Troubleshooting of Technical Problems in Your WordPress Website
In this endless ocean of the web, through which websites sail upon digital waves, comes a time when at the horizon there will darken an oncoming storm.
Then, as if out of the blue, like a storm in a teacup, your WordPress site proclaims, “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties.” Fear not, fellow seafarers of the web, for every storm can be ridden with proper navigation. Come with me now as we set on our perilous quest to tame these waves of fury and give serenity back to your digital harbor.
Step 1: Deciphering the Message
When WordPress displays the message, “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties,” it’s a sort of Mayday from the core of your website. This message will most likely mean that there is a critical error that means WordPress cannot function as it should. Although quite unsettling, this actually serves to guide us into the very heart of the issue.
Step 2: Accessing the Error Log
Every ship has its logbook, and your WordPress site isn’t different in this case. You need to access the error log of your site to know what caused the technical difficulties in the first instance.
Log into your control panel for your hosting account or use an FTP client and directly go to the root directory of your site. From there, look for a file named error_log or refer to your hosting provider’s provided documentation on how to access error logs. Logs typically contain specific error messages, timestamps, and file paths—all very useful in debugging.
Step 3: Check Recent Modifications
Much the same as changes in wind direction do for sailing, updates and changes to your WordPress site can affect its stability.
Think back on recent changes: Perhaps you installed or updated a plugin or theme? Or maybe you changed some key files or settings? Reverse any recent changes which you think may have been the cause of the technical difficulties. Sometimes the most innocuous change can cause unintended effects.
Step 4: Turn Off Recently Added Plugins and Themes
Think of plugins and themes like your crew on board of your WordPress ship, each of them having a job to do to keep things sailing smoothly. But here is the thing: it is just like the crew—one bad apple throws off harmony.
One wonky plugin or theme, and the whole site goes off-kilter. Log into your WordPress dashboard and turn off any recently added plugins or themes. In case you can’t log in to your dashboard because of the error, log in with an FTP client and go to /wp-content/plugins/ or /wp-content/themes/, rename the folder of the suspected plugin or theme. What that will do is turn off whatever you rename and will allow you to see if that is what is causing the technical difficulties.
Step 5: PHP Errors and Memory Limit
These are usually problems with the PHP engine that WordPress sits on top of, rather than WordPress itself. You can either examine your site’s PHP error log, or turn on WP_DEBUG in your wp-config.php and see the PHP errors on-screen.
Your error could be due to a myriad of things, from memory limit issues—Fatal error: Allowed memory size of xxx bytes exhausted—or even simple syntax errors. Increase the memory limit of your site by editing wp-config.php and add the following: php – Copy code
define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' );php – Copy code
This should be placed just before the line which says, /* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */. Save it and refresh your site, see if it resolves the technical difficulties.
Step 6: Restore from Backup
When storms rage out of control, the best option at times is to revert to calmer seas. If you have a recent backup of your site, restore it to a time when the technical difficulties hadn’t started taking place. The step effectively resets your site to a stable state whereby you can resume operations while you investigate the cause of the issue separately.
Step 7: Expert Help
Even the best sailors can sometimes run into storms beyond their capability to navigate on their own. So if you really have been working through these steps and the technical problems persist, then post about your issue within the WordPress Support forums, a discussion group, or seek the technical support team from your hosting provider.
Share what you’ve done so far and any error messages you’ve encountered. It is through their expertise that many complex problems get illuminated and resolved most of the time.
Step 8: Ride the Calm After the Storm
You have just survived the troubled waters of technical difficulties on your WordPress site. Pat yourself on the back, not only for how far you have come but also for the fact that you now have knowledge and practice in sailing smoothly through the digital ocean. After all, in the sea of an unpredictable world called the internet, one challenge at a time strengthens your capacity to master more.
Meaning, although seeing “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties” might make you shiver your spine, with a little patience and following some step-by-step troubleshooting processes, you should be able to sail your WordPress ship back on the right path. Enjoy the journey of discovery and problem solving, for it is through such experiences that we become seasoned captains of our digital destinies.
