How To Fix The WordPress 500 Internal Server Error

The 500 Internal Server Error is a common problem in WordPress that can be frustrating for website owners and visitors. It’s a server-side issue, which means something is wrong with the server hosting your site.

This 500 error can occur for multiple reasons, such as a plugin conflict, a corrupted .htaccess file, or a memory limit problem. Regardless of the cause, it’s important to fix it as quickly as possible to keep your site running smoothly and avoid losing visitors.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you simple steps to troubleshoot and fix the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error. We’ll cover multiple solutions, from basic methods like refreshing the page and checking plugins to more advanced fixes like increasing PHP memory limits and troubleshooting server-related issues.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Plugin or theme conflicts, server issues, or memory limits can cause the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error.
2. Start by backing up your site before troubleshooting to avoid data loss.
3. Refreshing the page or clearing the browser and WordPress cache can sometimes fix the issue.
4. Check for a corrupted .htaccess file and audit plugins to identify conflicts.
5. A theme audit and increasing the PHP memory limit can also resolve the error.
6. Always check server logs for more details on the problem.

What Is WordPress 500 Internal Server Error?

A WordPress 500 Internal Server Error is one of the HTTP error codes. However, it’s a general error that happens when something goes wrong on the web server where you’re hosting your WordPress site, and the server isn’t exactly sure what the problem is.

It’s like when you’re trying to get a machine to work, but it suddenly stops, and you don’t know exactly why. The server knows there’s an issue, but it can’t give you specific error details about what went wrong, making it tricky to fix.

In the context of a website, regardless of static or dynamic site, this error often shows up as a message saying, 500 Internal Server Error, leaving you with little to no information about the exact cause. Here’s the error screenshot that you may see:

Source: Google Support

When you access a site, your browser sends a request to the server where the site is hosted. The web server processes this request and responds by delivering the necessary resources, such as PHP, HTML, and CSS files, along with an HTTP header that provides additional information about the response. This header also includes an HTTP status code, which informs you about the outcome of the request.

The status code could be 200, indicating everything is functioning correctly, or it could be 500, signaling an issue on the server. Several types of 500 status codes exist, such as 500, 501, 502, 503, and 504, each representing a different problem.

Specifically, a WordPress 500 Internal Server Error means the server faced an unexpected situation and could not complete the request. This error could be caused by anything from server misconfigurations to temporary glitches.

There are variations of the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error that can appear slightly differently depending on the browser or web host you’re using. You may see messages like:

• 500 Error – Internal Server Error
• Internal Server Error 500
• 500 Internal Server Error
• HTTP Error 500
• HTTP Status 500 – Internal Server Error
• 500 Error
• Error 500 Internal Server Error
• 500. That’s an error
• HTTP 500
• Internal Server Error
• 500 – Internal Server Error
• 500 Internal Server Error. Sorry, something went wrong.
• The website cannot display the page – HTTP 500.
• Is currently unable to handle this request. HTTP ERROR 500.
• 500. That’s an error. There was an error. Please try again later. That’s all we know.

While they all refer to the same issue, how they are presented can differ. Despite this, the root cause remains a problem with the server. Remember that the HTTP Error 500 WordPress is technically the same, but is often presented differently, usually with more technical details related to the HTTP protocol.

It says the page you’re trying to access from a particular domain name isn’t working, and we’re currently unable to handle this request.

Sometimes, you may also see a blank white screen as follows:

When the WordPress 500 error occurs, it disrupts website functionality because it prevents the site from loading. Visitors trying to access the website will only see the error message instead of the actual content, which can be a major problem for businesses or blogs, as it results in downtime.

The inability to access the site means that users can’t interact with any part of it, including purchasing items, reading posts, or submitting forms. This is why it’s crucial to fix the WordPress 500 Internal Server error as quickly as possible. Before going through the process of resolving this error, let’s understand the various things that can trigger it.

Causes of the WordPress 500 Error

When you experience a WordPress 500 Internal Server Error, it’s often caused by common issues that disrupt how your website runs. One of the most frequent reasons is plugin issues or theme conflicts.

Sometimes, a plugin or theme update may clash with the WordPress core, leading to this error. In this case, disabling plugins or switching to a default theme can help you identify the problem.

Another major cause is a corrupted .htaccess file. This file controls important settings for your website, and if it gets damaged, it can prevent the site from loading properly. Simply regenerating the .htaccess file can fix this issue.

Also, sometimes, the PHP memory limit is too low, which causes the server to crash when handling more than it can manage. You can increase the memory limit to resolve this issue.

Additionally, server-side problems, like incorrect configurations or temporary glitches, can trigger the WordPress 500 error, too. Lastly, an overloaded site with too many tasks can run out of PHP workers (which process tasks), causing the error.

Now that you understand the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error and its primary causes, let’s see if it impacts the SEO of your website.

500 Internal Server Error Impact on SEO

When a website experiences a WordPress 500 Internal Server Error, it could badly affect Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Search engines like Google rely on accessible websites to rank them in search results. If your website returns a 500 error, it tells search engines that the site is not functioning properly, which can affect your rankings.

Moreover, if search engines try to crawl your site and encounter a 500 error, they won’t be able to access your content. This can result in search engines decreasing the priority of your pages in search results, especially if the error persists for a long time. A prolonged issue could lead to your website being removed from search results altogether.

Additionally, frequent WordPress 500 Internal Server Errors might affect user experience, as visitors might leave your site and not return if they encounter errors. This can lead to an increased bounce rate, which signals to search engines that your site might be unreliable, further affecting your SEO rankings.

Important: Remember, your website’s SEO may not be impacted by the 503 error, which means the server is temporarily unable to handle the request, often due to maintenance or server overload. Here, search engines understand that the 503 error can be temporary and won’t impact SEO until it occurs frequently or lasts for days.

Methods to Fix WordPress 500 Internal Server Error

As we mentioned, the WordPress 500 error can be caused by various factors, so there are numerous ways to resolve this error. However, which solution works for you depends on the source of the problem in your case.

Here, we cover all the basic and advanced methods to fix the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error. However, before you continue with solutions, make sure you back up your WordPress website.

You might be asking why website backup is important, particularly when you’ve already implemented security precautions, such as using secure WordPress hosting and updating themes, plugins, and WordPress core files regularly.

This is because the website data could still be compromised or lost. To avoid this scary situation, we recommend you create a website backup. At Hosted®, we provide full and partial website backups for you to use, depending on your project requirements and storage space.

Once you have created the backup, it’s time to try the first solution to fix the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error.

Refresh Your Page

Sometimes, the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error is just a temporary glitch, that can be fixed by simply refreshing the page. To do this, hit the F5 key on your keyboard or press the refresh button in your browser (the circular arrow).

If the problem was caused by a brief issue with the server, refreshing the page might resolve it. Additionally, you can try pasting the website’s URL (domain name) to see whether the site is down or if the issue is specific to your end.

It works by checking the HTTP status code sent by the server. If the status code is anything other than 200 (OK), this will indicate that the site is down.

You can also visit your website on a different network. However, if the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error persists, you may need to explore other solutions to fix the root cause of the issue.

Clear Browser Cache

The browser cache is a temporary storage area on your computer where the browser saves copies of websites you’ve visited. This helps load websites faster when you revisit them, as the browser can retrieve resources (like images or scripts) from the cache instead of downloading them again.

However, sometimes the browser cache can cause problems like the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error. This happens when the cached version of a website has outdated or corrupted files that conflict with the server’s current setup.

When the browser tries to load these old files, it can cause the webserver to malfunction, leading to an error. Clearing your browser cache forces the browser to download fresh, updated files from the server, which can help resolve the issue.

We’ve already covered how to clear browser cache in Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. Below you can check out the detailed links:

– How to Clear Browser Cache in Google Chrome

– How to Clear Browser Cache in Microsoft Edge

– How to Clear Browser Cache in Mozilla Firefox

Important: Before you clear your browser cache, it’s a good idea to visit your website using Incognito Mode, sometimes called Private Mode. Doing so helps you understand if your browser cache is the actual culprit. In Google Chrome & Microsoft Edge, press Ctrl + Shift + N to open a private tab. In Mozilla Firefox, users can open a private window by pressing Ctrl + Shift + P.

Clear WordPress Cache

A WordPress cache is a saved version of your website’s data that helps users load webpages faster. It stores copies of files, images, and scripts to reduce the time it takes to load the site each time someone visits.

You might be wondering why it is so important to clear the WordPress cache. Interestingly, even if you resolve the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error, you might still face issues if your WordPress cache retains the outdated version of your site.

In this case, clearing the WordPress cache is important because outdated or corrupted cached data can cause problems like slow site performance and WordPress 500 Errors. This happens when the server struggles to deliver the cached version of the site. By clearing the cache, you ensure that the website runs smoothly with updated content.

Now, how to clear the WordPress cache? This can be done in two ways:

1. Using WordPress Plugins
2. Using Your Web Hosting Account

To simplify this, we’ve already implemented WordPress cache plugins and provided step-by-step instructions to clear the WordPress cache. You can find this at:

– How to Clear WordPress, Server, Proxy, and Browser Cache

In the second approach, clearing the WordPress cache using your hosting account depends on your hosting provider. Many web hosts offer built-in caching tools. Below are general steps that apply to some popular hosting providers:

• Access your hosting provider’s control panel by logging into your hosting account.
• Once logged in, search for a section called “Caching” or “Cache Manager” in the control panel. The search box is usually found in the dashboard.
• Click on Clear Cache (or something similar like Delete Cache, Flush Cache, or Purge Cache), a button provided by the hosting platform to remove the cached versions of your website. Some hosts offer different cache layers (e.g., dynamic cache, object cache), so ensure you clear all applicable cache types.

Once you clear the cache, reload the page to see if the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error persists.

Check Server Logs

To dig deeper into the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error, you can check your server logs. The server logs record all activities and events on a web server. They track everything from when someone visits your website to errors happening behind the scenes.

These logs are most useful when diagnosing issues like the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error because they can give you specific details about what caused the error. Instead of guessing, you can look at the server logs to find which part of your site is causing the problem.

For example, server logs might tell you that a particular plugin or theme is failing or that a file is missing, causing the server not to process requests correctly. By looking at these logs, you can quickly identify and fix the problem, which helps get your site back online faster.

So, to check server logs, access your hosting control panel (like cPanel or another hosting dashboard). In most hosting dashboards, you’ll find a section labeled Logs or Error Logs. Click on it to view recent errors on your server. These logs will show a detailed list of all the errors, including the WordPress 500 Error.

Moreover, you may look for entries corresponding to when the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error occurred. This information can tell you what caused the error – a faulty plugin, a theme, or another issue. For Hosted users, we’ve already covered the detailed steps for checking server logs. You can find this at:

– How to Check Server Status and Logs in Hosted® Account

However, if you’re using a host that doesn’t have a logging tool, you can enable the WordPress debugging mode by writing the following code into your wp-config.php file:

define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );

This will enable logging and help you pinpoint the root cause of the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error.

Important: If you’re editing the wp-config.php file for the first time, we’ve made it easy for you by explaining how to edit wp-config.php file.

Check .htaccess File

The .htaccess is a configuration file, which is used by web servers running Apache. It helps manage important settings for your website, such as redirects, security rules, and permalinks.

This file allows you to alter your server’s behavior without accessing the server directly. For example, WordPress uses it to handle pretty permalinks, which make URLs more readable and user-friendly.

However, a corrupted .htaccess file can cause issues like the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error. If the .htaccess file has incorrect or conflicting commands, it can confuse the server, preventing it from loading the site correctly. Here’s how to check your .htaccess file:

Log into the web hosting control panel and go to Files → File Manager.

Now, locate the .htaccess file, usually located in the root directory (folder) of your WordPress installation (e.g., /public_html). To check if this file is causing the error, rename it to something like .htaccess_old. This temporarily disables the file.

After renaming the file, go to your WordPress dashboard, and navigate to Settings → Permalinks. Now click Save Changes without changing anything. This will regenerate a new, clean .htaccess file.

Go to the web page that showed you the WordPress 500 error. If your site works after this, it means the old .htaccess file that you renamed was corrupted. So, now you can restore custom rules one by one from that old .htaccess file to the new one to avoid further issues. Once completed, delete the old .htaccess file.

Important: You can also recreate the .htaccess file using the FTP client. There are multiple FTP clients available in the market; however, if you’re using FileZilla, you can refer to the following section to go through all the steps in detail to regenerate the .htaccess file: How to Regenerate .htaccess File Using FileZilla

Audit WordPress Plugins

If you’re still facing the WordPress 500 error, you might have some issues with your plugins. Plugins can sometimes conflict with each other or your WordPress theme, causing the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error. To identify which plugin is problematic, disable them and audit them singly. Here’s how:

Go to the WordPress Dashboard → Plugins → Installed Plugins. Then, select all plugins. Choose Deactivate from the bulk action menu and hit Apply. This will deactivate all plugins.

Now, refresh your website to check if the error is gone. If it is, reactivate each plugin one at a time, refreshing your site after each one to find the culprit. Once you identify the conflicting plugin, you can either update it, replace it, or ask the plugin developer for support.

Important: This approach will only work if you can access your WordPress dashboard. If you can’t access your WordPress admin area (dashboard), you can use FileZilla to deactivate WordPress plugins temporarily.

Theme Audit

Like plugins, sometimes, a WordPress theme may cause the 500 Internal Server Error. To rule out theme-related issues, try switching to a default theme like Twenty Twenty-One. Here’s how to do it:

In the WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance → Themes and click on Activate to activate a default WordPress theme.

Next, refresh your site to see if the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error is resolved. If the error disappears, your previous theme may be the problem. You can then troubleshoot it further or look for an alternative theme.

Increase PHP Memory Limit

The PHP memory limit is the highest amount of memory a single script or process running on your website can use. Think of it as how much space your computer can use to complete tasks. If a script exceeds this limit, it can’t complete its task, and this can lead to errors.

When your WordPress website runs out of memory because the PHP memory limit is too low, it can trigger a WordPress 500 Error. This error occurs because the server cannot complete the task due to insufficient memory.

In this case, increasing the PHP memory limit gives your site more resources to function smoothly, reducing the chance of the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error. There are several ways to maximize the PHP memory limit:

1. Increase PHP Memory Limit in cPanel
2. Increase PHP Memory Limit in Apache
3. Increase PHP Memory Limit in php.ini File
4. Increase PHP Memory Limit in wp-config.php

Increase PHP Memory Limit in cPanel

Go to cPanel → Software → Select PHP Version.

Then, click on Options.

Locate the memory_limit attribute and select the maximum limit from the dropdown menu.

Important: If you’ve selected the native PHP version, you won’t be able to change PHP modules and options. You need to choose a different PHP version from the dropdown to enable PHP modules and options configuration.

Increase PHP Memory Limit in Apache

Go to your hosting control panel and click on File Manager; this is usually located under the Files section. Those who use Hosted® can find this feature at cPanel → Files → File Manager. Then, navigate to the /public_html directory, which is the root directory of the WordPress installation. After that, locate the .htaccess file, select it, and click Edit at the top.

You’ll be prompted to confirm if you want to edit the original .htaccess file. Click Edit to confirm. However, if you’re unsure, we recommend you backup this file first.

Confirm Edit Action”

Now, add the following line of code and click Save Changes.

php_value memory_limit 128M

Increase PHP Memory Limit in php.ini File

If the previous methods don’t resolve the issue, try editing your php.ini file. First, log in to your site using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and navigate to your site’s root directory. Either open the existing php.ini file or create a new one if it doesn’t already exist.

If the file already exists, locate the memory_limit settings and adjust it if necessary. If you just created the file or can’t find these settings, you can add the following code and adjust the values based on your site’s requirements:

memory_limit = 128M

For some shared hosting environments, you may also need to enable the suPHP directive for changes to take effect. To do this, open your .htaccess file, found in the root directory of your site, and add this code near the top:

<IfModule mod_suphp.c>
    suPHP_ConfigPath /home/yourusername/public_html
</IfModule>

If this method doesn’t work, your host may use .user.ini files instead. To edit this file, log in using FTP, navigate to your site’s root directory again, and open or create the .user.ini file. Then add the following code to increase the memory limit:

memory_limit = 128M

This should help apply the necessary changes.

However, if you’re hosting your website at Hosted®, this process is much easier. You can go to cPanel → Software and click on MultiPHP INI Editor.

In the MultiPHP INI Editor page, select your domain name under the Basic Mode tab.

Navigate to the memory_limit attribute and increase its limit according to your website requirements.

Now, refresh the page. If the memory limit was the source of the error, the WordPress 500 Internal Server Error should now be resolved. If you have gone through all of the previous methods and tried fixing the corrupted WordPress core files but failed, you should contact your hosting provider.

FAQs

Other Related Tutorials & Blogs:

– How to Fix 502 Bad Gateway Error in WordPress

– How to Change Fonts in WordPress: 6 Easy Ways

– How to Export A WordPress Site: A Step-By-Step Guide

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– How to Backup Your WordPress Site: A Comprehensive Guide