WordPress Troubleshooting Topics

3 guides

The 'Allowed memory size of X bytes exhausted' fatal is one of the most misdiagnosed WordPress errors. Most guides tell you to bump WP_MEMORY_LIMIT in wp-config.php and call it done. On half the hosts I work with, that line does nothing. Here is what the error actually means, how to find the real memory cap on your host, and how to raise it without hiding a memory leak.

3 guides

You set a featured image, save the post, and the thumbnail is nowhere on the site. Here is the exact order I check it on client sites, from a theme support toggle to the deeper permissions and CDN fixes that solve the stubborn cases.

3 guides

Browser stuck bouncing between URLs with ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS? Here is the exact order I use on client sites to find the loop and stop it for good.

2 guides

Right password and the login page still kicks you back? Walk through these checks in order.

2 guides

Your site can't reach its database. Here's how to find out why and restore service.

2 guides

You hit Update, reload, and the page is identical. Here are every cache layer that hides your edits and how to clear them in order.

2 guides

A 502 is your web server telling you PHP-FPM or the upstream stopped responding. Here is the exact order I check on a real WordPress site.

2 guides

A theme update wiped your layout or your customizations. Here is how I roll it back without losing content.

2 guides

You click Install Plugin or Update Now and WordPress throws up a form demanding FTP hostname, username, and password. The prompt is not a security feature, it is a file-permissions symptom. Here is what triggers it, why entering FTP details is the wrong long-term answer, and the two-line fix that stops it for good.

1 guide

Edited wp-config.php and the site went dark? Here is how to undo it and what to watch for next time.

1 guide

Cloning a page in WordPress should take one click, but the default editor still does not include a Duplicate button in 2026. Here are the three methods I use on client sites, from a free plugin to a code snippet and a manual copy that works when nothing else does.

1 guide

A plain-English field guide to the WordPress debug.log file. What every fatal error, warning, and notice actually means, and what to do next.

1 guide

You hit Update, the block editor turns red, and WordPress tells you the response is not a valid JSON response. The post is usually fine. What is broken is the REST API request between the editor and your server. Here is the order I work through it, from permalinks to SSL to the mod_security rule your host will not mention.

1 guide

Contact form submissions disappearing? Password resets never arriving? Here is the real reason WordPress emails fail and the SMTP setup that actually works.

1 guide

Most hosting comparisons rank speed. This one ranks the thing that matters when your site is down: how fast support answers, how usable staging is, and whether the one-click restore actually brings the site back.

1 guide

You are in the middle of editing a post and WordPress throws a 'Your session has expired. Please log in again to continue' banner across the editor. Log back in, and it happens again 15 minutes later. This guide walks through why the session dies so fast, the cookie and cache misconfigurations that trigger it, and the fixes that actually keep you logged in.

1 guide

Elementor editor stuck on the loading spinner or the preview pane refusing to render? Here is the exact order I work through it, from a 30-second cache flush to the deeper plugin and server fixes that solve the stubborn cases.

1 guide

A clean way to isolate the broken plugin without taking your live site down for an hour.

1 guide

No backup? You can still recover most sites, here's how.

1 guide

Scheduled posts stuck as Missed Schedule, backup plugins that never fire, WooCommerce emails that show up hours late — the culprit is almost always wp-cron. Here is what wp-cron actually does, why it fails, and how I move client sites onto a real server cron in about ten minutes.

1 guide

First moves to take when you suspect your WordPress site has been hacked. Stop the bleeding, then clean.

1 guide

The built-in WordPress search returns no results, wrong results, or only old posts. Here is the actual fix, with no plugin spam.

1 guide

Posts returning 404 after a migration, host move, or plugin update? Here is the full sequence I use to rebuild permalinks and restore clean URLs without losing SEO.