7 Most Common WordPress Errors With Solution

Since these are the most common mistakes and if you have been using WordPress for a long time, these errors are likely to occur regardless of whether you have a single-page WordPress site or a large site with many pages.

But you don’t have to worry, because if there is an error, there will also be a solution. In this blog, you will find the reasons that cause some of the most common WordPress errors and ways to fix them.

So keep reading and if you are facing a specific issue then feel free to jump to that specific issue to find the solution.

Here are 7 common WordPress mistakes.

Keep reading to find out what the problem means, the causes, and the solutions:

WordPress White Screen of Death (WSOD)

White screen error, as the name suggests, occurs when, for some reason, the website screen becomes white and unresponsive. This error can make your entire website blank or part of the website.

For example, you only faced a white screen of death error on the n admin page while all other pages work fine. Or in some c, you can also make your post pages work flawlessly where other pages just show a white screen with no information.

What is the reason for the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSOD)?

PHP errors and database errors can result in a white screen on your WordPress site. To be more specific, the white screen of death can be caused by:

Plugin compatibility issue.
WordPress theme compatibility issue.

How to fix WordPress white screen of death?

Depending on the cause, the solution will vary. Here’s how to solve this problem:

Plugin compatibility issue: In case there is a compatibility issue with the WordPress plugin, you can solve it by disabling the plugins one by one. Log in using FTP, go to the wp-content/plugin location, and rename the plugin folder to deactivate the plugin.
WordPress theme compatibility issue: White screen death can also occur when you install and disable a new theme. To resolve this issue, you can simply activate any default WordPress theme. And again, if you don’t have access to the admin pages, log in via FTP, go to /wp-content/themes/, and rename the theme folder name.

Error establishing a connection to the WordPress database

This error appears when there are problems establishing a WordPress database connection. If this error occurs, your site will not load and you will not have access to any part of the site, be it the front end or administration pages.

What is the reason for the error in establishing the database connection?

Well, database connection error issues can be caused by many reasons. These reasons can be

incorrect database login information (database name, username, and password)
Incorrect hosting information (database host)
damaged database
server down

How to fix an error establishing a connection to a WordPress database

Depending on the reason, the solution will vary. Here is what you can do to resolve these issues based on the reasons mentioned above:

Incorrect database credentials: The most common reason for a database error is not providing the correct database credentials. Since you will not have access to your website when you get this error, you will need to log in via FTP to verify that your database name, username, and password are correct.
Incorrect Hosting Information: If your database credentials are correct, your hosting information may be incorrect. Usually, most hosting providers use localhost as their database host, it may be different depending on your hosting provider, so make sure you are using the correct database hostname.
Server down: Another common reason that works behind database connection errors is the server down. If you have all the correct credentials and hosting information, chances are your server is down. The server may be down because it has reached its quota or for any other reason that you cannot fix yourself. In that case, you need to contact your hosting provider for further action.

Maintenance mode after the update

Getting stuck in maintenance mode after an update is one of the common issues WordPress users face. In this issue, you may receive messages such as “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance.

Please come back in a minute.” WordPress CMS has a built-in maintenance mode that is activated whenever someone tries to update any plugin or theme. The system creates a . maintenance when any updates occur.

Why do you see the maintenance mode message?

Normally, this maintenance mode should take a split second, but a few things can go wrong and you’ll find yourself stuck in maintenance mode longer than you’d like. These reasons can be:

Closing your browser in the middle of auto-updating
Trying to update a large number of plugins/themes at the same time.
Theme/plugin compatibility issue

How to fix maintenance mode issues in WordPress?

To resolve this issue, you need to delete the .maintenance file. Once more, you must use the FTP server to get in and locate the. maintenance file in the root folder, and remove it.

WordPress auto-update fails

Automatic updates can sometimes fail on WordPress sites. This error can result in a white screen at times. While at other times it will show messages that update failed or other PHP-related issues.

What causes WordPress auto-update to fail?

Some of the reasons that can stop automatic updating in WordPress include:

File permission change
PHP memory limit exhaustion

How to resolve faulty WordPress auto-update?

You can try the following options to resolve this auto-update issue.

File permission change: Access your WordPress files via FTP and go to the /upgrade/directory folder and change its permission to 777 or CHMOD. This folder needs to be writable for a successful automatic update.
PHP Memory Limit Exhaustion: To resolve this issue, you need to increase the memory limit. You can do this by accessing the wp-config.php file in the root folder of your WordPress directory. In this file look for a line similar to define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ’40M’); and update the line to set(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘128M’);

WordPress connection timed out

The connection error in WordPress is server-related. Websites that run on shared hosting often face this problem.

What causes WordPress connection timeout?

Some of the common reasons for these WordPress connection timeout errors include:

Heavy Plugins
Theme incompatibility
PHP memory limit exhaustion

How to solve WordPress connection timeout?

Well, switching to a dedicated server should solve all the aforementioned issues. However, if you plan on staying on the same shared hosting, the solutions mentioned below should resolve this error.

Heavy Plugins: If you are using a lot of heavy plugins, try disabling all plugins first. Then reinstall the plugins one by one, and once you find the plugin causing the problem, it’s best to remove it.
Theme mismatch: As I mentioned earlier, if there is a theme issue, the first thing you need to do is switch to a default theme. That should resolve the issue. Later, you can talk to your theme provider about the issue or switch to a different theme if necessary.
PHP Memory Limit Exhaustion: You need to increase your PHP memory. I described how to do this earlier in this blog.

Internal WordPress server error

Internal user error is one of the common WordPress errors that can leave you frustrated. Because this error displays a message asking you to contact the server administrator.

What Causes Internal Server Errors in WordPress?

500 Internal Server Errors in WordPress can be caused by some reasons that I have already mentioned when talking about your WordPress errors, as well as other reasons.

The .htaccess file is corrupted
Core files issues in wp-admin and wp-includes folders
WordPress plugins and theme incompatibility issues.
PHP memory limit

How to Fix Internal Server Error in WordPress?

I have listed some solutions below that should resolve this most common WordPress server error. Here are the solutions:

The .htaccess file is corrupt: Go to the WordPress root folder via FTP, and change the file name from .htaccess to .htaccess_old. Then reload your site, if it loads then reset your permalink in the admin panel.
The core files are the problem: In case the core files are corrupted, you need to copy the wp-admin and wp-includes folders from a newly installed WordPress site and reload them.

Note: This blog has already covered how to deal with PHP memory limits and incompatible WordPress plugins and themes.

Maximum execution time exceeded in WordPress

This is one of the fatal errors that people experience on WordPress sites. When the PHP code does not run in the specified period, a very typical WordPress problem takes place. You may see messages like “60-second maximum run time exceeded”

What Causes Maximum Runtime Exceeded in WordPress?

Well, this problem happens when php_value max_execution_time and Max_execution_time are set below the required time.

How to fix the max execution time exceeded in WordPress?

You can overcome this problem by doing the following:
Insert “php_value max_execution_time 300” at the bottom of the. htaccess file. Make careful to backup your. htaccess file.
Next, add the line “max_execution_time = 60” to your php.ini file.

Conclusion

These are the most common WordPress errors that WordPress site owners face. Hope you found this content helpful and resolved the errors you were facing. If you have any questions about any of the errors on this list, please contact us, we have professional WordPress experts