WordPress HTTP Error 500: Causes and Solutions

[tongfkymm44]

What is HTTP Error 500 in WordPress?
This HTTP status code is a very common error that usually occurs on any web page that is executed under a server.

In addition to this error, there are several different status codes that you may not be familiar with. Some of these are: code 200 (which means everything is working correctly), or more specific codes such as 501, 502, 503, etc.

In the case of WordPress, when this error appears, we usually see a blank screen that prevents us from seeing anything or accessing the administration panel (wp-admin).

Internal Server Error
Also known by the typical message that says “Internal Server Error”, the causes of this problem can be various, so it is necessary to investigate to find the exact origin of this problem.

Reasons why this error may occur
The two main reasons why this error is generated are: either because there has been a problem with your hosting provider , or because your website is not working correctly.

If we go into a little more detail we can break it down even further:

Htaccess : You have modified this configuration file and the code 500 has been generated due to an error in the code
PHP Memory Limit : Too many resources have been executed and they have needed to use more memory than established, so this error has appeared
File Permissions : Permissions on folders and files have been set incorrectly
Template/Theme : The template you installed is not working properly
Plugin : You have installed a plugin that may have caused this error.
As a tip, it is always recommended to make a full backup of our site before modifying any configuration file, such as the .htaccess file, wp-config or functions.php.

This backup can be done easily and in different ways: using a plugin, also from your hosting panel (if it offers a backup option), or doing it yourself by hand using FTP and then downloading the database using PhpMyAdmin .

How can we solve the Http Error 500
Improve your SEO!
We have already discussed some reasons why our server may generate a 500 error, now we are going to explain some possible solutions:

.htaccess configuration file
Generally speaking, this is one of the most common reasons why this 500 server error occurs, since this file contains many functions that are necessary for the operation of WordPress and, if you touch something without having basic knowledge, it can take down the website from one moment to the next.

To solve this, and once the backup has been made, we can change the file hospital contact email database name to regenerate it again from the administration panel.

Rename .htaccess
To rename the .htaccess file, simply log into your WordPress directory via FTP. Once inside, locate the file in the root directory and, by right-clicking on it, choose the rename option .

You can rename the file to whatever name you want, for example, something like: .htaccess_OLD :

Regenerate .htaccess
If you decide to delete it, you will also need to create a new .htaccess from the permalinks settings within your WordPress. This step is as simple as going to Settings – Permalinks and saving the changes .

WordPress Permalinks
If the 500 error still persists, you can continue reading the article to see if another solution from those I am going to offer can fix this internal server error.

Increase PHP memory limit
Something very common on web pages is that we exhaust the PHP memory limit because we are using too many resources.

The first thing you should know is what memory your hosting is currently offering you, since the minimum required to run WordPress is 64M .

If the memory is less than that amount, you can modify it yourself from the WordPress wp-config.php file, or ask your hosting to increase the PHP memory.

Adding this line of code to your file would be enough to see if the error is due to server memory: define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '64M');

Improve your SEO!
Please note that the server's PHP configuration is the one that rules, so if it is below the limit you set in the WordPress file, it will have no effect .

Change file permissions
Your website may have crashed because you did not have the permissions for your WordPress files properly configured.

This can cause serious security issues and therefore we should configure the permissions as follows to avoid possible fraudulent attacks: 755 for folders and 644 for files .

File and Folder Permissions
To apply these changes, the solution is to enter via FTP and modify them.

Template error
As a last resort, the fault may be with the theme or template you have installed.

Something very common that many users do is download free templates from the Internet and these sometimes contain security problems .

To check if the problem is due to your WordPress template, you can activate one of the default themes and thus, we can check if the error disappears.

Disable plugins
If none of these solutions have been successful so far, another option to solve the problem is to disable all WordPress plugins if we don't know which one.

You have probably installed one that is causing a conflict and has generated this 500 error.

To disable them, there are different ways to do it, although the most effective is to rename the plugins folder using FTP: