The 500 Internal Server Error is one of the most common panic-inducing “I’ve broken everything!” catch-all errors in WordPress that can literally mean anything. The most common reasons for WordPress throwing up this error include having a corrupted .htaccess file, exceeding your PHP memory limit, or having improper file permissions, but there could also be other potential causes, such as …
How to Fix “Error Establishing Database Connection” for WordPress
If WordPress is throwing up a message telling you “Error establishing database connection” on an otherwise blank page, it means your database cannot be reached. And, obviously, your site it down. But you probably already figured that. In most cases, this error appears because the credentials you entered for your database aren’t correct, you made a mistake installing or migrating your …
Adding Free SSL Certificate and HTTPS to WordPress with Let’s Encrypt and Certbot
Installing an SSL certificate on your domain is an essential step you should take to secure your WordPress site and now with Let’s Encrypt you can get one for free. An SSL certificate encrypts the connection between your site and your visitors’ browser so hackers can’t intercept and steal personal information. Normally, SSL certificates can be cumbersome to install and …
Jetpack 4.0.3 Patches a Critical XSS Vulnerability
Jetpack 4.0.3 is a security release that contains an important fix for a critical vulnerability that has been present in the plugin since version 2.0, released in 2012. According to Jetpack team member Sam Hotchkiss, a stored XSS vulnerability was found in the way that some Jetpack shortcodes are processed, which allows an attacker to insert JavaScript into comments to …
9 Obvious Things You Probably Don’t Know About WordPress SEO
If there is one thing you should include in your WordPress website’s strategy, it’s search engine optimization. Because when you do it right, you’ll be rewarded. Hugely rewarded. With tons of high quality visitors. I’ve been working with websites for more than 12 years and can safely say that for those websites that do SEO right, it outperforms most other …
Help, I’ve Been Hacked! How to Troubleshoot and Fix a WordPress Site
Getting hacked is one of the most frustrating experiences you’ll face as a site admin. Unfortunately, even if you have bolstered your site’s defenses, about 30,000 sites are hacked daily and it’s likely your site will fall prey sooner or later. So it’s important you know what to do when that day comes. Fortunately, it’s possible to figure out exactly …
A Comprehensive Guide to Google Analytics and Understanding Your WordPress Site Traffic
Google Analytics is a popular, powerful, and free service you can use to track and analyze your website traffic. If you aren’t already using it, getting started is easy. However, if you’ve never used the program before, it can be a bit intimidating to get started. So let’s fix that. We’ve covered Google Analytics many times on this blog in …
9 Top CDN Services for a Super Fast WordPress Site
If you’ve optimized your site inside and out (smushed images, minified CSS and JavaScript, set up a caching plugin…) but your site still isn’t loading as fast as you would like, it’s time to set up a CDN, or Content Delivery Network. A CDN will massively speed up your entire site and the crucial time to first byte (TTFB) by storing …
A Quick and Thorough Guide to WordPress Maintenance Mode
As you build or maintain a WordPress website, you’ll likely find moments where you need to make your site inaccessible to the public. This is – rather obviously – referred to as putting your site into “maintenance mode.” Whether you’re performing simple plugin updates or making full-scale site modifications, maintenance mode is a handy tool to have in your developer’s …
The Ultimate Guide to 404 Pages for WordPress
Bad 404 pages are like trampolines for your WordPress site: Visitors who land on them are going to bounce. How you deal with 404s will determine whether visitors stick around or check out the competition when they end up on a page that WordPress can’t find. 404 errors aren’t unique to WordPress. The 404 message is the standard error code …