How to Troubleshoot a Crashed WordPress Site: A Step-by-Step Guide

A crashed WordPress site can be a nightmare, especially if it’s your business or portfolio on the line. But don’t panic—most issues can be resolved if you follow a systematic approach. This guide will walk you through the steps to troubleshoot a crashed WordPress site, with screen grabs to help illustrate the process.

1. Identify the Symptoms

Before diving into troubleshooting, it’s essential to identify what “crashed” means in your case. Common symptoms of a crashed WordPress site include:

• White Screen of Death (WSOD): The site displays a completely white screen with no error messages.
• 500 Internal Server Error: A generic server error that doesn’t give much information.
• Database Connection Error: The site cannot connect to the database.
• Critical Error Message: WordPress displays a message indicating a critical error.

Example Screenshot:

(Replace with an actual screenshot of a 500 Internal Server Error on a WordPress site.)

2. Check for a Backup

Before making any changes, check if you have a recent backup of your site. If something goes wrong during troubleshooting, a backup will allow you to restore your site to a working state.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Log in to your hosting control panel (e.g., cPanel).
2. Navigate to the backup section and check for the most recent backup.
3. If you have a backup plugin installed (like UpdraftPlus), you can also check there for available backups.

3. Enable Debugging in WordPress

Enabling debugging can provide more detailed error messages, making it easier to identify the issue.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Access your site’s files via FTP or your hosting file manager.
2. Open the wp-config.php file located in the root directory of your WordPress installation.
3. Add the following lines of code (or change false to true if already present):

   define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
   define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
   define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );

4. Save and close the file.

4. Deactivate All Plugins

A common cause of a crashed site is a conflict between plugins. The quickest way to test this is to deactivate all plugins and see if the site comes back online.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Access your site’s files via FTP or the file manager.
2. Navigate to the wp-content directory.
3. Rename the plugins folder to plugins_old to deactivate all plugins at once.
4. If the site comes back online, rename the folder back to plugins and then reactivate plugins one by one to identify the culprit.

5. Switch to a Default Theme

Sometimes, issues arise from a problem with your active theme. Switching to a default WordPress theme can help determine if the theme is the source of the crash.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Access your site’s files via FTP or the file manager.
2. Navigate to the wp-content/themes directory.
3. Rename the folder of your active theme to something else, forcing WordPress to fall back to a default theme like Twenty Twenty-One.

6. Check File Permissions

Incorrect file permissions can also cause a WordPress site to crash. The correct permissions are generally:

• Folders: 755
• Files: 644

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Log in to your hosting control panel and open the file manager, or use an FTP client.
2. Navigate to your WordPress root directory.
3. Right-click on the folders and files to check their permissions.
4. Adjust permissions if they are not set to 755 for folders and 644 for files.

7. Increase PHP Memory Limit

A common issue that can cause a WordPress site to crash is running out of memory. Increasing the PHP memory limit can often resolve this.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Access your site’s files via FTP or your hosting file manager.
2. Open the wp-config.php file.
3. Add the following line of code just above the /* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */ line:

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

4. Save and close the file.

8. Review Server Error Logs

If none of the above steps resolve the issue, the problem might be server-related. Reviewing the server error logs can provide more information.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Access your hosting control panel and navigate to the logs section.
2. Open the error logs and look for any recent errors that might indicate the cause of the crash.

Conclusion

A crashed WordPress site can be daunting, but with a systematic approach, you can often identify and resolve the issue quickly. Start by identifying the symptoms, then proceed with debugging steps such as deactivating plugins, switching themes, checking file permissions, and reviewing error logs.

Remember, always back up your site before making any significant changes. With these steps, you’ll be well-equipped to get your WordPress site back up and running.

Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash