How to Fix a 500 Internal Server Error

A 500 Internal Server Error can occur on a WordPress site for many different reasons. This error can easily frustrate a website owner as it is very generic, yet also happens to be one of the most common errors a WordPress site experiences. Below are useful tips to remember before troubleshooting a broken WordPress site:

• • Review each troubleshooting method to get a WordPress site working again. You may need to perform multiple steps to get a site functional again. (Disable plugins & your theme for example.)

• • When disabling a configuration file like an .htaccess file, check directories above your webroot and disable ones above too when troubleshooting.

• • Always backup your website before replacing any files.

Sometimes a restore is the best & fastest option!

What causes a 500 Internal Server Error?

Because a 500 Internal Server Error is a generic response, there are many different reasons a site may succumb to this error. WordPress is a powerful CMS where many plugins & themes can be added to make each site unique; this also creates more entry points and room for errors to occur. A 500 Internal Server Error can occur for the following reasons:

• • Plugin conflicts

• • Theme conflicts

• • .php.ini/.user.ini file issues

• • .htaccess/web.config file issues

• • Corrupted core files

• • PHP memory limit problems

Above are common examples as to what causes this error to occur on a WordPress site. Let’s move on to the next section to review how to troubleshoot this error to determine where this issue stems from.