Again, 500 on the site :/
Designing Developing and deploying a website is like a balanced cycle every time you speed up you need to keep the balance! else you’ll encounter 500 Internal Server Errors! indicates that the server encountered an unexpected condition that prevented it from fulfilling the request.
Troubleshooting an HTTP 500 internal server error is like solving a mystery.
Let’s Know: What is the URL?
URL — Uniform Resource Locator
If you look into its full form, then it is self-explanatory: it has the location of the resources which we want to access. It is the address of the place where we want to go to interact with or find information.
The website is like the hostel and the URL is your room number! (mine was S10 back in a hostel! haha. )
Now, Let's have a look at your room! (parts of URL);
https://www.vivdto.com/about-us
Here, the first part is ‘HTTPS’. This basically tells the browser which protocol it should use. It can be HTTP, HTTPS, etc. A protocol is a set of rules that browsers use for communication over the network. ‘HTTPS’ is basically a secure version, i.e. information is exchanged in a secure way.
‘ll discuss more in detail on HTTPS & HTTP in my upcoming blogs! The second part www.vivdto.com is a domain name.
Some potential causes of a 500 internal server error include:
Corrupted or Broken. Htaccess File
A .htaccess file is a text file with important server instructions. These instructions tell your software to enable or disable specific functions. They might help you protect passwords in a directory or restrict user access.
There are many ways to corrupt a .htaccess file. It can happen during plugin installation, file configuration, or while you are working on your server.
A Permissions Error
Permission errors come with file protection. Permissions errors might be bugs, user mistakes, or networking problems. Usually, this error means that the user isn’t allowed to perform the action they’re trying.
Faulty Third-Party Plugins or Themes
To increase user features and functionality, you might add a third-party theme or plugin to your website. These plugins can be great for your site, but they can also impact site security, bugs, and performance.
These plugins and themes are often created by individuals or small groups. This can be challenging because they may need more time to address bug fixes and vulnerabilities.
How to fix “500: Error…” Mystery?
1. Starting with the F5; Reload the Page.
This might seem a little obvious to some, but one of the easiest and first things you should try when encountering a 500 internal server error is to simply wait a minute or so and reload the page (F5 or Ctrl + R).
It could be that the host or server is simply overloaded and the site will come right back. While you’re waiting, you could also quickly try a different browser to rule that out as an issue. Or try the incognito tab!
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Another thing you can do is to paste the website into downforeveryoneorjustme.com. This website will tell you if the site is down or if it’s a problem on your side.
A tool like this checks the HTTP status code that is returned from the server. If it’s anything other than a 200 “Everything is OK” then it will return a down indication.
Bonus: HTTP response status codes!
HTTP response status codes indicate whether a specific HTTP request has been successfully completed. Responses are grouped into five classes:
- Informational responses (
100–199) - Successful responses (
200–299) - Redirection messages (
300–399) - Client error responses (
400–499) - Server error responses (
500–599)
Abhi, toh shuru kiya h! :P
2. Come back later.
Since the error is on the server side, I’m willing to bet the website owners are working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue. Give it a few minutes or up to an hour or so, and then reload the URL and see if the development team has fixed the issue.
3. Delete your browser’s cookies.
If clearing the browser history doesn’t work, you might try deleting your browser’s cookies. If the cookies are associated with the error-prone webpage, deleting the cookies might help reload the page.
If the 500 Internal Server Error is on Your Own Website:
1. Deactivate a plugin or theme.
Newly activated software, add-ons, or third-party scripts might be conflicting with your current server configuration. To determine this, try (carefully) deactivating or uninstalling your software add-ons one at a time to identify what exactly is causing the internal server error. (Take Backup before any deactivation!)
If you run a WordPress website, this is easy to do with plugins. From your dashboard, choose Plugins > Installed Plugins, then deactivate the first plugin. If the error resolves, you know this plugin is part of the issue. Reactivate the first plugin, then repeat this deactivate-reactivate process one at a time for all plugins to determine which ones are causing your error.
You might find that having fewer active plugins on your site helps things run more smoothly.
Alternatively, if you just upgraded your software, your current plugins or themes might not be compatible with the new upgrade. Deactivating plugins or themes one at a time until the error disappears is the best way to find the root cause of your problem.
2. Use a plugin like WP Debugging to identify the issue.
If your site is powered by WordPress and you’re comfortable with WordPress debugging processes, consider installing a plugin to help you identify the issue with your server.
The debug plugin WP Debugging, for instance, helps you figure out exactly what’s wrong with your site, which will result in a speedier fix.
You can also enable WordPress debugging mode by adding the following code to your wp-config.php file:
define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );3. Ensure your PHP setup is configured correctly.
If the issue is related to a PHP timeout, consider creating timeout rules or error handling in your script to resolve the issue. Here’s a full list of php.ini directives to configure your PHP setup.
Additionally, wrong permissions on a file or folder that has a script, like a PHP or CGI script, won’t allow the script to run. Check your permissions and make sure you set them correctly on your server.
Also, A 500 internal server error could also be caused by exhausting the PHP memory limit on your server. You could try increasing the limit. Follow the instructions below on how to change this limit in cPanel, Apache, your php.ini file, and wp-config.php file.
Increase PHP Memory Limit in cPanel
If you’re running on a host that uses cPanel, you can easily change this from the UI. Under Software click on “Select PHP Version.”
4. Check the code for your site’s .htaccess file.
Incorrect coding or improper structure with your .htaccess file could be the reason you’re seeing the 500 internal error. The .htaccess file helps you manage how long resources should be stored in a browser’s cache. Try editing the file if you’re seeing a 500 internal server error.
To locate your .htaccess file, access your website files through a file manager like cPanel or via FTP/SFTP. The file will probably be located in your public_html directory. There’s a good chance your server will hide this file from view by default and you’ll need to toggle hidden files on to see it.
Coding errors in .htaccess and custom scripts can also cause an HTTP 500 internal server error.
Last Resort: Ask a Server Administrator for Help!
Summary:
500 internal server errors are always frustrating, but hopefully, now you know a few additional ways to troubleshoot them to quickly get your site back up and running. Remember, typically these types of errors are caused by third-party plugins, fatal PHP errors, database connection issues, problems with your .htaccess file or PHP memory limits, and sometimes PHP timeouts.
Happy Reading :)
V.
