locked out of their WordPress admin page but also it creates a sense of panic in users. But there is nothing to worry about, every problem has a solution and in this case, first, you must know the possible reasons that can lead to such an issue. so that you can prevent it anytime.
Possible reasons:
- Forget your Login credentials
- Typed incorrect username or password
- Hacker’s attack
- Unable to recall your custom login URL
Solution:
- Click on the “Lost your password” link to reset your current password.
- Disable or remove a plugin that with the help of which you have created a custom login URL
- Assign a new admin or user directly into your website database.
- Reset your password via cPanel or ask for help from your Web host.
9. HTTPS Error 504 – Gateway timeout Error
The Gateway timeout Error or Error 504 triggers when there is a communication issue between a server and the gateway server. And due to this, the server is unable to process requests in a given time.
Possible reasons:
- Internet Connection issues
- Your Firewall might create issues
- Servers are slow and not performing up to the mark
- PHP Workers are less
- DDoS attack
Solution:
- Restart your internet modem or internet connection
- Reload or Refresh the webpage
- Try to access the website on a different web browser or device.
- Clean your website from malware, and bots and protect it from DDoS attacks.
- Check your installed plugins and themes
- Check your WordPress error logs
- Turn off Proxy if any
- Examine DNS records
- Contact your hosting provider
- Check Nginx settings and change if required
10. HTTP error occurred during uploading media files
Sometimes, you might have also noticed a particular type of error message while uploading media files in WordPress. The error does not show any error code, unlike other WordPress errors, instead of an error message ” HTTP error”.
This type of error generally occurs when you try to upload a media file via a built-in media uploader. Since this error doesn’t have an error code and does not provide much information about the possible cause of the error. These types of WordPress errors are generally difficult to fix.
Possible reasons:
- There can be compatibility issues with the installed plugins.
- Exceeded WordPress memory limit.
- File too large to upload
- Wrong file name or Wrong file format
- Theme compatibility issues
- Image editor problems
Solution:
- Reload or Refresh the webpage
- Deactivate plugins and change the theme
- Try to access the website on another browser
- Use the lower size media file
- Check media file format and their names
- Check file uploading permissions
Summary
No website owner would their visitors encounter any sort of WordPress errors on their website. In fact, it is every web owner’s dream to run their website smoothly without any problems and provide the best experience ever.
After all, it is a matter of online business and to make it successful, these errors should not come up, or else they can potentially hit your monthly traffic, Search engine rankings, and ROI.
On top of that, you will start losing traffic over time due to a lack of trust in your website and finally, it can malign your brand too.
Therefore, you must keep regular monitoring of your website vitals and their performance. If you find something fishy, take action immediately. For your convenience, we have compiled some 10 most common WordPress errors that every user faces daily, and it is an easy solution so that you can fix them on your own and get your online business right back on track.