Ways to fix 500 error after WordPress installation

WordPress is a commonly used tool that allows people to easily build their own website or blog. But sometimes, after installing WordPress, you may encounter a headache - 500 Internal Server Error. This error means that the server is having a little trouble processing your request and can't respond correctly. What to do then? Don't worry, there are many possible reasons for this error, and below we'll give you some common solutions to help you find the root cause of the problem and fix it to get your WordPress site back to normal again.

1. Check the error log

First, we have to look at the web server's error log, which records more detailed error information. If you're using an Apache server, the logs can usually be found in a location like /var/log/apache2/error.log. If you are using an Apache server, the logs can be found at /var/log/apache2/error.log, while the logs for an Nginx server are usually found at /var/log/nginx/error.log. By opening up these log files, you will be able to find out exactly what is causing the 500 error, such as if there is a misspelling somewhere, or if there is a file missing. This way we can find the problem and fix it.

2. Disable plug-ins and themes

Sometimes, the plugins or WordPress themes we install may mess with some WordPress features, which results in 500 error. In order to find out the problem, we can first go to the WordPress installation directory via FTP or file manager and change the names of the plugins in the wp-content/plugins folder. In this way, all the plugins are disabled. Next, let's try reopening the WordPress site. If the error disappears, it means that it's a problem with one of the plugins. At this point, we enable the plugins back one by one until we find the one that caused the 500 error. Once we find it, we can consider changing the plugin or updating it. Similarly, if you're using a custom theme, try switching back to the default theme and see if that fixes the problem.

3. Check file and folder permissions

In order to make sure that a WordPress website is working properly, we need to make sure that it has the correct permissions set for both files and folders. In general, WordPress file permissions should be set to 644 and folder permissions should be set to 755. you can view and modify these permissions via FTP or a file manager. If you find that the permissions are not set correctly, follow the advice above and adjust them accordingly. Your WordPress website will be able to run more stably.

4. Increase memory limit

If the WordPress site is using too little memory, it can also lead to a 500 error. To fix this, you can add some code to the WordPress wp-config.php file to increase the memory limit.

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

This will increase the memory limit to 256MB. if the problem persists try increasing the memory limit further.

5, check the .htaccess file

The .htaccess file is a configuration file that controls WordPress rewrite rules and other settings. But sometimes, wrong rules or configurations may cause 500 error. To fix this problem, you can backup and delete the .htaccess file first and then try to reopen the WordPress site. If the error disappears, it means that there is a problem with one of the rules or settings in the .htaccess file. At this point, you can either regenerate a default .htaccess file through the WordPress backend or restore the rules in the .htaccess file one by one until you find the one that is in error. This way, you can get the site back to normal again.