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Wordpress Bug Fixing and Their Solution

9 Mins
Jayram Prajapati  ·   19 Jun 2024
WordPress bugs and their Solutions
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WordPress is the all-time best platform for developing a business website. Over 43% of websites are powered by the best content management systems (CMS). However, it may still contain glitches and errors.

The most common WordPress issues are website performance, functionality, and security. These errors can range from minor to major, preventing users from accessing your website. These issues must be addressed immediately to avoid losing sales and discouraging visitors from returning.

To keep your WordPress website running smoothly, you must understand what causes these issues and how to resolve them. Here, we write a document to solve common Wordpress bug issues.

How to Prevent WordPress Regular Errors

Your WordPress site can never be completely error-free, but you can take steps to reduce the chances of problems. Before discussing common WordPress issues, let's consider minimizing these risks.

Choose a Reliable WordPress Host

A WordPress website needs a reliable web host to be successful. You must choose the hosting server for your website before launching it. Hosting providers may affect a lot of your website's impression, so think carefully about your options.

Here are some of the best hosting providers for 2024, as per the recent Forbs Advisor document:

Many businesses and people always prefer managed hosting providers. For better performance, we are considering Kinsta and WP Engine. While managed hosts will not build your website, they will perform routine maintenance.

Maintain Frequent Site Backups

It is risky not to back up your WordPress website regularly. If something goes wrong in the server or your site is hacked, you may lose all your data and posts. To avoid this, back up your site automatically using free WordPress plugins such as UpdraftPlus.

You can create daily backups of your themes, plugins, and database, which contains all of your content. It will save you from having to start over in the event of an unforeseen error.

Perform Regular Updates

Regularly updating your WordPress site will not only remove some errors but also raise awareness of them and reduce risk. A strict update procedure for plugins and themes can help avoid mistakes and conflicts.

You can check the updates page in your WordPress dashboard for updates to themes, plugins, and WordPress's core code. Ensure you use the most recent versions and update them as needed. Ignoring updates and running websites in old versions increases the risk of website vulnerability to security threats and low performance issues.

Test Changes on a Staging Site

Always test new features on a staging site before implementing them on your live WordPress website. A staging site is a private version of your WordPress site. Plugin tests, theme changes, and other modifications can be made without impacting your live site's users. Implementing this strategy allows you to track and solve non-working new feature bugs before implementing them on the live website.

Clear Cache Regularly

Clearing your cache regularly ensures that all of your changes take effect immediately. The cache sometimes fails to recognize updates and loads an older version of your site. Clear the cache in both your WordPress and your browser to ensure the most recent version of your website is up to date. This will reduce errors and keep your website up to date.

Most Common WordPress Errors in Websites

You often need help with some common issues if you have a WordPress website. To solve these issues and become more aware of them, this article provides valuable tips and solutions for troubleshooting these problems effectively. Following these suggestions can improve your WordPress site's performance and functionality.

1. 500 Internal Server Error

1. 500 Internal Server Error

A 500 Internal Server Error can happen for many reasons. The most frequent cause is corruption.htaccess file or your site hitting its memory limit.

Here are some steps to fix this error:

Deactivate all plugins:
If you can access your admin screens, deactivate all wordpress plugins and then reactivate them one by one to identify the problem. If you can't access the admin screens, use SFTP. Simply rename the plugins folder to deactivate all plugins. Check if the site works. Rename each plugin folder to identify which plugin is broken.

Check your .htaccess file:
A corrupted .htaccess file can cause this error. Log in to your site root via FTP and rename the .htaccess file to .htaccess_old. Reload the site. If it works, go to your site's settings and clear the permalinks to create a new one.htaccess file.

Switch the theme:
If the error occurs after directly activating a new theme, immediately return to a default WordPress theme. If you cannot access the admin screens, use SFTP to rename the /wp-content/themes/ folder.

Increase the memory limit
Sometimes, exceeding the default PHP Memory Limit in the wp-config.php file causes this error. You can fix the problem by increasing your store Memory limit.

2. Error Establishing a Database Connection

If you find the message "Error Establishing a Database Connection" on your WordPress site, your site can't connect to its database. Here are some common reasons for this error and how to resolve them:

Issues With Web Hosting Service:
One possible cause is that your WordPress host's server is down. Contact your hosting company to see if the problem is on their end.

Incorrect wp-config.php Information:
This error can also occur due to incorrect information in your wp-config.php file. To fix this:

  • Use an SFTP client to access your site's files.
  • Locate and open the wp-config.php file.
  • Check that your database username, password, database name, and host are configured correctly according to your hosting provider's specifications.

Compromised Website:
If none of the mentioned reasons are the cause and you suspect your site has been hacked:

  • Consult a WordPress developer who focuses on security.
  • They can perform an extensive scan of your website.
  • Remove any malware or threats that may have harmed your website's security.

You can get your WordPress website back up and running by fixing these possible causes of the "Error Establishing a Database Connection" message.

3. White Screen of Death (WSOD)

WordPress's White Screen of Death (WSOD) is blank and has no error messages. It is frequently caused by database or PHP errors due to a plugin or theme compatibility issue.

To troubleshoot the WSOD, follow these steps:

Deactivate Plugins:
  • Use the process described in the ‘500 Internal Server Error’ section. If you can access the admin screens, deactivate all plugins and reactivate them individually.
  • If you can't access the admin screens, use SFTP to rename the plugins folder and check if the site works. If it does, rename individual plugin folders to find the problematic plugin.
Deactivate the Theme:
  • Use SFTP to rename the /wp-content/themes/ folder to deactivate the active theme and switch to a default theme like Twenty-Twenty-Four. Check if the site is working again.

These steps should help identify if a plugin or theme is causing the WSOD.

4. Failed Auto Updates

Maintaining your website's updates is essential, but occasionally, errors can arise from auto-updates failing. Signs of a failed auto-update include:

  • A PHP error message
  • A blank screen with no information
  • A message indicating the update has failed

Auto-updates may fail for many reasons:

  • Internet connection issues during the update
  • Incorrect file permissions
  • Glitches while connecting to the main WordPress files

If you have a failed auto-update, look into these possible causes to resolve it.

5. Connection Timed Out

When a WordPress website tries to handle more traffic than the server can handle, it frequently crashes with the "Connection Timed Out" error. This is commonly observed on shared hosting servers with limited memory capacity.

Deactivate Plugins and Themes:
Follow the same process outlined in the ‘Internal Server Error’ section. Deactivate all wordpress plugins and themes to see if this resolves the issue.

Increase the Memory Limit:
If you have shared hosting, contact your provider to see if you can increase your memory limit. You may need to upgrade to a better hosting package. If you're not on shared hosting, you can increase the memory limit of your wp-config.php file.

Increase Maximum Execution Time:
You can increase the maximum execution time in your php.ini file. Because this is not a WordPress core file, you may need to request that your hosting provider do this, and you may be required to upgrade your hosting plan to make this change.

6. Your Site is Stuck in Maintenance Mode

WordPress maintenance mode is an automatic feature that temporarily turns off your site while it is being updated. This confirms that users cannot access the site's features while updates are being made. This process is usually quick but sometimes interrupted, causing your site to remain in maintenance mode. Visitors will see a message saying, "Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Please check back in a minute."

This problem usually indicates that the maintenance file needs to be properly deleted. To fix it:

Contact Your Host: First, ask your managed WordPress host to handle this for you.

Delete the .maintenance File: If your host can't help, you can delete the .maintenance file in your site root. Use SFTP or SSH to access your site files and remove the .maintenance file.

Check for Updates: After deleting the .maintenance file, check if your plugins and themes are up to date. Then, try rerunning the automatic update.

7. 404 Errors

Issues with custom post types and pretty permalinks frequently cause 404 errors. If you use a shared hosting provider, recently moved your website, or are a member of a WordPress Multisite network, these errors may occur.

7. 404 Errors

To fix 404 errors, follow these steps:

Reset Permalinks:
Go to your WordPress dashboard, then navigate to Settings > Permalinks.
Select the default permalinks setting, save changes, then select your preferred permalinks and save again.

Edit the .htaccess File:
If resetting permalinks doesn’t work, you may need to edit the .htaccess file manually.
Access your site’s root directory via SFTP or FTP and check the .htaccess file for incorrect configurations.

Check Custom Post Types:
Ensure no Custom Post Types and single pages share the same name.
If conflicts arise, rename either the custom post type or the single page slug to resolve the issue.

You can fix 404 errors on your WordPress website by following these steps.

8. Parse or Syntax errors

Parse or Syntax errors occur due to issues with your site's code, often in the functions.php file. This error is useful because it shows exactly what is wrong with your WordPress website.

Access the File via SFTP: Take the SFTP credentials from your hosting provider to access your site’s backend.

Locate the Problematic File: Go to the file in the error message, usually the functions.php file.

Edit and Fix the Code: Open the file, find the line with the error, and correct the syntax or code issue.

Save and Replace the File: Save your changes and upload the corrected file, replacing the existing file on the server.

Check Your Site: Visit your site to ensure it functions properly and the error is resolved.

How Elightwalk Can Help You Fix WordPress Bugs

WordPress errors are sometimes easy to fix, or you may need a WordPress developer to fix them. Elightwalk offers expert WordPress support services to help you quickly identify and fix any errors on your website, ensuring smooth functionality and optimal performance.

Elightwalk Technology provides software development-related solutions with its 15-year-experienced team. Our developers can easily find bugs in your WordPress and fix them in an easy way, as well as explain your WordPress problems in detail. Our skilled Wordpress developers undergo rigorous application processes, such as background checks and technical tests, to verify reliability and expertise.

Elightwalk provides ongoing maintenance and support for new and old WordPress projects. Our WordPress Developers have deep knowledge of the entire application process, which includes background checks and technical testing. All you have to do is send in your brief and select the developer you want to work with from the list of developers who can handle the project.

Essence

Hope this brief WordPress error and the solution guide by Elightwalk will help to solve common errors. Although there are numerous ways to optimize your WordPress site, it is impossible to prevent every error. However, it is important to understand the most common WordPress errors so that you can correct them as soon as they occur.

Also read: What is Shopify Development? A Distinctive Guide to Build Online Store

We created this guide to assist website owners and developers with troubleshooting and resolving issues. Whatever you learn from our Wordpress solution on our blog, you can hire our Wordpress developers to build your website and improve its overall performance.

FAQs about WordPress Errors

What should I do if my WordPress site is stuck in maintenance mode?

How do I fix 404 errors on my WordPress site?

What causes parse or syntax errors on a WordPress site and how can I fix them?

How can Elightwalk Technology help with WordPress errors?

Jayram Prajapati
Full Stack Developer

Jayram Prajapati brings expertise and innovation to every project he takes on. His collaborative communication style, coupled with a receptiveness to new ideas, consistently leads to successful project outcomes.

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