Https Error 500: How to Fix the 500 Internal Server Error in WordPress | When there is a 500 internal server error on your website, your focus is on only one thing: How do you get your website back online as quickly as possible? Every minute – second, even – your site crashes is the time you lose traffic and sales. Plus, it’s not a good manifestation of your brand, whether you’re running a huge company or a solo entrepreneur.
Also, a 500 internal server error that affects your site for several hours (or happens often) can have a negative impact on your SEO ranking. A site that is down for just a few minutes may not be recognized by Google as being offline – no problem there. However, a site down for several hours tells Google that there is a major issue to take care of, which may harm your ranking.
Https Error 500: How to Fix the 500 Internal Server Error in WordPress
What is 500 Internal Server Error?
According to the Internet Engineering Task Force, an internal server error 500 is defined as “a status code [that] indicates that the server has encountered an unexpected condition that prevents it from fulfilling the request.” When you go to a website, your browser sends a request to the server, where the website is hosted. The server processes the request and then sends the resources (CSS, HTML, PHP, etc.) and the HTTP header, which includes the status code. The code tells you the status of the request – 200 means everything is OK, while 500 means something is wrong.
There are many different 500 level status codes, including 501, 502, 503 and so on. Each one has its own meaning. Status code 500, which we discuss in this article, means that the server encountered something that was preventing it from fulfilling the request. Depending on the server, you may get more code to narrow down the problem, such as 500.12, which means an application is restarting on the server, or 500.13, which means the server is too busy.
A 500 Internal Server Error can appear in several ways, including:
- 500 error
- 500 internal server error
- 500 – Internal Server Error
- Currently unable to handle this request. HTTP Error 500.
- HTTP 500
- HTTP 500 – Internal Server Error
- HTTP Error 500
- Internal Server Error
- The site cannot display the page – HTTP 500
Some brands will have a branded 500 internal server error page with messages they wrote and links to further help. It’s also possible that all you see is a blank white screen, which is more common when using Firefox or Safari.
Common causes of internal server error 500: Https Error 500
There are a number of reasons why you might get an internal server error 500, including:
- Browser cache
- Corrupted database
- Corrupted .htaccessfile
- Corrupt WordPress kernel or installation files
- database server problems
- Incorrect file and folder permissions
- PHP memory limit problem
- A third-party plugin or theme
How to access your website’s file management client
Many of the solutions we are going to talk about require you to be logged into your FTP client. The FTP client allows you to access and edit your WordPress site files without having to log into the WordPress dashboard – something that might be unavailable due to the 500 internal server error. We suggest using your host’s file manager – it’s the safest and most intuitive option. Alternatively, you can use a separate FTP client like FileZilla, but we had a very difficult time logging in, even with all the correct login credentials – it is more assured to use the file manager provided by the host.
Https Error 500: How to fix an internal server error 500
There are a number of troubleshooting steps to take when you see the 500 Internal Server Error. We hope that one of the following options will resolve your issue. Before you do anything, it is advisable to create a duplicate copy of your site.
To fix Https Error 500, Take risks. Nothing can replace experience
The first thing to try is to reload the page after a minute or two. If the host server or server is overloaded over time, the site should be returned immediately. It is also not uncommon for a website to slow down by one minute or more after updating a plugin or theme. This usually means that the host server is not installed properly and there is a short delay after the update. This problem is often remedied by redirecting the page.
Try the page in a different browser
Open a different browser and check if the error still appears. If you load the page properly in one browser but not another, that tells you that you are likely to have a browser problem. Wait a few minutes, then reload to see if it worked.
Clear your browser cache and delete cookies
Clear your browser cache and delete cookies. Each browser has its own (easy) steps to follow these processes, so it’s best to look for the browser instructions you are using if you can’t find the options quickly (image below shows where to find the settings. Chrome). Restart your browser, then try the web page again.
Turn off your plug-ins
To see if a plug-in is causing a problem, turn it off one by one, then test the site to see if you still get the error. Navigate to the plug-in in the left-hand side of your dashboard, then click Disable under the plugin name. After disabling each plugin, it is a good idea to leave WordPress, delete your savings and restart the website page.
If the error makes it difficult to access your WordPress admin panel, you can log in to FTP to manage plugins in this way. Find the plugins folder – my file was in wp-content, and rename the folder to plugins_old. If that fixes the problem, you know that one of the plugins is to blame. Change the folder name back to the original plugins, then rename the plugins one by one and update your website until the error is gone.
Deactivate your theme
It is also possible that the active appearance is the cause of the error. Switch to the default WordPress theme to see if that solves the problem. Go to Appearance in the left sidebar of your WordPress dashboard, then select Themes. Hover over the theme you want to activate and then click Activate, which will deactivate the current theme.
Not installed the latest WordPress themes yet? From the Themes page, click Add New, then find the latest WordPress theme, which will be named the current year. Hover over it, and click Install.
If you can’t access your WordPress dashboard, go to FTP and find the theme folder. Find the active theme folder and rename it, just like you did in the step above with the plugin. If this clears up the error, you know your topic is the cause of the problem, and you should choose a new one.
Update the .htaccess file
It is not uncommon for a WordPress .htaccess site file to be corrupted. To see if this is a problem, start by logging into your FTP. Find the .htaccess file and rename it to .htaccess_old. Reload your site to see if an error message has been deleted. If it does, then you know that the .htaccess file is causing an error.
Go to the WordPress admin dashboard and go to Settings > Entries. To reset links, which creates a new unbreakable .htaccess file, select Open and click Save Changes below. Then change the link structure to whatever you want and click Save changes again.
Increase PHP memory limit
If the server’s internal 500 error is caused by a lack of memory, you will need to increase the memory limit to see if that will take care of it. While you can head over to your FTP to make this change, some hosts don’t allow users to fiddle with the memory limit, so it’s best to check with them first and let them handle it for you if they can.
Check permissions
There may be a permissions error on a file or folder. These are the general rules to look for while looking for permission errors:
- Directories must be 755 (or drwxr-xr-x) or 750
- Files must be 644 (or -rw-r-r-) or 640
- The wp-config.php file will probably be 440 or 400 for security measures
Reinstall WordPress
You can reinstall WordPress core without affecting the content of your other site. You can do this from your admin control panel or through FTP.
If you are able to access Control Panel, go to Updates > Reinstall Now. The latest version of WordPress will be downloaded and reinstalled automatically.
If you have to use FTP, the process will not be too difficult.
- Download the latest version of WordPress here.Open the ZIP file to extract the contents.
- In the unzipped folder, delete the wp-content folder.
- In your FTP client, upload your root folder, which could be the name of your website on certain hosts, public or public_html.
- If you get a prompt saying something like, “The target file already exists,” choose to overwrite it.
Whichever process you chose – the WordPress admin dashboard or FTP – you should now have a fresh installation of WordPress core, and you can see if that clears the 500 internal server error.
Check the server
Are you still getting the dreaded error message? Depending on your host, you may be able to check the error logs. This might walk you through exactly what’s going on—like a plugin error, for example—so you know what to fix to clear the error. Depending on how much support your hosting service provides, they may even be able to take care of it for you.
Final Thoughts About 500 Internal Server Error | Https Error 500
The 500 Internal Server Error can occur on any page of your WordPress site, and figuring out what caused it and how to fix the problem is nothing less than a puzzle. From root directory issues to a problematic server, there is no direct answer to what causes this type of error.
If all else fails, contact the host to see if they have a server problem – which could mean they’re on their end rather than yours (you might also want to do this as a first step to avoid troubleshooting).