When starting your website or blog with WordPress, people sometimes offer unsolicited advice on how best to do this.

Some advice includes using sites where you’re given snippets of code, which you put on your website. They often work like magic, bringing up pop-ups and many other cool features. Often, it becomes spammy. And even after deleting them, the site might still break!

This could send you into panic mode, where you’re worried about your content, the sales you’re not making, and more. The truth is, 404s are not as infrequent as you think they are; everyone has them!

It can happen at least one or more times.

It’s the last thing you want visitors and clients to see on your website, and it can be quite distressing for a beginner. Let’s talk a bit further about 404’s.

What does ‘Error 404’ Not Found Mean?

Error 404 means that the user cannot find specific content on a website. Even though the user successfully connected to the website’s server, it couldn’t find the file requested because there was no resource at that URL.

For instance, if a user tries to access a URL from your page that doesn’t exist, he or she will get a 404 error page because the request isn’t available. This could happen even if you changed or hidden the URL from view to edit the content.

Or, perhaps you publish a post with a long URL, which you later shortened.

Any time the old URL is used, a 404 page comes up. This does not happen to only blog posts. Pages, images, videos, CSS, or JavaScript that are missing can also be affected.

How Does the 404 Error Occur?

HTTP status codes are used to communicate with your website users. Your website’s server normally returns the appropriate HTTP status code when a visitor attempts to load a web page.

There are dozens of different HTTP status codes, each of which is used in different situations. So, In this case, if the requested web page is available, the visitor’s web browser will receive a 200 HTTP status code from your website server.

But if the requested web page is not available, a 404 HTTP status code is generated.

What Causes Error 404 Not Found on WordPress?

A 404 error isn’t the worst. Everyone gets them at one time or the other. They only become concerning when they interfere with your website’s functionality. This error can occur due to the site owner’s actions or that of the users.

As a Site Owner:

• Content hasn’t been uploaded to the page.
• Migration from one domain name to another without changing links.
• Plugin incompatibility that causes URLs to break.
• Deleting or hiding content after it has been published.
• Uninstalling a plugin that was controlling URLs for content.

As a Site Visitor

• URL was entered or copied incorrectly.
• The link to the address is faulty.

Variations of Error 404 Messages from WordPress and Other Sites

Various browsers give error messages differently. On Google Chrome, what you see is: “404. That’s an error. The requested URL was not found on this server. That’s all we know.”

Other messages from various platforms are similar. They can include:

• Not found
• Error 404
• 404 Not Found
• This page cannot be found
• We can’t find the page you’re looking for
• HTTP Error 404
• The requested URL was not found on this server

Other times, these disappointing messages are overshadowed by the creativity applied to customized 404 pages.

For example:

Site owners can choose to be proactive by customizing their own 404 error page in WordPress. This is what shows up instead of the browser’s alternative, which allows the site owner to give more information.

Some may opt to redirect the user to the actual page. Though, this is often done when the developer changed the URL on purpose and creates a 301 redirect.

What Effects Does a 404 Error Have On Your WordPress Website?

Page not found 404 errors can exert influence on SEO. These types of errors are bad for SEO as search engines do not like to see websites with this particular problem.

Unchecked, 404s prevent search engine crawlers from your website’s content. This is because crawlers often follow internal links across your website. With a 404 error page, search engines assume the page is void of content.

This also causes the website to lose equity, thus limiting search engine optimization.

Visitors who follow a link on another website that connects to a page on your site with the wrong URL will also receive the 404-error message. This can lead you to lose traffic to your website. As a result, it will not generate link equity to rank higher in search.

More importantly, visitors are negatively affected by 404 errors. When people visit your site, they expect it to bring up the right page when they click on a link. The 404 error prevents visitors from accessing the desired WordPress webpages.

When the 404s become too frequent, visitors will leave the site and may never come back. This robs you of the chance to turn visitors into customers.

Fixing Error 404 On WordPress

Dealing with 404’s can be very rewarding. It may be taxing, trying to figure out the source of the problem. But you’ll be pleased to have your site running as it should without freak glitches.

Before we go on, there is one very important thing that must be done before you attempt to fix 404 problems. Back up your files!

You don’t want to forget to do this before making changes to your site. In the event something goes wrong, you’ll be able to recover without losing your content.

Now, we’ll go on to practical ways of fixing your error 404 pages.

Update Your Permalinks

Fixing URLS involves doing so manually by going to your permalinks in settings and saving changes. It is more applicable with error 404 messages seen after migrating from one domain to another.

You need to go to your permalinks in the settings section, select the preferred option and save changes. This solves some of the problems caused within WordPress.

In fact, sometimes simply clicking “Save Changes” without changing anything forces WordPress to reinitialize the permalinks. It actually solves a lot of URL-related issues and is the first thing many developers will check.

Adjusting permalinks is usually recommended as the first step before trying the plugins. If you still get the same error for some pages, they might be cached by your browser. You may need to clear your browser cache before changes are visible.

Using Plugins

This is when you set up 301 redirects for content that have been renamed, moved, or deleted. Sometimes 404s show up because the URL for content has been changed, or the resources on the page have been edited, deleted, or moved somewhere else manually.

Thus, visitors try to go to the old location or use the old URL. Automatically redirecting them to the new page if it exists is often the best fix.

For the plugins, you navigate to your dashboard and then to plugins. Input 404 in the keyword search. Some of these plugins include Redirection, 404 to 301, 404-Page your smart custom 404 error page, and more.

The Redirection plugin has been around for a while, and it’s still getting updates, making it a very good fit for your website.

Click on install and activate for a specific plugin such as ‘404 redirect to homepage’. It is enabled by default and then appears in your menu. The 404 URL will then show a list of all the links or incoming traffic to your non-existent pages.

This way, you can track it and see how many hits specific pages get.

These plugins will detect 404s, and when they happen, redirect every one of your 404 pages to a page you specify, usually your homepage. Any other page or post can also be used, which keeps your visitors engaged and saves you from losing them.

They can also notify you that there is a 404 in the first place. You then decide the page to redirect visitors to, preferably a page that’s better suited for that particular 404.

These plugins would redirect a 404 as soon as it is detected and before Google finds it. Otherwise, a Google bot may land on a 404 first which could hurt your SERPs.

Using Google Search Console

You may also find 404’s in Google’s Search Console. You can go through your 404’s here and fix them by redirecting them; sometimes, it was a page you failed to create.

Sometimes, the reason for the error is a difference in the domain name of the page that should be on the site and what is currently available. This may be due to a change in the website.

Fixing this case doesn’t necessarily require an extra plugin. You can use the ‘.htaccess’ if your host uses an Apache server.

These steps can help fix a 404 issue. However, you can reach out to WordPress Support Service for assistance if it persists. One of WordPress’ many developers may help you out.

Another thing you can do is create your own 404 page and customize it to help your guests find their way back to your website. Plugins are also useful here. An example of this is the 404-Page plugin, for instance.

Creating Your Own Error 404 Not Found Page on WordPress

Although we have discussed extensively fixing your 404 pages, sometimes, they will still happen for a variety of reasons. You want to be prepared.

You can do much on your end to avoid 404s, but user factors are not within your reach. A user might input a wrong URL, and a 404 page comes up.

The standard 404-page WordPress contains a short message saying the page is missing under the search bar. Customizing your page gives you something better to display.

First, we install a free plugin to help it set up. Something like the 404page plugin is a good tool to install and activate. Other plugins are 404page or Custom 404 Pro.

Next, we create a new page to serve as the custom 404 page. Then, we go ahead and add any content we want. The content can include:

• adding an image
• a message explaining that the page is missing
• a list of main pages and post categories
• the most popular blog posts
• perhaps a button to bring the reader back to the home page

Afterward, you can publish the custom 404 page, which will have a chance to further engage the visitor.

Go to appearance and click the 404 error page. Here, we choose the new 404 page from the dropdown menu.

We save the changes and test the 404 page to ensure it is live and active on the site. If anyone visits a deleted page or an incorrect URL on the site, they will be redirected to this new 404 page instead of the original.

Having a customized error 404 page like this will be much better for keeping people on the site and help improve rating with Google by lowering bounce rates. It is very important, though, to keep the customized page light.

How Do You Monitor 404 Errors in the Future?

Pay close attention to pages and posts generating 404 errors by using any of the tools below.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console allows you to track 404 issues that Google’s bot crawlers detect. It is the simplest and fastest method as it does not require any third-party plugins or further scanning of your sites.

Google bots constantly monitor your site, which helps to take advantage of that feature. Especially since it tracks hard and soft 404 errors.

Soft vs. Hard 404 Errors

There are two types of 404 errors found on WordPress: Soft and Hard. Hard 404 error occurs when the website’s server responds with a 404 HTTP status code.

A soft 404 error, on the other hand, is a faux error that occurs when your website delivers a 200 HTTP status code when Google believes it should return a 404 HTTP status code.

When Google scans a broken link on your website that leads to a non-existent web page, it logs the activity as a 404 error in Google Search Console. Access the coverage option in Search Console and click the excluded box in the upper right corner to see the 404 errors.

Hard and soft 404 will be present under the details section.

You must have added your WordPress site to Search Console to utilize this feature. You can do this by submitting the sitemap for your website. It is also an important step in SEO.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics tracks and displays 404 errors using custom reports. These are useful for tracking internal and external broken links that lead to bad pages on your site.

Internal links point from one page on your website to another. These errors can easily be fixed because you have full control over those links.

External links are those from other websites to pages or posts on your site. You don’t have direct control over these links and can’t just fix them. But it is still a problem with solutions that work.

Using a WordPress Plugin

Suppose you want to use a WordPress plugin. The Redirection plugin, as mentioned earlier, can do more than automatically redirect the pages. It can also let you monitor for 404 issues from your WordPress dashboard.

There’s a reason why this particular plugin is among the most popular and used tools in the WordPress repository. It works exceptionally well and helps you maintain your content.

Third-Party Audit Tool

The Internet has several third-party tools available for eliminating technical SEO issues and finding out how and where a website’s crawlability needs to be improved.

They analyze and give reports on the speed and performance of your website, how accessible your site is to bots and search engines, and can check the security of your WordPress installation.

You may also use a third-party audit tool like Ahrefs to check your WordPress site for 404 problems. You may even plan this to run regularly.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, 404 errors will occur on your site whether you like it or not. The bigger your WordPress site gets, the more visitors you’ll receive. I mean, that is the plan, after all.

We recommend creating a strong workflow for monitoring and correcting these types of issues and having a periodic schedule where you manually fix these problems. Automatic tools aren’t always the most reliable.

Keeping on top of your 404s helps your ratings as these errors are never good for your visitors, brand, or Google search results.

If this has helped you, or you have additional clarifications, kindly let us know in the comments below.

The post How to Fix the 404 Page Not Found Error In WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

But if the error crops up on your site, it’s a problem.

Luckily, we have a solution!

Well, honestly, we have several solutions to the WordPress 500 error problem. There are several because it’s impossible to know exactly what’s causing an HTTP 500 error.

What to Check to Solve an HTTP 500 Error

Imagine that your car breaks down, and you have it towed to your favorite mechanic. The mechanic opens the hood and pokes around and says, “Oh, yeah, there’s definitely something wrong here.” When you ask what, exactly, is wrong, the mechanic says, “Yeah, well, I don’t know, but it’s something.”

That’s what an HTTP 500 error is. A mechanic (also known as a web server) who doesn’t know what’s wrong.

It’s the webserver telling you that something – technically, “an unexpected condition” – prevented it from completing your request. The 500 is simply a web server status code. Every time you load a web page, the server processes the request and sends back a status code. So even when a page loads properly, with no errors, a status code is returned from the server.

The HTTP 500 error means, specifically, the server encountered an unexpected condition that prevented it from fulfilling the request.

Since we’re talking about WordPress, the possibilities for what could be wrong are thankfully (usually) limited. Let’s look at the causes of the HTTP 500 error, or Internal Server Error, on a WordPress site. And more importantly, let’s explore the possible solutions.

What Did You Just Do?

No, really, what did you just do?

If you experience an error after installing a plugin or uploading a file or changing a setting, start there. I know that sounds obvious, but even the best of us can overlook, or live in denial of, self-inflicted errors.

Uninstall the plugin, delete or revert the file, roll-back the setting. If the error disappears, you’ll have to take another approach to whatever you were doing. It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds.

Plenty of WordPress plugins can break your site the minute they’re activated.

If you didn’t do anything that may have caused the error, try waiting a minute and reloading the page.

That may also seem obvious, but the cause of the error could be a temporarily overloaded server. If you wait a minute and reload, the page may pop back up.

You might also try opening the page or site in another browser, or clearing your browser cache. I wouldn’t recommend clearing browser cache as one of your first troubleshooting attempts. Depending on your browser, clearing cache can eliminate a lot of useful everyday shortcuts and URL autocompletes.

Before moving on to a more involved fix, try the Down for Everyone or Just Me website. It’s a simple tool that checks the HTTP status code returned from the server.

If the code returned is anything other than 200, the site will return a “down” result. In which case, it’s time to get to work on a fix.

Those are the easiest troubleshooting and fixes. Now let’s move on to the more elusive ones.

What Causes the WordPress HTTP 500 Error?

Finding the cause of a persistent internal server error on a WordPress site is a process of trial and error. There are six things we’re going to try, but first, let’s turn on debugging to give ourselves some clues.

1. Turn On Debugging
2. Check the .htaccess File
3. Deactivate Any Plugins (All of Them)
4. Try a Different Theme
5. Replace the WordPress Core Files
6. Check WordPress Memory

1. Turn On Debugging

You can turn on debugging in the wp-config file and log all errors, notices, and warnings to a file called debug.log in the wp-content directory. This file is located in the root of your WordPress file directory and contains your website’s base configuration details, such as database-connection information.

You can edit it from there, or download, edit, and then upload it back. Your choice.

Insert the following code into the wp-config to accomplish the above. This code will also hide the errors so they do not interrupt page generation.

[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]// Enable WP_DEBUG mode
define( ‘WP_DEBUG’, true );

// Enable Debug logging to the /wp-content/debug.log file
define( ‘WP_DEBUG_LOG’, true );

// Disable display of errors and warnings
define( ‘WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY’, false );
@ini_set( ‘display_errors’, 0 );

// Use dev versions of core JS and CSS files (only needed if you are modifying these core files)
define( ‘SCRIPT_DEBUG’, true );[/ht_message]

2. Check the .htaccess File

You can check the .htaccess file for any errors once you locate it. The WordPress .htaccess file is found in the root of your WordPress install. This means you will need to access your cPanel.

The file is usually hidden because it is so important. WordPress wants to keep it safe from being accidentally deleted. You will need to do a couple of things to find it. These are general instructions for cPanel, and may differ slightly based on your host but will work the same.

Access File Manager in cPanel: Once in your cPanel, click on the file manager link and head over to your files. Once inside, you need to make the .htaccess file visible.

Make .htaccess File Visible: To do this, click on “Settings.” This is usually located up in the right-hand corner of the cPanel File Manager area. As soon as you select Settings, a popup window will appear. From there, select the option “Show Hidden Files.”

Now, go back to the public_html folder and the .htaccess will should be visible.

From here, you can edit the .htaccess file using one of three methods. Whatever you are most comfortable with is the one you should go with.

1. Edit .htaccess WordPress File from cPanel
2. Edit .htaccess WordPress File using FTP Client
3. Use WP htaccess Editor plugin to edit the file

Note: Before doing any of the above, always make a complete backup of your WordPress website. Just in case something goes wrong.

3. Deactivate Plugins (All of Them)

You can also try and fix an HTTP 500 error by deactivating plugins. You can choose to deactivate them one by one or deactivate all of them. Both ways work.

If you deactivate them all at once, then activate them one by one and look for the error. When you see it, you will know that it is that plugin causing the issue.

4. Try a Different Theme

Oftentimes an HTTP 500 error can be caused by theme conflicts. You can try to fix the errors within the theme, but that can get complicated depending on the theme you are running and what needs to be done.

For an easier fix, try using another theme and see if that fixes the problem. WordPress has no shortage of amazing themes available for use. You can also use a page builder like Elementor to make the site look like you want using another layout.

5. Replace the WordPress Core Files

This is actually not as complicated as the title suggests. In reality, you are simply installing WordPress again so you can have a fresh start. There are some different choices when it comes to installing a fresh copy of WordPress.

1. You can install WordPress manually
2. Install WordPress using a one-click installation method
3. You can also use an FTP client as well (most complicated way)
4. You can re-install WordPress from the Update page.

6. Check WordPress Memory

Another option to look into in order to fix an HTTP 500 error is the WordPress memory. You can check the memory and define it to what you might need using multiple options. Remember, if this part is too complicated for you, then have your web host help you.

Here are some ways you can check WordPress memory.

Edit the php.ini File

You need access to the php.ini file. Change this line. If your line shows 64M try 128M:

memory_limit = 128M

*M stands for Megabytes.

Edit the .htaccess File

If you don’t have access to .ini or the above method has failed, then try adding this to the .htaccess file:

php_value memory_limit 128M

.htaccess file is located in the root directory of your WordPress installation. You can access it using the instructions above.

Edit wp-config File

Add this to the top of the file, before the line that says, “Happy Blogging”

define (‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘128M’);

wp-config file is located in the root directory of your WordPress installation.

Change Your PHP Version

Some hosting providers set specific memory limits and force you to use a certain version of PHP. You can usually change this in your cPanel if you know-how. In fact, GreenGeeks lets you change the PHP version quite easily.

However, the easiest thing to do is to contact the support team of your hosting account and have them change or update the PHP version for you.

That’s it. Those are the steps and processes you have at hand to help get your errors fixed. If none of these work, then you need to contact your hosting provider.

Final Thoughts

The HTTP 500 error is annoying, but it doesn’t mean that your site has fully collapsed around you. You have several options at your disposal. Trying them should get you the fix. There are so many things that the error could be, that options for fixing it are readily available.

Again, if you have any issues with the fixes above, then get in contact with your hosting provider and have them help you.

The post How to Fix the HTTP 500 Error in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

The main problem with this error message is its lack of description. The error message does not, in any way, tell you what is wrong. This makes it challenging to resolve for beginners. That’s not an uncommon issue where many errors are involved.

Today, I will demonstrate how to resolve “The Link You Followed Has Expired” error in WordPress.

There are several different methods available, and we’ll cover a few of them. We’ll also touch on some troubleshooting methods that you can use when you run into other WordPress errors.

What Causes the “The Link You Followed Has Expired” Error?

It is always important to understand the cause of an error message because this gives you the knowledge to avoid it in the future. I know that’s easier said than done in a lot of cases. We’ll talk about that more in a minute.

As for “The Link You Followed Has Expired,” typically, you will experience this error when you are in the process of uploading a theme or plugin from the admin panel.

The issue is caused by the file upload limit defined by your web host. In most cases, the limit is high enough to avoid these kinds of errors. However, if the file is larger than usual, or your host has set a low file upload limit, the error can occur.

If you were trying to upload a large file or directory other than a plugin or theme, you would most likely run into the “Maximum Execution Time Exceeded” error. Two different errors, but the root cause is the same in both cases.

However, this error isn’t too hard to fix.

Let’s Fix “The Link You Followed Has Expired” in WordPress

Since the error is caused by an upload limit set by your web host, all you need to do is increase that limit.

Nothing to it, right?

There are multiple ways to do this, and all of them require adding a few lines of code. Don’t let that discourage you. You do not need to be a coding expert to fix this error. As long as you can copy and paste, you will be fine.

Method 1: functions.php File

The functions.php file is the most edited file for the majority of websites. However, keep in mind that this is tied to your current WordPress theme.

Thus if you decide to change your theme later, your upload limit will be set back to the default value. But if you do not change your theme often, then this is the easiest file to edit.

This is one of the reasons why it’s always a good idea to use a child theme when running a WordPress website.

If you do plan on changing themes and don’t want to use a child theme, you might prefer to try the next method. That one involves an edit to the .htaccess file, which is not part of WordPress, so a WordPress update won’t overwrite it.

But to stop the error via the functions.php file, here’s what to do. Locate your theme’s function.php file and paste the following code into it:

@ini_set( 'upload_max_size' , '100M' );
@ini_set( 'post_max_size', '100M');
@ini_set( 'max_execution_time', '300' );

Make sure to change the upload_max_size and post_max_size values to the necessary sizes you need. You must also make sure the max-execution-time is long enough for the file to be uploaded.

Save the changes to the file, and your error should be resolved.

Some Things to Note About This Method

I would recommend that you keep the above values as low as possible, while still increasing them enough to fix the error.

There are a couple of reasons for that approach. First, you don’t necessarily want to allow long execution times, as that can have a negative effect on your website performance during large uploads. If you upload a lot of large files, that can be an issue.

Second, shorter execution times and a smaller upload size can prevent a hacker from easily uploading large files. Granted, that’s a less likely scenario. But considering that 90,000 WordPress sites are hacked every day (more than one every second!), it’s something that could happen to any of us.

Method 2: .htaccess File

If you change your theme often or are planning to do so soon, altering the .htaccess file is the best option.

The .htaccess file lives in the root (often public_html) directory of your website and allows you to configure certain types of web server behavior. That configuration is done by either adding or removing directives from the file.

Simply locate the .htaccess file (again, it’s usually in the root directory of your site, not the WordPress directory) and paste the following lines of code:

php_value upload_max_filesize 100M
php_value post_max_size 100M
php_value max_execution_time 300
php_value max_input_time 300

Remember to adjust these values to meet your specific needs. But the same recommendations I made for method #1 apply here. You don’t want to add necessarily high values.

Save the changes to the file you should no longer see “The Link You Followed Has Expired Error” message.

Method 3: php.ini File

Sometimes finding the .htaccess file can prove challenging. If you want to avoid that entirely, and also not use the functions.php method, there is still another option—the php.ini file.

However, it is important to know that if you are on a shared hosting package, the php.ini file may not exist, or it may not be user-editable. In that case, you might try to create a blank php.ini file in your website’s root directory.

Once you have located or created the php.ini file, paste the following lines of code in it:

upload_max_filesize = 100M
post_max_size = 100M
max_execution_time = 300

Adjust these values as you see fit.

Save the changes, and your error will be resolved.

Method 4: Update Your PHP Version

Outside of increasing the upload limit, another cause of this error is an out-of-date PHP version. As you can probably imagine, the solution is just to update your PHP version, which you should be doing anyway.

The good news is that this is extremely easy to do, so let’s begin.

Step 1: Locate the Choose PHP Version Tool

WordPress is built using the PHP coding language and it is constantly being updated. It is technically possible to use older PHP versions and not have any errors, but this is usually only for websites that are purposely using older tools.

If your website is modern, you should be using the latest PHP version available. You can easily select what version of PHP your site is using directly from the cPanel.

Start by logging into your hosting account and accessing the cPanel.

Once inside, look for the Software section and select the Select PHP Version option.

Step 2: Choose PHP Version

The recommended PHP version in WordPress is 7.4. There are newer versions of PHP available, but the WordPress team still recognizes this as the best in 2022. Thus, you should have this version.

At the top, you will see a drop-down box to select your current PHP version. Choose 7.4.

Once you change it your site will be updated, there is no “Save” button, so you can leave the page after making your selection. If your PHP version was the issue, it should resolve the error now.

It’s Easy to Fix the “The Link You Followed Has Expired” Error in WordPress

One of the biggest mistakes that new developers make is panicking over an error message. While WordPress could do a better job of listing the exact cause of an error, there are plenty of other places to find the information.

As a web developer, you will run into errors at some point. It’s unavoidable, but it’s also completely normal. Even the best developers sometimes make changes that can break some parts of their websites. None of us are immune.

The good news is that it’s easy to fix WordPress errors. The majority of these problems can be resolved within a few minutes.

You can also consider using a backup to restore your website before the error appeared. However, I recommend doing this as a last resort. Mainly because of how easy it is to repair most WordPress issues.

But also because if you restore from a backup, you’ll never know the cause of the error. (Unless it appears again, at which point you’ll be back to square one and have to determine what’s causing the error.)

Were you trying to upload a theme or plugin from the admin area when you ran into this error? Which file did you choose to edit?

The post How to Resolve “The Link You Followed Has Expired” Error in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Like most common WordPress errors, this one can be easily resolved, and there are a few ways to go about it. While it’s not hard, times are of the essence because your website is inaccessible while it is occurring, which means you are losing money.

Today I will cover how to fix the WordPress maintenance mode error in less than five minutes.

What Causes the WordPress Maintenance Mode Error?

So technically speaking, WordPress maintenance mode is a feature and not an error, but I doubt you feel that way.

This mode occurs when WordPress downloads and installs update files and would normally occur for just a few seconds at most. During this time, WordPress creates a new file called .maintenance in the root file of your website.

And if everything goes right, the system will delete that file and end maintenance mode. However, sometimes things can go wrong.

When they do, maintenance mode will persist until you take manual action. The most likely problem causing this error to persist is either a slow hosting environment or if your PHP memory limit is set too low.

Either of these will cause the update to time out and thus, the .maintenance file does not get deleted. This results in a pesky error message and a lot of downtime.

The good news is that you just need to remove that .maintenance file and the error will go away.

How to Fix the Maintenance Mode Error in WordPress

Step 1: Locate the .maintenance File

So to summarize, all you need to do is delete the .maintenance file for your WordPress website to not be stuck in maintenance mode. To do this, you will need to log into your cPanel.

The login information is provided to you by your web host.

Normally, I would recommend creating a backup of your website before accessing your website’s root files., however, your website is already down, this would be a bad backup to make. That said, you could also restore your website using the most recent backup.

This would be another way to restore your website. That said if you don’t have an up-to-date backup, that’s not an option.

Click on the File Manager option.

Enter the public_html directory. This is where all of your website’s files are stored. Locate the .maintenance mode file.

Step 2: Delete the .maintenance File

Right-click on the .maintenance file and select the delete option.

And that’s it. Your website will no longer be in maintenance mode. Congratulations!

Things You Should Know About Maintenance Mode in WordPress

How Can I Avoid Maintenance Mode Error in the Future?

If you don’t want your WordPress website stuck in maintenance mode again, there are a few things you can do to avoid it.

As I said earlier, this error occurs when WordPress takes too long to update its core files, plugins, or themes. One way to ensure this doesn’t happen is to ensure that you are updating these one at a time.

Or in other words, don’t use bulk actions for updates. Normally, this isn’t an issue. But sometimes this can cause a problem, especially when the updates are large. Thus, it’s better to just not do it.

Of course, you really shouldn’t have to do this.

More than likely, this is occurring because you are in a bad hosting environment. If this is the case, I highly suggest switching to a better web host. Not only will this help prevent the error from occurring again, but it will improve your website’s overall performance.

This can lead to better rankings as speed is a factor Google and other search engines use to rank websites.

Can I Customize the Maintenance Mode Page?

Absolutely!

WordPress is all about customization, so you can definitely customize the maintenance page. In fact, there are several plugins that actually add templates you can use. For instance, the Website Builder by SeedProd plugin is an excellent choice.

It specializes in helping you create pages in WordPress, and this includes maintenance mode. It even goes a step further by providing Google with a 503 error so it knows that your website is in maintenance mode and not just completely broken.

This can help limit any impact on your search rankings.

Maintenance Mode Is Over, But My Website Is Still Broken

Sometimes just fixing the maintenance mode error is not enough. The error occurs because an update failed. And that can cause a variety of problems.

Now as you may have guessed, the errors really depend on the type of update it was. For instance, if it was a core file update, you will need to manually update WordPress with an FTP client.

Whereas if it was just a plugin, you could just try deleting the plugin and reinstalling it.

Can I Place My Website in Maintenance Mode Manually?

Of course!

Maintenance mode is a feature, and it’s a pretty useful one at that. There are multiple situations where you may need to put your website in maintenance mode while making changes.

The easiest way to do this is with the WP Maintenance Mode plugin. After installing it, there is a small settings section that you can use to toggle the mode on or off. There are also options to customize the message, so you can use it to let your visitors know when maintenance will end.

Is There A Better Option Than Maintenance Mode?

Yes, you can clone your website and use the clone as a testing environment.

A clone of your website is an exact copy. You can then add it as a subdomain on your hosting account and edit it to your heart’s content. More importantly, you can actively test things like plugins and themes without having to take your actual website down.

Then once you are happy with the changes, you can copy them onto your live site. This is how a lot of website developers ensure a fully-functional website nearly all of the time.

Think about it; have you ever not been able to access Amazon? Probably not (unless the PS5 is in stock for five minutes).

These websites thoroughly test their updates because a simple mistake could cost them millions of dollars. Your website shouldn’t be any different.

Act Fast! Avoid Extended Downtime

WordPress errors can lead to a lot of downtime if you don’t fix them quickly. And sometimes you may not even be aware the error is occurring until someone notifies you. That’s why you need to stay vigilant and regularly check your website.

It is a good policy to always make sure your website is accessible multiple times throughout the day. You should even make sure you are aware when automatic updates occur. That way, you can check afterward to make sure nothing broke.

The good news is that fixing errors in WordPress is pretty easy. Most of them have very easy solutions and we have guides that can help you.

How often does the WordPress maintenance mode error occur? Did you find the solution easy to achieve?

The post How to Fix the WordPress Maintenance Mode Error appeared first on GreenGeeks.

So, what can you do to fix errors like these in WordPress? The problem is the lack of information WordPress gives you. This means you’ll need to do a bit of troubleshooting in WordPress to fix your specific problem.

Today, I’ll show you nine methods you can try to fix the “are you sure you want to do this” error in WordPress.

Some of these are pretty basic and can help fix a lot of different problems on your website.

Why Do You Get, “Are You Sure You Want to Do This?” Error

Unfortunately, there are several things that can cause the error to occur. Everything from security layer keys to protect WordPress to hackers gaining control of the site can cause this message to appear.

Bad coding in plugins, not enough memory, and cached files can also cause issues.

9 Ways to fix, “are you sure you want to do this?”

1. Verify Uploads Are Correct Formats

One thing that can throw this particular error is using file formats WordPress cannot recognize. For example, manually uploading a plugin through WordPress requires the use of a .ZIP file.

This means you cannot use other formats such as .RAR.

You also want to check the compatibility of any files you use on the site. Things like images and file attachments may also cause problems on the website if they’re not supported.

If you integrate file formats to use in posts and pages, make sure you’re using the correct types. I know a lot of people like integrating spreadsheets and presentations, and not all formats are supported by WordPress or other plugins.

2. Deactivate All Plugins

Another major culprit to showing the “are you sure you want to do this error” is incompatible or malfunctioning plugins. This often happens when the plugin is coded incorrectly or is incompatible with others you may have installed.

Deactivate all of your plugins and try to reproduce the error. If the error is gone, then you know it was a plugin. Afterward, enable each plugin one by one until the error comes back.

If you’re unable to access the WordPress backend, you can use an FTP program such as Filezilla to change the name of the “plugins” folder in WordPress to “plugins.deactivated.” This will remove the plugins from use on your site.

3. Deactivate All Themes

Plugins are not the only thing that can cause issues. Sometimes a theme has a similar issue with functionality and compatibility. A good way to test this is by switching back to default WordPress themes like, “Twenty Seventeen.”

Themes added to versions of WordPress are thoroughly tested and approved. It’s extremely unlikely these files will cause an error and will help eliminate the theme as being the cause of your error.

4. Make Sure Plugins and Themes are Updated and Current

I’ve read how some users fixed the “are you sure you want to do this” error by simply updating files and clearing the site’s cache. This is usually because older themes and plugins might have corrupt coding elements or other issues.

For instance, some tools don’t work in newer versions of WordPress using PHP 7. If a developer updates coding for the new version of PHP, they often publish an update.

It’s always a good idea to keep WordPress plugins updated. This helps prevent security issues as well as keep the tools you love working.

5. Expand PHP Memory Limits

Some functions of websites can exhaust the PHP memory limit of your web-hosted account. In fact, the white screen of death is among the most common WordPress errors and is caused by pushing the PHP memory limit.

Ways to verify this include:

• Disabling all of your plugins
• Switch to a basic or minimalist theme
• Check the PHP memory usage through cPanel

You can find the php memory limit of your web host through cPanel and switch the version of the software. From there, you can edit the amount of memory you want to allocate.

Of course, this also depends on your host and how much you’re able to increase the limit.

6. Create a New wp-config.php File

If you make changes to the wp-config.php file, or if it becomes corrupted somehow, it can cause problems. This file contains the login information for your database as well as the WordPress security keys, also known as “salts.”

These protect WordPress as well as any stored information.

One way to create a new wp-config.php file is to use the wp-config-sample.php file as a template and enter all of your pertinent information. However, you’ll want to use new unique security keys and salts for WordPress.

You can generate new keys and salts by using the WordPress.org secret key web page. These keys are generated with each visit, so you never get the same ones twice.

7. Clear the Cache in WordPress

One way to make your site faster is by using caching systems like W3 Total Cache. Unfortunately, sometimes these saved pages will store problematic files and coding.

For example, updating a plugin means little if you don’t clear the cache. Visitors will still access the saved file until the cache is refreshed.

Luckily, most systems have a button clearly marked, “clear cache” or something similar. Once you click it, the files are removed and WordPress builds a new one with the most current data, coding, and images.

8. Clear Your Browser Cache

The website cache isn’t the only source of a “are you sure you want to do this” error. Your own browser might also store those bad files and outdated data.

I can recall a lot of times when the cache stored in Google Chrome caused issues for my website as well as others that I visit.

While keeping a cache helps the user experience when browsing the web, sometimes a good cleaning is in order. This is especially true if you’re trying to troubleshoot your WordPress website.

9. Make Sure Your Site is Secure

And lastly, always make sure you have solid security measures in place. If you are getting the “are you sure you want to do this” error, it could signify an attack on your website.

Never assume you’re doing enough to prevent the criminal element from accessing WordPress.

One of my favorite plugins to use is Wordfence. It’s a free tool that does a great job against brute force attacks, SQL injections, file scanning and much more.

My point is that everyone should have some kind of security plugin installed, even if it’s a small personal blog.

Keeping on Top of WordPress

WordPress is a stable system for managing a website. However, you do need to stay on top of things if you want it to continue performing well. This means updates, database clean-ups, and general maintenance.

Think of your WordPress website as digital real estate. You need to keep up on the maintenance if you don’t want the “building” to fall apart.

What kind of errors do you come across in WordPress? What’s the most common problem you have with the content management system?

The post How to Fix the WordPress Error: “Are You Sure You Want to Do This?” appeared first on GreenGeeks.

However, there are so many things that can cause a 504 error to appear in your browser that it’s difficult to say with certainty what is causing the issue.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you several methods regarding how to fix a 504 gateway timeout error in WordPress.

What is a 504 Gateway Timeout Error?

A 504 error will occur when one server did not get a response from another in a timely manner.

For example, a DNS contacts the web hosting server when delivering pages to a visitor. If there is a hiccup in the response from the hosted server and it takes too long, you might see a 504 error.

Unfortunately, an error 504 gateway timeout in WordPress is caused by a lot of things. Anything from a poorly developed HTACCESS file to incompatible plugins can cause a slow server response.

When the website is unavailable due to this problem, you may lose visitors. You can also experience a drop in search rankings if Google comes across your site as it’s throwing the 504 error.

In other words, it’s incredibly important to always ensure the stability of your site.

In most cases, the fixes for this type of problem are relatively simple. The problem is that it can take quite a long time to finally discover the issue.

A few of the things that can create a 504 gateway timeout error include:

• DNS Problems
• Slow Server Issues
• Blocks from Firewalls
• Proxy Server Connection Issues
• Website Development Errors
• Web Browser Problems
• Network Connectivity Errors

So what are some things you can do to fix a WordPress 504 gateway timeout error?

1. Wait for Server Response

Sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing at all. In some instances, you may just want to wait until the server responds.

In reality, there is a vast number of devices between you and the web host. A problem at any one of these points can cause a slow response. In this case, you can just come back to the site a bit later.

It can take anywhere from a few moments to a few hours, depending on the underlying problem.

2. Disable Your VPN

Virtual private networks, or VPNs, are increasingly popular nowadays. However, these VPNs may also have problems contacting the web hosting server.

If the WordPress website is giving you a 504 gateway timeout error, try disabling the VPN. If the website starts working, you know the problem lies somewhere in the VPN itself.

You may want to contact your provider for more information.

3. Disable the Website’s Firewall

Firewalls are excellent at keeping out hackers, bots, and malicious coding. Unfortunately, it’s this awesomeness that often poses a problem. If your firewall is too strict or is having a problem, it can create errors in browsing.

This often happens from third-party firewalls outside of the WordPress environment. Try disabling it to see if the problem clears up.

Even the best security plugins for WordPress may have problems reaching your web host.

4. Verify the HTACCESS File

The HTACCESS file of your site manages how people and bots view your content. If there is a problem within the file, it could easily throw various errors including 504.

Take a few moments and examine the HTACCESS file for WordPress. Sometimes a plugin or improper settings can wreak havoc.

If you’re unsure about how it works, you can always create a blank file to use as a test.

5. Clean the Database for WordPress

A cluttered database can cause all kinds of problems for WordPress. The system will even save every revision of every post you create. This amount of digital debris will cause issues in a database.

It’s always a good idea to routinely clean and optimize the database. It may prevent the gateway timeout error from happening while improving the performance of the website.

6. Disable Plugins in WordPress

Plugins provide a way to expand what the website can do for visitors and admins. However, some can also promote a variety of issues including a timeout from the web server.

Deactivating all the plugins lets you identify whether one of them is giving you a problem or not. If the 504 error goes away, re-enable the plugins one by one until you come across the one causing the issue.

7. Switch to the Default Theme

While themes don’t often cause 504 timeout errors, it is possible. This completely depends on how the theme was developed and any of its integrated features.

Switch to one of the default WordPress themes, like Twenty Sixteen, and test the site.

The default themes in WordPress are often the safest when it comes to troubleshooting. This is because they are made and maintained by the developers at WordPress.org specifically for the core system.

8. Monitor for Attacks from Bots and Spam

You might also want to consider attacks from bots and spammers. A distributed denial of service attack, or DDoS, can render a server useless or incredibly slow.

Although the web host’s servers usually prevent these kinds of attacks, it’s not uncommon for them to still happen.

Check your firewall’s logs to see if your site is being attacked.

Other Solutions For the 504 Gateway Timeout Error

The 504 gateway timeout error can also be caused by a number of external things not related to your WordPress website. In fact, sometimes it’s caused by your own web browser.

Here are a few things you might want to check on your end if you see this problem persist.

• Clear the Browser’s Cache
  The web browser’s cache can store problematic web coding. This may cause a variety of errors, and emptying is perhaps one of the easiest ways to fix the issue.
• Turn off Network Proxy
  If you use a network proxy, you might want to consider disabling it. In some instances, proxies are unable to receive a response from the site’s server and will give you the 504 error.
• Reboot Your Networking Devices
  It’s always a good idea to power cycle your networking equipment. This includes everything from your computer to your router or network hub. Don’t forget to reboot your Internet device as well.
• Try a Different DNS
  Sometimes your ISP’s DNS may have a glitch in the system. You can always use the “8.8.8.8” DNS server in your device’s network settings. This is the Google Public DNS, and often solves many connection problems.
• Contact Web Host or ISP
  Lastly, you can always contact your ISP or web hosting provider to ensure there is nothing wrong on their end. An outage can create a myriad of problems including the dreaded 504 gateway error.

There is a variety of things that will affect Internet connections and website behavior. Just remember to be patient.

It May Take a Bit of Troubleshooting to Fix

In reality, many things can cause the error 504 gateway timeout in WordPress. From the site itself to your own browser, it takes a bit of troubleshooting to really find the heart of the problem.

Start with the easiest fixes first. Sometimes all it takes is patience for the server to respond.

What kind of error codes have you seen on your website? How often do you come across errors created by WordPress plugins and themes?

The post How to Fix a WordPress 504 Gateway Timeout Error appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Here you will find the most common errors when you install an SSL certificate on your WordPress website. Luckily, none of these are particularly difficult to resolve, so there is no need to panic if you have run into one.

Today, I will show you how you can easily fix the SSL issues in the WordPress website when you install an SSL certificate.

Why Should You Start Using SSL?

Simply stated, SSL is an encryption method that secures the connections between your browser and your WordPress hosting server. If not installed properly, or it doesn’t match, then most of the modern browsers will show a warning to the user stating that they should not connect to the website.

If visitors receive this message, they most likely will not proceed. Thus, it is imperative to learn how to fix this privacy error. And that’s where an SSL certificate comes into play, it tells the browser your website is safe and secure.

There are also other reasons you want to have a WordPress SSL certificate installed on your website. Sure, Google marks the site as “secure,” but SSL certificates also allow you to take payments and personal information over your website. This is ideal for someone who has an online store, or someone who is taking payments through their website for a service.

Google has also stated that websites that have the SSL/HTTPS protocol will also have more weight in overall listings and searches. Considering all of this, it is definitely ideal for you to install an SSL certificate on your WordPress website.

Once installed, you may run into some WordPress SSL issues. Fear not, most of these issues are very common. Let’s take a look at some quick and easy ways how to fix an SSL error.

Solutions to the Most Common SSL Errors

Fixing Mixed Content Errors

Arguably the most common error you will see when installing a WordPress SSL certificate is the mixed content warning.

The WordPress mixed content warning shows immediately after you have installed the SSL and while it may look like a big problem, there are actually a few different ways you can take care of this issue.

1. Fix Using a Plugin

The first way to do this, and perhaps the easiest way for most, is to install a WordPress plugin to help you get the work done. The Really Simple SSL plugin is a great one to install and configure so that all mixed content warnings are taken off your website.

After you have installed and activated the plugin visit the Settings SSL section of your website and review all the configuration settings. Really Simple SSL does work out of the box and will automatically fix your mixed content errors.

Note: This plugin is really good at fixing errors related to SSL. It is not just limited to the mixed content error. It will automatically fix most SSL issues in WordPress. Thus, this is by far the easiest way to resolve these types of issues.

2. Fixing Mixed Content Errors Manually

Fixing WordPress mixed content errors manually requires some actual manual troubleshooting. While this may take a little more time to fix SSL issues in WordPress it is better for overall website performance.

The most overlooked step in this process is making sure that you are using the HTTPS protocol inside your WordPress website settings. If not, don’t worry, changing WordPress from HTTP to HTTPS is easy.

Once the WordPress SSL is installed, head to the general settings area of your website and make that change.

You see the above screenshot shows HTTP, the shot below shows the change to HTTPS. All you do is add the “s” and save. You will be automatically logged out of the site and WordPress will prompt you to log back in for your changes to take place.

Once this is done you will need to go through your website manually and find old HTTP URLs in your WordPress database and replace them with the new HTTPS URLs.

The easiest and most efficient way to do this is to install and activate the Better Search Replace plugin. Once activated, visit the settings page for the plugin by going to Tools > Better Search Replace.

Add the current HTTP website URL in the “Search field” and then add the website URL with HTTPS in the “Replace field.”

You can read even more about replacing mixed content in this tutorial.

Fixing the Too Many Redirects Errors

To get this done you will need to place a little code inside your wp-config.php file. Don’t worry, the code is written out below for you and if done correctly will fix the too many redirects error you may be getting after a WordPress SSL installation.

WordPress does indeed allow you to enforce HTTPS for the admin area by entering the following line of code into your wp-config.php file:

define('FORCE_SSL_ADMIN', true);

That being said, there are some scenarios where this alone would actually cause the “too many redirects” error to occur. If this is the case for you it is an easy fix. Go ahead and add the following code to your wp-config.php file:

define('FORCE_SSL_ADMIN', true);
//in some setups HTTP_X_FORWARDED_PROTO might contain
//a comma-separated list e.g. http,https
//so check for https existence
if (strpos($_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_PROTO'], 'https') !== false)
$_SERVER['HTTPS']='on';

Fix HTTP to HTTPS Redirect

WordPress does not automatically redirect HTTP requests to HTTPS unless you go tell it to do so. A plugin like Really Simple SSL (described above) would actually take care of all the redirects for you.

However, you can also setup manual redirects by adding the following code into your .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Moving your site WordPress website to SSL/HTTPS may seem like a major task at first but it actually can be handled fairly easily.

Fix Name Mismatch Error

The name mismatch error occurs when the domain name in the SSL certificate does not match the browser URL. And typically, this only occurs if you purchase one from a third-party seller. This causes the browser to think that the SSL certificate was made for another website, which means it will not work for yours.

This will generally occur if you do not purchase an SSL certificate that supports “with” and “without www”. The reason is that this is important is because the URL may be entered differently. For example, take example.com and www.example.com. These will lead you to the same place, but if your SSL certificate did not support both, you will run into this error.

To fix this, simply add the following lines of code to a custom .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]

Why is My SSL Not Working?

If none of the above SSL errors are plaguing your website, you might need to check the certification installation itself. It is possible that the process was not completed on the servers hosting your website. If this is the case, you may need to delete it and start again.

If your web host provided a free SSL certificate, you can follow their guide or contact a support team for additional help.

Fix SSL Issues in WordPress to Stay Secure

An SSL certificate has essentially become mandatory for any website that wants to rank highly on Google, which is just about everyone. The good news is that your website will be a lot safer and as a result, make your customers feel safer. Thus, it is a win-win situation.

Consider using other security measures like WordFence to keep your website secure. Trust me, you do not want to be the website that got someone’s personal information stolen. Not many websites can come back from that.

What are some other resources you have found that help moving to SSL easier? Did you find it easy to fix WordPress SSL errors?

The post How to Fix Common SSL Issues on Your WordPress Website appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Unfortunately, if you just started your WordPress website, you are probably struggling to find where the custom fields are. That is because they were purposely hidden from new WordPress users starting with version 3.1 update. Today, I will demonstrate how to resolve custom fields not showing up in WordPress.

Why Use Custom Fields in WordPress

Custom fields are a great way to add extra information into your WordPress content. They can be used to add almost any type of information to your website. These can be important things like ratings or they can be whimsical things. The use of custom fields depends entirely on how the web developer chooses to use them.

Many plugins will use or add additional custom fields on your website as well. For example, the Yoast SEO plugin will store your SEO settings in custom fields. As you can imagine they have a wide array of uses from descriptive, creative, or practicality.

How to Resolve Custom Fields Not Showing Up in WordPress

Today, I will demonstrate how to resolve custom fields not showing up in WordPress. You will not need any additional plugins or code to accomplish this because the feature is built into WordPress. Normally, you will see the custom field entries available at the bottom of a post or page, but they will only appear if you have checked the custom fields box. Once this is done, you will not have to repeat this, but if you have already done this and don’t see the custom fields section, then a plugin is most likely the problem.

Enabling Custom Fields in WordPress

It is extremely easy to add custom fields in WordPress. Go to any existing page or post on your website or create a new one. At the top of the screen, click on the Screen Options option.

This will expand and allow you to change some Boxes, Layout, and Additional settings on your post and page content. Under the Boxes section, you will see Custom Fields. Make sure that the checkbox is checked to enable them.

Scroll down past the text editor and you will be able to see the custom fields section. Here you can add all of the custom fields you want in WordPress.

This should solve your problem, but just in case it doesn’t, don’t worry, it’s probably just a plugin.

Plugins Blocking Custom Fields

If you have followed the last set of instructions and have not had any results, then odds are you have a plugin that is blocking or hiding custom fields. For example, the very popular Advanced Custom Fields plugin will remove the option for custom fields in WordPress.

This may sound strange, but since the plugin specializes in custom fields, there should be no reason to use the default WordPress options. Since you wouldn’t be using them, eliminating them will help keep the website running fast. It makes perfect sense from the plugin’s developers point of view, but it can be very annoying if you run a multi-author website and not everyone wants to use ACF.

This can be easily fixed with the following line of code in your theme’s functions.php file:[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]add_filter(‘acf/settings/remove_wp_meta_box’, ‘__return_false’);[/ht_message]

ACF is just one example of a plugin that can change the custom fields settings. Go through each of your plugins and deactivate them one by one to see if the custom fields issue is resolved. If it is, then the plugin is to blame. You should contact the plugin’s developer and alert them of the issue. There may also already be a solution for it online.

Use Custom Fields to Enhance Your Content

Adding more information to your content is usually not a bad thing. It can help enhance your content with extra facts and information, but at the same time, there is such thing a too much information. For example, putting an author name is pretty normal, but adding the author’s blood type is not. You can add a lot of small details that may seem like a good idea, but ultimately, not everyone will want that kind of information.

This is highly dependent on the type of website you run. Your website might have a reputation for giving every piece of information possible and that may work out well, but other sites might not fare so well. Always listen to visitors’ feedback to get the best results possible.

Were you able to get your custom fields to show up? Was a plugin responsible for hiding custom fields in WordPress?

The post How to Resolve Custom Fields Not Showing Up in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

It can be misleading and confusing to visitors and affect any data you’re collecting regarding those aspects. For instance, a visitor may see you have 0 articles in a category when it may host more than 400.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to fix the category count as well as comment data in WordPress after an import.

Before we get started though, understand that this means you’ll need to do a bit of coding work. However, it’s not overly difficult.

Also, note that this fix does not work with PHP 7.

Backing Up Your Site

It’s always a good idea to create a backup of WordPress when making any modifications. In the event something goes wrong, you can easily restore the site.

If you’re not sure how to do this, I suggest using the UpdraftPlus plugin. It’s a great tool that lets you save to your own cloud accounts such as Dropbox or Google Drive.

While I don’t foresee any real problem cropping up from this tutorial, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Creating Category-fix.php

Today, we’ll create a new file called, “category-fix.php.” There are several ways you can do this:

• Create a Notepad file on your computer.
• Use the File Manager tool in cPanel.
• Use a plugin in WordPress like WP File Manager.

For this tutorial, I’m going to keep it simple and just use the File Manager in cPanel.

In any case, create a new file and call it, “category-fix.php.”

Edit the new file.

Paste this code into the file:[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]”;
mysql_query(“UPDATE “.$table_prefix.”term_taxonomy SET count = ‘$count’ WHERE term_taxonomy_id = ‘$term_taxonomy_id'”);
}

$result = mysql_query(“SELECT ID FROM “.$table_prefix.”posts”);
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {
$post_id = $row[‘ID’];
echo “post_id: “.$post_id.” count = “;
$countresult = mysql_query(“SELECT count(*) FROM “.$table_prefix.”comments WHERE comment_post_ID = ‘$post_id’ AND comment_approved = 1″);
$countarray = mysql_fetch_array($countresult);
$count = $countarray[0];
echo $count.”
”;
mysql_query(“UPDATE “.$table_prefix.”posts SET comment_count = ‘$count’ WHERE ID = ‘$post_id'”);
}
?>[/ht_message]

Replace the “DB_HOST, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD and DB_NAME” with your own credentials. This will be the information for accessing the WordPress database.

Be sure to include the single-quote character before and after the host, user, password and database name.

For instance, the DB_HOST may look something like this:[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]’localhost'[/ht_message]

If you’re not sure what this information is, you can find it in your wp-config.php file.

Save the file after adding the code.

If You’re Using Notepad or Other Text Editor…

After adding the code to something like Notepad, you’ll obviously save the file as “category-fix.php.” Then, you’ll want to use an FTP program like FileZilla or cPanel’s File Manager to upload the file.

When uploading the file, make sure you’re saving it in the root directory. This is the primary folder of your actual website. You should see similar folders as shown in this image:

Running the File

Open a web browser and access the file. The address will look something like this:[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]https://yourwebsitename.com/category-fix.php[/ht_message]

Of course, you’ll want to change “yourwebsitename.com” to your own domain.

The file will then scan through the database and correct the numbers accordingly.

Deleting the File

After running the file and verifying the comment and category count in WordPress is correct, you’ll need to delete the category-fix.php file.

It’s simply safer to remove this file from the system. It prevents a variety of issues, most of which are security threats.

What if you get an HTTP ERROR 500?

In most instances, the “HTTP ERROR 500” screen is caused because you’re using PHP 7 while trying this fix. The newest versions of PHP removed the ability to access the database in such a manner.

You’ll need to find out what version of PHP you’re using to eliminate this as an issue. You can access this from the “Select PHP Version” tool in cPanel.

The update also made a lot of other adjustments that prevent certain older fixes from working.

You also may want to check the file and folder permissions of your website. Not having the right permissions may also cause this error to crop up.

If these are not the case, you might have to do some in-depth troubleshooting. The Error 500 is a general problem and is caused by a vast array of things.

It’s More than a Cosmetic Issue

When the WordPress category count is wrong or the site shows incorrect comment counts, it can throw off users. For example, a seemingly empty category may prompt users not to explore the content.

Keep your site in optimal condition; this includes things you might think are “just cosmetic” issues.

How often do you make modifications in WordPress with code snippets? What other problems have you experienced after upgrading to PHP 7?

The post How to Fix the Comment and Category Count in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Unlike other WordPress errors, this one will not share any clues on what is causing the error.

This makes it extremely difficult to track the problem and ultimately fix the issue. It can be extremely frustrating for beginners on the platform but luckily you’re not the first person to encounter the problem.

Quick and easy solutions can be used to solve the error. Today, I will demonstrate how to resolve the HTTP image upload error in WordPress.

What Causes the HTTP Image Upload Error in WordPress

The biggest problem with this error message is the lack of information it provides. There are no clues to where or what is causing the error. This is because WordPress is unable to figure out what is causing the error, which is why it displays the generic HTTP error message.

There are quite a few possibilities, but none of them take very long to fix.

The issue that is most likely is a temporary problem and I have personally run into this one quite a lot. While editing a page, if you have been inactive for too long you will get logged off and will log back in.

I will usually get the HTTP error when this occurs while trying to upload an image. Another leading cause is the WordPress memory limit, not to be confused with the upload limit.

If WordPress does not have enough memory to upload the image, you can encounter this error. Let’s take a look at some potential solutions to the problem.

How to Resolve the HTTP Image Upload Error in WordPress

Today, I will demonstrate how to resolve the HTTP image upload error in WordPress. You will not need any additional plugins to fix this error, but you will need access to your website’s cPanel.

The information is provided to you when you create a web hosting account. Because of the lack of information, it is difficult to find a solution that works for you, but these should be able to fix it for the vast majority of websites.

It’s Just Temporary

This is the most likely issue. I have encountered this error quite a bit. If you begin editing a page or post and stay idle for too long, WordPress will log you out. When you log back in, everything may seem in order, but once you try to upload an image, you will encounter the error.

It is not a big deal, exit the page or post you are editing and go back in and try uploading the image. This has always worked in my case.

There are other temporary causes to look out for. If your website is seeing an unexpected amount of high traffic, the servers your website is hosted on will not be able to handle everything at once.

This may be natural traffic or it may be the result of a DDOS attack, and there are plenty of ways to mitigate those. It will prioritize accepting requests from visitors instead of using resources to upload an image.

In either case, you need to give your website some time to catch up. Walk away from your workstation for 10-20 minutes and see if the error is resolved. Make sure the traffic your website is receiving is normal and if nothing is fixed, you need to find the real problem.

WordPress Memory Limit

If it is not a temporary issue, then you are most likely experiencing a memory limit preventing the image to be uploaded. Remember this is not your upload limit, they are separate limits.

By default, WordPress will increase the memory limit to 64MB, but this is not enough all of the time.

There are two main ways to fix this, shrink the image size so it does not require so many resources or increase the memory limit. Odds are the second option sounds more appealing and it is quite easy to accomplish because it takes just one line of code.

Let’s start by logging into the cPanel and clicking on the File Manager option. The File Manager will allow you to access all of the files related to your website.

You need to locate your wp-config.php file. Click on the public_html directory. Right-click on the wp-config.php file and select the Edit option.

A pop-up window will show up. This box will warn you to create a backup of your files before editing anything. This will ensure that you can revert your website back to when it was working if something goes wrong.

Click on the “Edit” button. A new tab will open containing all of the code from the file.

Here we simply need to add one line of code to increase the memory limit of your website. Like any code you add into the wp-config.php file, you should place the code above this line:

/* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */

The following code will raise the memory limit to 256MB, which should be more than enough for any image-related memory issue on your website. Copy and paste the following line of code into your wp-config.php file:

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

Once you have inserted the code into the wp-config.php file, click on the “Save Changes” button to finish.

Try uploading the image to see if the error has been solved. If it has, congratulations, if not, I have one more solution.

Change WordPress Image Library

If it is not temporary or the memory limit was not the problem, then it may very well be the library WordPress uses for images. WordPress comes equipped with two libraries that you can use.

They are the GD Library and the Imagick library.

The Imagick library is known to have memory issues that can cause this error to occur. A simple solution is to switch from Imagick to the GD library.

Back in the file manager, locate your functions.php file and copy and paste the following code into the file:

function change_library_to_gd( $editors ) {
$gd_editor = 'WP_Image_Editor_GD';
$editors = array_diff( $editors, array( $gd_editor ) );
array_unshift( $editors, $gd_editor );
return $editors;
}
add_filter( 'wp_image_editors', 'change_library_to_gd' )

This should solve the issue if the Imagick library was responsible. If it does not, feel free to go back and delete this code.

Always Fix WordPress Errors

Running into error messages is a common occurrence and it can be frustrating, but it will happen. The quicker you respond and fix the error message, the quicker your website will be running smoothly again.

Downtime on a website is a loss of income. Visitors cannot view ads or make purchases on your website. All downtime is bad downtime and it needs to be resolved quickly.

Thankfully, WordPress is the most used website development platform in the world. This means there are tons of solutions to every error message you will encounter, which makes fixing it as easy as googling it.

Was the error temporary for you? What caused the HTTP image upload error for your website?

The post How to Resolve the HTTP Image Upload Error in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.