WordPress November 22, 2025

Common WordPress Errors and How to Fix Them (Full 2025 Guide)

WordPress is the world’s most popular website-building platform, powering over 40% of the internet. But even though it’s powerful and user-friendly, you may still face errors from time to time. The good news is, most WordPress errors are easy to fix once you know what causes them.

In this guide, you’ll discover the most common WordPress errors and learn how to fix them step-by-step. Whether your website is showing a white screen, crashing after a plugin update, or refusing to load, this article will help you bring everything back to normal quickly.

Let’s get your website running smoothly again!

1. White Screen of Death (WSOD)

The White Screen of Death is one of the most frustrating errors in WordPress. When it happens, your site loads nothing – just a blank white screen.

Causes:

  • Plugin conflicts
  • Theme errors
  • Low PHP memory
  • Corrupted files

How to Fix It:

✔ Disable all plugins
Access your hosting → File Manager →
wp-content/plugins → rename it to plugins_disabled.

If your website works after this, a plugin is the cause.

✔ Switch to a default theme
Rename your active theme folder → WordPress will auto-switch to a default theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four).

✔ Increase PHP memory limit
Add this to wp-config.php:

wp-config.php

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

✔ Enable debug mode
This helps identify the exact problem:

wp-config.php

define('WP_DEBUG', true);

2. Error Establishing a Database Connection

This error means your website cannot connect to its database. Everything stops working and the site goes offline.

Common Causes:

  • Wrong database login credentials
  • Corrupted database
  • MySQL server down
  • Hosting issues

How to Fix It:

✔ Check database credentials
Open your wp-config.php file and verify:

wp-config.php

DB_NAME
DB_USER
DB_PASSWORD
DB_HOST

✔ Repair the database
Add this to the wp-config file:

wp-config.php

define('WP_ALLOW_REPAIR', true);

Then visit:
yourdomain.com/wp-admin/maint/repair.php

Click Repair Database.

✔ Contact your hosting provider
Ask if MySQL is down or overloaded.

3. 404 Error on Posts or Pages

Your homepage loads fine, but posts show a 404 page.
Faulty permalink settings cause this.

How to Fix It:

Go to:
Settings → Permalinks → Save Changes

This refreshes .htaccess automatically.

If not fixed, manually reset .htaccess:

.htaccess

# BEGIN WordPress
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
# END WordPress

4. WordPress Stuck in Maintenance Mode

When WordPress updates, it creates a .maintenance file.
If the update is interrupted, your website gets stuck.

How to Fix It:

Just delete .maintenance from your site’s root folder via File Manager or FTP.

5. Internal Server Error (500 Error)

This error looks scary but is usually easy to fix.

Causes:

  • Corrupted .htaccess
  • Plugin issues
  • Theme conflicts
  • Low PHP limit

How to Fix It:

✔ Reset .htaccess
Rename .htaccess → WordPress will generate a new one.

✔ Disable plugins
Same steps as the WSOD fix.

✔ Switch to a default theme
✔ Increase PHP limits
Add this to php.ini (if available):

php.ini

upload_max_filesize = 64M
post_max_size = 64M
max_execution_time = 300

6. WordPress Login Page Refreshing or Redirecting

You enter your login details… and it redirects you back to the login page again.
This loop is usually caused by cookies or plugin conflicts.

How to Fix It:

✔ Clear browser cookies
This solves the issue in most cases.

✔ Delete .htaccess and refresh permalinks
✔ Deactivate security plugins
Some plugins block login URLs.

7. Images Not Uploading (HTTP Error)

This error appears when uploading images to the Media Library.

Causes:

  • Low server resources
  • Wrong file permissions
  • Imagick or GD conflicts

How to Fix It:

✔ Switch PHP image editor
Add this to functions.php:

functions.php

add_filter( 'wp_image_editors', function() {
return [ 'WP_Image_Editor_GD', 'WP_Image_Editor_Imagick' ];
});

✔ Set correct folder permissions
Use:

Terminal

wp-content/uploads → 755

✔ Increase memory limit

wp-config.php

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

8. WordPress Not Sending Emails

You’re not receiving order confirmations, contact form results, or password resets.

Cause:

WordPress uses PHP mail, which is unreliable.

Solution: Install an SMTP plugin

Use:
• WP Mail SMTP
• FluentSMTP (best free option)

Connect with Gmail, SMTP.com, Mailgun, or SendGrid.

9. Too Many Redirects Error

This usually happens due to misconfigured URLs.

How to Fix It:

✔ Check WordPress & Site Address
Go to:
Settings → General
Make sure both URLs match:

URL

https://yourdomain.com

✔ Clear cache (browser + plugin)
Often solves the issue immediately.

✔ Disable redirection plugins
Some security or SEO plugins create redirect loops.

10. “Your Connection Is Not Private” (SSL Error)

This error turns users away and hurts SEO.

How to Fix It:

✔ Install SSL from the hosting panel
Most hosts offer free Let’s Encrypt SSL.

✔ Update URLs to HTTPS
Install “Better Search Replace” and update all URLs.

✔ Force HTTPS
Add to .htaccess:

.htaccess

RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

11. WordPress Auto-Update Failed

Sometimes updates stop in the middle, breaking your site.

How to Fix It:

  • Delete .maintenance file
  • Re-upload the missing WordPress core files manually
  • Update plugins one by one

12. Plugin or Theme Update Failure

After updating, your site breaks?
This is common with outdated themes or poor coding.

How to Fix It:

  • Restore a backup
  • Enable debug mode
  • Identify the faulty plugin/theme
  • Replace it manually

13. The “Sidebar Below Content” Layout Issue

This layout issue happens when HTML tags don’t close properly.

How to Fix It:

  • Validate HTML code
  • Remove extra <div> or <section>
  • Switch to a default theme to test
  • Check widgets for broken tags

14. Memory Exhausted Error

Example message:

Fatal error: Allowed memory size exhausted…

Fix:

Increase PHP memory limit:

wp-config.php

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

15. WordPress Slow or Lagging

A slow website hurts SEO and user experience.

How to Fix It:

  • Remove heavy plugins
  • Use a caching plugin (LiteSpeed/WP Rocket)
  • Compress images
  • Upgrade hosting
  • Minify CSS/JS
  • Use a CDN
  • Switch to a lightweight theme

Conclusion

WordPress errors can feel overwhelming, but the good news is – most of them have simple fixes.
By understanding what causes these issues and following the steps in this guide, you can restore your site quickly without panic.

If you run into a problem you can’t solve, Quickpresss is always here to help.
We specialize in:

🔥 WordPress fixing
🔥 Speed optimization
🔥 Plugin & theme errors
🔥 Site recovery
🔥 WooCommerce fixes

If your site is broken or showing an error, just message us – we fix WordPress problems within an hour!