How to Fix http 500 Error WordPress

In short, this error is caused by the server or the files that are there in the hosting server. In the Http 500 error, WordPress can behave abnormally, and most of the time, internal server error appears on every page. This can be frustrating when you are unable to solve this simple using tricks. But the good thing is that it is solvable in a few clicks. In this article, we will explain a complete solution for the HTTP 500 error.

But first of all, you have to reach to the root of this error; then you can eradicate that easily. The following detailed problems cause internal server error in WordPress.

• Because of any faulty plugin.
• Error in some theme functions.
• Files on the server got corrupted, like .htaccess file and PHP memory limit file.

Most of the WordPress errors, including 500 internal server errors, are caused by the plugins that make the server files corrupt. The most common file that got affected by the plugin’s control is .htaccess. So the first fix we are going to do is to reset the .htaccess file. In this article, we are going to discuss the following methods to resolve the issue:

• Creating a new .htaccess file
• Increasing your PHP memory limit in WordPress (Temporary solution)
• Deactivating the plugins one by one
• Debugging the WordPress Website
• Checking File Permissions
• Upload a Fresh Copy of Core files in WordPress folders
• Contact Hosting Support
• Get Rid of all the Errors for Lifetime

1. Creating a new .htaccess file

To modify or delete the .htaccess, you have to get access to the hosting server of your website. You can access the hosting server using an FTP client or directly using the file manager from the cPanel. .htaccess file is located in the public.html folder. You can also edit the .htaccess file from the Yoast plugin, but we are going to modify the file extension, so we have to access the file from the cPanel.

Once you get your hands on the .htaccess file, modify it by changing the file extension, or you can also rename it like “.htaccess-delete.” In this way, the functions that are being controlled by this will now can not access the file, thus the error should be removed. Check your WordPress site and look if the error is gone.

Here are the steps to follow if you are confused about reading the above paragraph.

• Get access to your hosting server.
• Look for the .htaccess file in the public.html folder.
• Rename the .htaccess file.
• Now check if the error is gone.

If the error is gone after making this modification, Congratulations! You have successfully solved the HTTP 500 error WordPress. Now to create a new .htaccess file, follow the steps.

• Go to the WordPress dashboard.
• In the Settings, go to the Permalinks.

  

• Without clicking on anything, just click on Save changes.

  

After doing this, the http 500 internal server error should have gone, and a new .htaccess file has been created.

2. Increasing your PHP memory limit in WordPress (Temporary solution)

The http 500 internal server error can also be caused because of the limit of the PHP memory. This also happens because of any faulty or third-party plugin. That broken plugin uses a lot of PHP memory, thus on reaching the maximum limit assigned by your hosting provider, an internal server error occurred. Most probably in the shared hosting where they provide a minimal PHP memory.

Now you may be thinking of purchasing a dedicated hosting, or any trick to increase the assigned PHP limit. But this is not the solution. It may be a temporary solution, but for a permanent solution, you have to look for the root cause of this 500 internal server error.

Here are the steps to follow to increase the PHP limit.

• Get access to the File manager of your service hosting.
• In the public.html folder, look for the wp-config.php and download that.
• Now open the wp-config.php file using the best HTML editor, or any Text editor.
• Now add the following code after the php open tag <?php.

  

  define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '64M');

• You can also increase the PHP memory limit by creating a blank text file and name it php.ini.
• Now add the following code in that empty file.
  memory=64MB
• Now save the file and upload it in /wp-admin/.
• This will increase the PHP memory limit for the time being a solution. But this is not a permanent solution. You still have to find a permanent solution.

Next, if the problem has been solved temporarily using the above method, then you can proceed to the next step. Otherwise, you have to contact your hosting provider and ask them what is causing the issue.

3. Deactivating the Plugins One by One

This is the most common solution you may have read or listened to for most of the problems. It is the solution because the only plugin modifies your website code and thus cause problems.

Now in this situation, if you don’t have access to the WordPress dashboard, you have to deactivate the plugins manually. But if you have access to your WordPress dashboard, you can disable the plugins one by one. And refresh your website after disabling each plugin; in this way, you can evaluate, who is the main culprit.

But if you have to deactivate the plugins manually, there is a simple trick for you.

• Get access to your cPanel file manager.
• In the public.html folder find the wp-content folder.
• In this folder find a folder plugins and rename it to anything. You can rename it as Plugins.test.

  

• By doing so, all of the plugins on your website will be deactivated.
• Now refresh the page and check if the problem is solved or not.
• Now start activating the plugins one by one and refresh the page after every install, now you can know which plugin is causing the problem.

If the error remains persistent, then there are some more steps that you can take.

4. Debugging the WordPress Website

If the error is not resolved, even after the above three methods, then your site may need to be debugged. Now the good news is that WordPress has its debugging system, and the bad news is that you should have some developmental knowledge to initiate this process.

However, you can read the article about using the WordPress debug log to solve this issue on your own. But if you are not good with the coding thing, you can always hire us to get the work done in no time. Just Contact us to make a deal.

5. Checking File Permissions

If you upload the files directly to your hosting, then there is a chance that you have messed up with your file permission settings. Fortunately, it is not that difficult to check and modify these settings from the cPanel.

First of all, get your hand on your hosting and then open the folder containing your website files. Most of the cPanels show the permissions with the data, but you can also check by right-clicking and later viewing the properties.

Set the permissions from 755 or 644. Other than these can cause 500 internal server errors.

6. Upload a Fresh Copy of Core Files in WordPress Folders

It may seem scary to you at first glance that it may remove the data, but in this process, we will overwrite the core files just like we use to recover windows from recovery disk.

First of all, you have to download a fresh copy of WordPress from the WordPress Official site (do not rely on the old downloaded copy). After downloading the package, follow the steps to do this process without any hazel.

• Extract the zip file in a new folder and look for the wp-includes and wp-admin folders.
• Now archive these two folders in a rar file.
• Upload that rar file in the public.html folder.
• Once uploaded, extract the file in the folder.
• You will see a prompt window, asking for overwriting the files. Allow that.

After re-uploading these, refresh the page and see if this has worked out or not.

7. Contact Hosting Support

This can be the first step too if you are not that good in problem-solving, and they will answer that for you. But if you have tried every method and the http 500 internal error, WordPress is still there, then you should contact the support team. They may ask you for your WordPress credentials. If even they are unable to give you the solution, then there must be an issue in their server. You should shift to a better hosting provider.

8. Get Rid of all the Errors for Life Time

You may be a blogger or trying to achieve your goals of building an online business. But technical things can come across to slow you down. The mistake that most of the Startups do is that they waste their time in learning all technical stuff on their own. You can always hire a professional and can focus on your goals instead of wasting time in learning out of the syllabus type of things.

WP inCare is always here for you to help you in all the WordPress and developmental issues. We are providing market-leading services at the minimal price for the small entrepreneurs so that they can prosper.

Final Thoughts:

Https 500 error WordPress is annoying if you are running a business website. But in this article, we have covered some quick fixes and also shared an in-depth article for the permanent repairs of http 500 internal server error in WordPress.

To prevent such kind of error, you should keep a backup of your website. Backup should be full, including themes, plugins, and updates. You can Hire us for daily backups with reports.

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You should also take care of the regular maintenance of your WordPress website. WordPress maintenance includes the daily update for the plugin and themes, daily backups, security, and speed optimizations.

You should also use dedicated hosting for your business website as errors like 500 internal server error is mostly caused by the cheap server.