COMMON WORDPRESS ERRORS ENCOUNTERED AS A BLOGGER

Most bloggers use WordPress because it is easy to use, thanks to its user-friendly interface and flexibility. While WordPress is easy to use there are some common WordPress errors encountered as a blogger which can be quite frustrating. Luckily, most of them can be easily fixed. As a blogger, you will be faced with different errors at a point in your blogging life. You should be able to fix some simple errors without having to contact your hosting company or developer. It’s likened to you using aspirin when you develop a headache in the middle of the night. You know your site going down for a second can cost you a lot and trust me these tips can save you a lot of stress and heartache.

In as much as these common WordPress errors encountered as a blogger is unavoidable, you can easily find a way around it. There are times you will be updating your themes, plugins or your WordPress and boom you see “internal server error” or “Your PHP Installation Appears to Be Missing the MySQL Extension Which Is Required by WordPress” this seems like some technical jargons. You google it and you find yourself in another world. Not to worry, I will be breaking down these technical jargons in simple words, no one can kill your shine, not even WordPress errors, lol.

First thing you should do is to create a complete backup of your WordPress site. Backups allow you to restore your WordPress site easily when something goes wrong. They are your first and most important defence against security threats, hacking, and data loss.

THE “WHITE SCREEN OF DEATH”

Scary right? As the name applies, It may affect both Front-End and the admin panel

SUGGESTED ACTIONS
First, take note of any recent change: did it happen just after you installed a plugin? Or change themes?

Deactivate All Plugins Installed on Your Website
Most of the times errors are caused by plugins conflicting with each other, your theme, or the WordPress core. Deactivating all WordPress plugins on your site will most likely solve the problem. You can then find out which plugin was causing the issue by activating plugins one by one on your site.
If you can not access the admin panel, deactivate the plugins from your cpanel.

Log into your Cpanel using domainname/Cpanel(yosxqusite.com.ng/cpanel). Once logged in, click file manager. Click public_html folder, go to wp-content.
Search for plugin, right-click to rename, you can just add .bk at the back of the plugin, then save.

If you have access to the admin area of your WordPress site, then simply head over to the plugins page.Select and deactivate all plugins in WordPress. First, you need to select all plugins, and then select ‘Deactivate’ from ‘Bulk Actions’ drop down menu. Click on the Apply button to deactivate all selected plugins.

Switch to a Default WordPress Theme
Sometimes your WordPress theme can cause issues on your site. You can easily find out if your theme is causing an issue by switching to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Nineteen or Twenty-Twenty.

Go to Appearance » Themes page and then click on the Activate button next to a default theme. If your theme was causing the issue, then you should be able to log in to your WordPress site now. Rollback the theme to the default WordPress Twenty Sixteen Theme.

Increase the memory allocated to PHP
Log into Cpanel
Search for MultiPHP INI Editor using the search bar.
Search for memory_limit and update to 128M, do the same for upload_max_filesize and post_max_size , they work hand in hand.

If every other thing fails, reinstall WordPress as a last measure.

INTERNAL SERVER ERROR

This WordPress error occurs when there is an issue which is why the message does not address any specific problem. The .htaccess File is Corrupt or a plugin may be causing the issue.

SUGGESTED ACTIONS
Backup and Delete .htaccess File
A corrupt .htaccess file is often the cause of the internal server error. Rename the htaccess file by adding .bk at the back and creating a new htaccess file. Once created, right-click the edit button, add the code below and save

# BEGIN WordPress

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]

# END WordPress

Deactivate all plugins and reactivate them one by one, to find out if a specific one is causing it.
Increase the memory allocated to PHP.

ERROR ESTABLISHING A DATABASE CONNECTION

Just as the message states, for some reason the database can’t be accessed. The wp-config.php database login credentials do not match the database login credentials. The Database is corrupted, does not exist or is unresponsive

SUGGESTED ACTIONS
Check the wp-config.php file from your Cpanel. Log into your Cpanel, search for the file manager, go to public_html folder, right-click wp-config.php to view.

Make sure that the following information is correct: Database name, Database username, Database Password, and Database host and tallies withMySQL® Databases credentials. If they do not tally, you can modify it inside MySQL® Databases. If these values are correct, you can Check Database and Repair Database

404 NOT FOUND ERROR

Oh no, my entire site is gone. I got you guys, wipe your tears and cry no more. The simple steps below can fix this problem.

SUGGESTED ACTIONS
Renaming the current htaccess file, creating a new htaccess file and using the code stated above.

Update permalinks in WordPress
You can easily refresh permalinks without changing anything on your WordPress site. Visit Settings » Permalinks page and click on ‘Save Changes’ button without changing anything

These common WordPress errors encountered as a blogger can be easily managed. You can get support from your hosting company. A good hosting company is not there to ONLY sell domain and hosting, they should be ready to assist at all times. To start your blog you need a hosting and a domain, you can click the link below to get these services at affordable rates from the best HOST.

Do let me know when you start blogging, I would really love to hear from you.