WordPress is a fantastic web development and CMS platform, and it is used by millions of businesses. But that doesn’t make it perfect and there is a plethora of documented errors that WordPress users and websites commonly have.
If your business has a WordPress site or you are planning to move to this platform it’s essential that you familiarize yourself with these common errors. There is nothing worse than working on your site or viewing its page, only to have an error appear and not knowing what to do!
It is incredibly stressful and can also be detrimental to your business if you don’t know how to solve the issue. To help, using our WordPress SEO expert skills we have listed eight common errors below that you may come across, and how to fix them!
This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties
- This is a pretty annoying and unhelpful error message, and it basically means something is wrong with your site. But don’t worry – if this error message triggers, WordPress sends you an email detailing the error together with a link to backend tools so you can hopefully fix it.
Syntax Errors
Syntax errors are typically a result of mis-typed code or incorrect code segments in your web pages or plugins. This can affect the PHP parsing and cause loading issues. The error message usually displays the specific line of code that is causing the error so this is usually a simple fix – just find the culprit code and correct it!
Database Connectivity Issues
Your WordPress site may use a database to store information like customer data or product info. There may be an instance where you get database connectivity issues. The most common cause for this error is that whoever is trying to access the database is entering their login credentials incorrectly.
WordPress Admin Login Problems
You may also experience issues with the WordPress admin login screen, and this can happen for a few reasons. Firstly, you may simply be entering your login details wrong, in which case, stop being a noob and get them right! Secondly, it could point towards a security breach in which case you would need to reset your login details and then contact the WP customer support immediately.
Forbidden Access Errors
Oh no, you are forbidden to access this page – stop what you are doing immediately! Ok, maybe this isn’t that dramatic but the Forbidden Access error is quite common and it usually means your permissions need adjusting, or there is some issue with your security settings.
The Dreaded White Screen of Death
This is a pretty famous WP error and the result is that your web browser displays nothing – just an empty screen of whiteness. The most common cause is a faulty plugin installed on your WordPress site so the first port of call is to disable all plugins and see if this fixes the error. If not, disabling your theme and using the WordPress Debug Mode can also help.
404 Error
You have probably seen the incredibly common 404 Error before and it’s not something native to WordPress sites. This error essentially means that the server cannot find the page you are looking for. This is a common problem and is usually due to an incorrect URL or broken link.
Connection Timed Out Errors
This is another common error and you have probably seen it sometime during your internet browsing. If a website displays a “connection timed out” message it means the server is struggling to process your request. The most common WordPress issue for this is hosting power and it may mean that you need to upgrade your hosting plan to a more powerful server.
Make Sure Your WordPress Knowledge is up to Scratch to Keep Your Site Running Smoothly
There are more errors than listed here but this is a great starting point. If you are delving into the world of WordPress we advise brushing up on basic errors like these and spending time learning about how the platform works and what it can do. The more knowledge you have the more effective you can make your business website.