WordPress troubleshooting can be incredibly frustrating to WordPress users of all skill levels. From time to time things look wonky, the site slows down, something seems off, or the website appears broken. Today, Trinity Web Media Web Development and Digital Marketing want to walk you through our WordPress troubleshooting process.
First off, all WordPress sites are made from five key elements: WordPress core installation, WordPress themes, WordPress plugins, Hosting and a SQL Database. Every website in the world built with WordPress has these five components. Every single site.
Almost always if your site is not acting as intended, we can isolate the instance to one of or a combination of three out of the above listed five. Typically, the problems stem from your WordPress theme, a rogue WordPress plugin or the hosting package.
Troubleshooting WordPress Made Simple
(It is always best practice to keep the most current release of WordPress installed for your site.)
• STEP ONE: Check all installed plugins. From the WordPress dashboard and an admin account, disable all plugins and look at the site. Take note of how the site renders. From there, enable each plugin one by one and review the site. Make sure all plugins are updated and are compatible with your current WordPress installation. Most times this will fix the problem.
• STEP TWO: Change Your Theme: If the installed plugins are working, as usual the second leading culprit is the site’s theme. To see if the theme is causing your problem, navigate to the ‘Appearance’ > ‘Themes’ and activate another theme. Once the item is activated, go to the site and see if things are working again. You are merely looking to see if the site is functional and working ok. Disabling the theme you typically use will vastly change the appearance, but now you will know where your problems stem from.
• STEP THREE: Hosting: If the other two solutions do not remedy the problem the next likely source is your host. If your site displays error codes such as 500 etc. this is a hosting error. In the even that your plugins or theme is not causing your headache contact your hosting company’s technical support team for help. It is a better idea to have them go through the tech troubleshooting instead of messing around with host settings and files.
Before embarking on any troubleshooting it is highly recommended you backup your site.
Of course these are not the only ways to troubleshoot your WordPress site, but we find this solves 9 out of 10 technical issues. As always proceed with caution if you are on unfamiliar ground.
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While I’ve known Greg for years from our time together in the marketing scene, I’ve only recently had the chance to work with Trinity Web Media on a client project. Not only was the team professional and their work spot on, they were amazingly quick to respond and required very little hand-holding along the way. I chalk that up to their past experience and a deep understanding of best-in-class services.
I have hired Greg and the Trinity team multiple times for work on my own websites, and have also hired them to work on behalf of multiple clients. He is simply a pleasure to work with, in every respect. Smart but without the giant ego of some developers, Trinity Web Media works with his clients to achieve their vision in the best way possible — with careful attention to their interests, and thoughtful recommendations based on his expertise. • Susan Baier – Founding Marketing Strategist – Audience Audit