How to fix the Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties issue

The “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties” message in WordPress typically occurs when there is an issue with your site’s configuration or code, often due to a plugin, theme, or PHP error. Here’s why this might happen and how to approach fixing it:

Common Causes:

  1. Plugin or Theme Conflict: A newly installed or updated plugin/theme could be causing a conflict, preventing your site from loading correctly.
  2. PHP Errors: If there are issues with the PHP code (e.g., outdated PHP version or coding errors), it can lead to this problem.
  3. Server Issues: Sometimes, server configuration issues or resource limits (like memory) can trigger this error.
  4. Corrupted .htaccess File: A corrupted .htaccess file can break the site’s functionality.
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How to Fix Technical Difficulties Errors in WordPress (Simple Guide)

  1. Enable Debugging:
    • Add the following code to your wp-config.php file to enable WordPress debugging. It helps to identify the root cause of the issue.
     
    define( ‘WP_DEBUG’, true );
    define( ‘WP_DEBUG_LOG’, true );
    define( ‘WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY’, false );

    This will create a debug.log file inside the wp-content folder, which can tell you where the error is happening.

  2. Deactivate Plugins:
      • Manually deactivate plugins via FTP or your hosting file manager. Go to the <wp-content/plugins/directory and rename the folder for each plugin (e.g., plugin-name to plugin-name-old). This will deactivate them.
    • If the site comes back up, reactivate each plugin one by one to find the culprit.
  3. Switch to a Default Theme:
    • Sometimes, the issue lies with the active theme. Try switching to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-One).
    • You can do this from the WordPress admin area, or if you can’t access the admin, rename your current theme folder via FTP, and WordPress will revert to a default theme.
  4. Increase PHP Memory Limit:
    • Sometimes, the error is due to insufficient memory. You can try increasing your PHP memory limit by adding this to your wp-config.php file:
     
    define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’);
  5. Check the .htaccess File:
    • Rename your .htaccess file to something like .htaccess_old and then try to load the site again.
    • If the site works, go to the WordPress admin dashboard, go to Settings > Permalinks, and click Save Changes to regenerate a fresh .htaccess file.
  6. Check Server Logs:
    • If you have access to server logs (via cPanel or hosting support), check them for any error messages that could point to the issue.