As web developers, we see a lot of common WordPress problems and field many questions from our clients. The good news is that these problems are easily solved, and you can continue to enjoy all of the amazing benefits the platform offers.
We’ve been working with WordPress long enough that we have collected some useful quick fixes over time, and we’re sharing those with you now.
Website is Unavailable for “Scheduled Maintenance”
Sometimes this message comes up if you’ve just scheduled some upgrades or updates to your WordPress website. The best thing to do is just wait a few minutes. If your site doesn’t return to normal, the issue could be a bad plugin, which a WordPress web developer can fix.
Error Establishing a Database Connection
This occurs when WordPress can’t connect to the database, where all of your content and information is stored. Open your FTP and locate “wp-config.php.” In this file, double-check your database details to ensure they are correct. If this doesn’t work, you’ll have to contact your hosting provider.
Uploaded Images Won’t Show up
This usually means the file type isn’t configuring. One of the easiest and fastest ways to fix this situation is to change the file type of your images. PNG files work the best and generally maintain higher quality on the web.
The “WordPress White Screen of Death”
When you experience the “White Screen of Death,” you are experiencing a white, blank page when accessing your website. This is usually caused by a plugin incompatibility issue. If you aren’t sure how to check your plugins, a wordpress web developer can take a look for you.
Spam Comments Come Through Forms
Many WordPress users experience spam comments on a regular basis. Adding a CAPTCHA to your forms and comment posts is the easiest way to reduce this occurrence.
Scheduled Posts Aren’t Publishing
The WordPress scheduled posts feature is an easy and convenient way to schedule your blogs, but sometimes you might find that your scheduled posts are missed or don’t publish properly.
A Newly Created Page Isn’t Showing up on The Menu
Check your menu settings page. When you create a new page in WordPress, it is not automatically updated to the menu. Instead, you have to do this manually.
You Are Locked Out of Admin
If you get locked out of your admin page and can’t get in, access your database and find the “wp_users” table. There, you can change your password and use the new one to get back in the site.
The Connection Timed Out
This usually happens after your site takes an unusually long time to load- you will receive this message when it stops loading. One of the reasons could be your custom WordPress theme- switch to a default one for now.
A 404 Page Error Occurs
When you receive a 404 page error, go to your permalink settings by clicking “settings,” and then “permalinks.” This will reconfigure your links and should get rid of those errors.
If you aren’t sure what your problem is, or if none of these solutions work for you, you can always outsource a WordPress web developer, who will find the right fix.
