How Do I Troubleshoot Common WordPress Issues?

Whether you’re a new user or an experienced webmaster, WordPress offers many great features. However, you may run into some issues from time to time.

This post will discuss some of the most common WordPress issues you might experience and how to troubleshoot them. By the end, you’ll be able to fix these problems and keep your site running smoothly!
1. Deactivate all your plugins

If you’re not able to access your WordPress admin dashboard and are getting an error code that you don’t know how to troubleshoot, disabling all your plugins is an excellent way to start. You’ll then be able to identify which plugins are causing the problem and either deactivate or uninstall them one by one until you find the culprit.

Often times, errors occur because of conflicts between different plugins and themes. In other cases, the issue is caused by a bug in a particular plugin. It’s important to keep in mind that the more plugins you have on your site, the higher the likelihood of an error occurring.

You can deactivate your plugins via phpMyAdmin, the database tool you can access through your web host’s cPanel. In phpMyAdmin, select your WordPress database and find the wp_options table. You’ll want to scroll down to the active_plugins row, click edit, and change the value in the option_value field.

Once you’ve changed the value, click save. This will disable all the plugins in your database. You can reactivate them at any time if you need to, though they’ll be marked inactive again.

If your problem still persists, you may need to rename or reinstall the plugin that’s causing the error. If this doesn’t work, you can contact the plugin developer and report a bug or ask them to update their version.

Another option is to use a third-party tool that can help you with WordPress troubleshooting, such as the plugin developer’s support forums or Softaculous script installer. In either case, make sure to generate a backup of your website before you begin any changes.

Alternatively, you can try using an FTP client to access your site’s root directory and disable your plugins. This method works best if you have secure shell (SSH) access to your server and can log into your WordPress back end.

Ultimately, the best approach to troubleshooting WordPress is to isolate the layers of your site and test each layer individually, in order to determine the cause of the error. Depending on the issue you’re experiencing, this process might seem daunting or overwhelming, but it can be done in a very simple and slow manner, incrementally testing each layer until you find the problem.
2. Reactivate your plugins one by one

Sometimes it can be hard to know which plugin is causing an issue. For instance, if you just installed a new plugin and it’s not working, or if you updated a plugin and you can’t login to your site anymore.

However, you don’t have to worry, because there are several ways to find out which plugin is causing the problem. This will help you to troubleshoot the issue quickly and easily.

To start, you need to make a list of all the plugins you have installed. You can do this by logging into your WordPress admin area, and clicking on the “Plugins” link in the left menu.

Next, you need to deactivate each plugin one by one. This will prevent them from working on your site, but it will not delete them.

Once you have deactivated all your plugins, you should check whether or not the problem still exists. If it does, the plugin that you activated last is likely causing the problem. If it does not, you will have to look for another plugin that is causing the problem.

If you don’t know which plugin is causing the problem, you can try to reactivate it one by one to see if the problem is fixed. In this way, you can find out which plugin is causing the issue and decide to uninstall it or replace it with a different one.

To reactivate each plugin, you can use an FTP program like FileZilla to connect to your WordPress site. Once connected, navigate to the wp-content folder and locate the plugins folder.

Depending on the type of your host, you may be able to use your control panel’s File Manager utility instead of an FTP program. Once you have this, follow the steps above at step 4.

To deactivate a specific plugin, you should rename the plugins folder to something like “plugin_deactivate”. This will disable the plugin and cause your website to return to normal. You can then log back into your site to check if the problem is resolved. If it is, you can continue to deactivate the plugins one by one until you have found the faulty one.
3. Check your website’s performance

If you want to get the most out of your WordPress website, it’s important to regularly check its performance. It helps you anticipate any issues and avoid them before they affect your visitors.

One of the best ways to do this is by running a speed test on your website. This will give you a good idea of how fast it loads for people from all over the world. You’ll also get a grade from 0-100 that indicates where your site stands compared to others.

Google’s PageSpeed Insights is a great tool to use for this purpose. It will tell you which files are taking too long to load, how much unused JavaScript is on your site, and recommend paths of action that can help improve the performance of your website.

This tool is easy to use and gives you a comprehensive report that includes page size, loading time, and server responses. It also lets you run tests from multiple locations.

Pingdom is a popular website speed testing tool that can be used from anywhere in the world. It offers a simple UI and allows you to see how your website performs based on different regions.

It’s free to sign up and provides a detailed report with a letter grade and a summary of its findings. The tests can be run multiple times to get a more accurate result.

Despite this, it’s important to remember that the test results are only a general guide to how well your website is performing. In fact, a low score does not necessarily mean your website is slow—it may just be due to a variety of external factors such as visitor’s device capability and internet connection speeds.

Another way to monitor the performance of your website is by using a tool like Lighthouse. This tool will give you a report on how well your website is performing based on location and what resources are consuming the most server load. It will also let you run tests from different host locations and send requests during on- and off-peak hours to ensure that your site is always serving up fast.
4. Contact your hosting provider

If your WordPress website is experiencing any issues, it may be time to contact your hosting provider. They will be able to help you resolve the issue and prevent it from recurring. You can reach them via email, phone call, or live chat.

You can also send them a ticket and let them know what the problem is. Most web hosts have a FAQ section where you can find answers to common problems.

Some hosting companies also have dedicated support teams that will be able to provide you with assistance. They should be able to answer your questions, explain what the issue is, and recommend solutions.

It is important to understand that not all customer support teams are created equal. Not all of them are able to quickly and effectively respond to queries and concerns, so it’s best to choose a WordPress hosting provider that offers multiple ways to contact their team.

One of the most common WordPress problems is that your website isn’t loading properly. This can be caused by a number of factors, including an outdated plugin or theme. If you’re not sure what’s causing the problem, you can use speed testing tools to find out.

If your pages are taking too long to load, this could be a server-side issue. You can try adjusting the caching settings or using a plugin to speed up your site.

Another possible reason for your WordPress site not loading is that the PHP version on your server isn’t compatible with the latest update. This is a common problem, especially with older versions of WordPress, and can be fixed by updating to a more recent version.

It’s also a good idea to check whether your hosting provider regularly upgrades to the latest updates for their servers. If they do, it’s recommended that you back up your site before the updates are implemented and again after the changes have been made. This way, you can easily restore your site should the update cause any problems.

You can also use a third-party site to check if your WordPress site is properly secured. This ensures that visitors’ information will be encrypted while moving between their browser and your website. This will protect them from hackers and other malicious parties.