Fixing WordPress Errors: The Most Common Problems and Solutions

Most WordPress errors look more dramatic than they are. Nearly all of them can be sorted by what you’re seeing right now – a blank page, a specific message, or an error code. This overview groups the common cases and points each to its fix.

Before you start: make a backup as soon as you have access again – especially if you’ll be editing wp-config.php, the database, or theme code.

You See a Blank White Page (White Screen of Death)

A completely blank, white page with no error message. Most common causes: a PHP error in a theme or plugin – or a memory limit that’s too low. Full diagnosis and all routes → Fix the White Screen of Death in WordPress.

If the white screen mostly appears in the admin area, the media library, or a page builder, memory is usually the issue → increase the WordPress memory limit.

You See “There has been a critical error on this website”

WordPress’s own catch-all message since version 5.2. Unlike the white screen, WordPress catches the fatal error and – if the admin email is reachable – sends you an email with a recovery mode link that lets you deactivate the offending extension → Fix “There has been a critical error” in WordPress.

You See “Error establishing a database connection”

WordPress can’t reach its database. Typical after a server migration or with wrong credentials in wp-config.php. Check the database name, user, password and host – and whether the database server is running at all → Fix “Error establishing a database connection”.

You See a “500 Internal Server Error”

A catch-all server error. Common triggers: a broken .htaccess, exhausted PHP workers, or a PHP error. The first place to look is the server error log → Fix the 500 Internal Server Error in WordPress.

You Can’t Get into the Admin at All

Login fails, password reset doesn’t arrive, or admin rights are gone? That’s its own topic with its own routes → Regain access to your WordPress admin.

”Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance”

A stalled update never cleared the maintenance flag. The fix is usually a single file (.maintenance) in the root directory that needs deleting → Fix “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance”.

Upload Fails or Files Are “Too Large”

WordPress says “The uploaded file exceeds the upload_max_filesize directive”? The limit is set server-side and can be raised via php.ini, .htaccess, or .user.ini → Increase the WordPress upload limit.

”Maximum execution time exceeded”

PHP is aborting a process because it ran too long – typical for imports, backups, or updates. The execution time can be raised; sometimes, though, a deeper problem is to blame → Fix “Maximum execution time exceeded” in WordPress.

First Aid That Almost Always Helps

Whatever the specific message, these three steps get you further in most cases:

1. Make errors visible: define( 'WP_DEBUG', true ); and define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true ); in wp-config.php. The log lands at /wp-content/debug.log. (Turn it back off on live sites afterwards.)
2. Isolate plugins: deactivate all plugins (via FTP, rename the /wp-content/plugins/ folder if needed) and reactivate them one by one until the error returns.
3. Test the default theme: switch briefly to a Twenty Twenty theme to rule out theme causes.

Related Topics

• WordPress Security Overview – Login, wp-config, and backup strategy
• Core Web Vitals for WordPress – when the problem is sluggishness, not a crash
• What WordPress Maintenance Really Covers – many errors appear where maintenance is missing

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If you can’t find the cause or would rather not dig: drop us a line – we’ll get the site running again and tell you what knocked it over.