{"id":2680,"date":"2018-03-13T19:00:23","date_gmt":"2018-03-13T19:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/?p=2680"},"modified":"2018-03-13T11:24:14","modified_gmt":"2018-03-13T11:24:14","slug":"fix-500-internal-server-error","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/fix-500-internal-server-error\/","title":{"rendered":"4 ways to fix 500 Internal Server Error in WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2780 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/fix-500-internal-server-error-300x225.png\" alt=\"4 ways to fix 500 Internal Server Error in WordPress\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/fix-500-internal-server-error-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/fix-500-internal-server-error.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>You will probably agree that getting a \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d message can be quite frustrating.<\/p>\n<p>And indeed, it&#8217;s one of the \u2018worst\u2019 HTTP status codes, as it&#8217;s very non-specific.<\/p>\n<p>But there is no need to panic if it happens to you.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we will take a close look at the \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d problem and its most probable causes.<\/p>\n<p>We will also show you 4 simple ways to fix the\u00a0\u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d in any WordPress site.<\/p>\n<h2>What is 500 Internal Server Error?<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2786 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/what-is-500-internal-server-error.jpg\" alt=\"What is 500 Internal Server Error?\" width=\"600\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/what-is-500-internal-server-error.jpg 600w, https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/what-is-500-internal-server-error-300x100.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d is a type of a \u2018catch-all\u2019 error message. It basically translates as &#8220;The server is having problems loading this page&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The exact nature of this problem, however, is unknown. This makes it hard to pinpoint.<\/p>\n<p>Compare this to the \u201c404\u201d error message \u2013 upon seeing it, you immediately know the cause of the problem.<\/p>\n<p>On top of everything else, what exactly you will see depends on the type and version of the web server itself. Here is a quick list of the possible messages you can run into:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>500 Internal Server Error<br \/>\nHTTP 500 &#8211; Internal Server Error<br \/>\nTemporary Error (500)<br \/>\nInternal Server Error<br \/>\nHTTP 500 Internal Error<br \/>\n500 Error<br \/>\nHTTP Error 500<br \/>\n500. That&#8217;s an error<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And none of them <span lang=\"EN-US\">gives<\/span> any useful clues as to what exactly <span lang=\"EN-US\">has <\/span>happened.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Probable causes <\/strong><strong>for<\/strong> <strong>\u201c<\/strong><strong>500 Internal Server Error<\/strong><strong>\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2779 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/500-internal-server-error-probable-causes.jpg\" alt=\"Probable causes for \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d\" width=\"600\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/500-internal-server-error-probable-causes.jpg 600w, https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/500-internal-server-error-probable-causes-300x100.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Multiple different problems can cause the \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d message to appear on your WordPress-based website.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the \u2018usual suspects\u2019:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>problems with the .htaccess file;<\/li>\n<li>PHP memory exhaustion;<\/li>\n<li>plugin issues;<\/li>\n<li>corrupted WordPress core files;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each one of these problems is fixable and today we will show you how to repair them.<\/p>\n<p>But before we start, a quick word about backups.<\/p>\n<p>You should create a fresh one before you start messing around with the WordPress files.<\/p>\n<p>This way, even if you mess things up, you can quickly restore your content and fix the problem.<\/p>\n<h2>Problems with the .htaccess file<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2782 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/problems-with-htaccess.jpg\" alt=\"Problems with the .htaccess file\" width=\"600\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/problems-with-htaccess.jpg 600w, https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/problems-with-htaccess-300x100.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A corrupted .htaccess file is very often the reason for the appearance of the irritating \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d screen.<\/p>\n<p>You can easily find out whether a given \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d issue has been caused by a corrupted .htaccess file.<\/p>\n<p>All you have to do is rename the file itself to .htaccess_test (or something similar).<\/p>\n<p>Then reload your website.<\/p>\n<p>If the \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d message is still there, then the problem lies somewhere else.<\/p>\n<p>If it&#8217;s gone, then it&#8217;s time to take a close look at the .htaccess file in question.<\/p>\n<p>WordPress installations come with a default .htaccess file. So, you can just copy the code for that file and paste it to your own one.<\/p>\n<p>You can find a sample WordPress .htaccess file\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/codex.wordpress.org\/htaccess\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Another method is to log into your WordPress admin area and to go to the permalink settings (Settings -&gt; Permalinks).<\/p>\n<p>This will automatically recreate the .htaccess file for you.<\/p>\n<h2><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">The <\/span><\/b><b>PHP memory<\/b><b><span lang=\"EN-US\"> usage quota has been exceeded<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2783 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/php-memory-quota-exceeded.jpg\" alt=\"The PHP memory usage quota has been exceeded\" width=\"600\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/php-memory-quota-exceeded.jpg 600w, https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/php-memory-quota-exceeded-300x100.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The PHP memory allocation itself may be another reason why the \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d message has shown up on your website.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of shared hosting providers limit the amount of RAM resources that PHP processes can take up in order to prevent server overload.<\/p>\n<p>However, most of them do it quite aggressively, setting it to just a few megabytes.<\/p>\n<p>You can fix this with the help of the php.ini file.<\/p>\n<p>Look for it in the root folder for your website (usually it\u2019s <em>\/public_html\/<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p>If you don&#8217;t see a php.ini file there, contact your web hosting company\u2019s support team.<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve found it, open it with any text\/code editor and look for the following line:<\/p>\n<p><em>memory_limit =<\/em><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Change the value to a higher one, for example:<\/p>\n<p><em>memory_limit = 300M<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Save the file and wait for a couple of minutes. Then refresh your website.<\/p>\n<p>Remember that solving the PHP memory exhaustion issue is not a permanent cure against the \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d screen\u2019s appearance. It\u2019s just a temporary solution. PHP memory exhaustion implies that something on your WordPress-based website is consuming too many server resources.<\/p>\n<p>It is recommended that you run a diagnostic test and analyze your error logs.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Plugin <\/b><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">issues<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2784 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/plugin-issues.jpg\" alt=\"Plugin issues\" width=\"600\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/plugin-issues.jpg 600w, https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/plugin-issues-300x100.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Plugins are often the cause of the problem.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily for us, it&#8217;s really simple to determine if they are the culprit.<\/p>\n<p>Simply go to your WordPress installation and look for the<em> \/wp-content\/plugins\/<\/em> folder. It should be located inside the <em>wp-content<\/em> folder.<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve found it, rename it to something else, for example: <em>\/wp-content\/plugins_tmp<\/em><em>\/<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Then, reload your website. If the \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d message is gone, then your plugins were indeed the root cause of the problem.<\/p>\n<p>In that case, it&#8217;s time for some more troubleshooting procedures.<\/p>\n<p>Revert the renamed folder to its original name and log into the admin area of your WordPress site.<\/p>\n<p>In there, visit the <em>Plugins<\/em> section and start activating the plugins one by one.<\/p>\n<p>After you have enabled all of them, check if your site is working. Once you\u2019ve pinpointed the one that causes the \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d message to show up, you can safely delete it.<\/p>\n<p>However, if the \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d message is still on your site even after you have renamed the plugin folder, then the cause of the problem is somewhere else.<\/p>\n<h2>Corrupted\u00a0WordPress Core files<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2785 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/corrupted-wordpress-core-files.jpg\" alt=\"Corrupted\u00a0WordPress Core files\" width=\"600\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/corrupted-wordpress-core-files.jpg 600w, https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/corrupted-wordpress-core-files-300x100.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Your core WordPress files can get corrupted too. It happens very rarely, but still, it can happen. And when it does, a \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d message can be triggered.<\/p>\n<p>However, even though &#8220;corrupted WordPress core&#8221; sounds scary, there is a really simple fix for that.<\/p>\n<p>Just visit WordPress.org and download the latest WordPress version.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a direct link to the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/download\/\">WordPress CMS download page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve downloaded the .ZIP file, unpack it and look for the <em>wp-admin<\/em> and <em>wp-includes<\/em> folders.<\/p>\n<p>You will have to upload them to your WordPress installation and replace your existing files with the new clean ones.<\/p>\n<p>Now check your website \u2013 if the reason for the \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d message\u2019s appearance was a corrupted core file, the problem should be gone now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: If you are running an older WordPress version, visit the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/download\/release-archive\/\">Release Archive<\/a> and look for the corresponding files.<\/p>\n<h2>In Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>More often than not, the annoying \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d screen shows up due to a problematic .htaccess file or PHP memory exhaustion.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever the reason may be, it\u2019s pretty easy to take care of this.<\/p>\n<p>So, don\u2019t get nervous and don\u2019t lose your confidence. You can fix this quickly.<\/p>\n<p>This is your first \u2018encounter\u2019 with the \u201c500 Internal Server Error\u201d message?<\/p>\n<p>If not, how did you fix the previous issue?<\/p>\n<p>Please do not hesitate to share your comments with us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you run across the dreaded &#8220;500 Internal Server Error&#8221;, don&#8217;t be afraid. Today, we will show you the 4 most probable causes for that error message and how to quickly fix them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2680"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2792,"href":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680\/revisions\/2792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reseller-hosting-themes.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}