Fix the ‘500 Internal Server Error’ error

The ‘500 Internal Server Error’ is a general and catch-all error that can stem from a variety of reasons on a website. To fix the ‘500 Internal Server Error’ error, use the steps indicated below in sequential order.

A. Check your website error log report

1. Log in to your hosting control panel
2. Click on the Account Usage button

3. Locate your website’s domain name under the Domain column
4. On your domain’s row, click on Error Log under the Logs column

5. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the report and locate the most recent date and time (timestamps are in EST- Eastern Standard Time) – this is your most recent error log entry
6. On the most recent error log entry, scroll all the way to the right (horizontally) to view the full error, here is an example:

7. The error log will indicate what component of your WordPress website is triggering the 500 internal server screen error. Normally, it will be a plugin or theme triggering the 500 internal server error, see the examples below:

If there is a plugin triggering the error, you will see it indicated like the format below. The name of the plugin triggering the error will be indicated after the / forward slash in front of the word plugins.

2023-11-09 19:37:32.076020 [NOTICE] [1681121] [T0] PHP Fatal error:  Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function hello_world() in /home/domains/skystrahelp/public_html/wp-content/plugins/helloplugin/functions.php:50

If there is a theme triggering the error, you will see it indicated like the format below. The name of the theme triggering the error will be indicated after the / forward slash in front of the word themes.

2023-11-09 19:37:32.076020 [NOTICE] [1681121] [T0] PHP Fatal error:  Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function hello_world() in /home/domains/skystrahelp/public_html/wp-content/themes/hellotheme/functions.php:50

8. Take note of the name of the plugin or theme causing the error. From our examples above, for the plugin error, the name of the plugin causing the error is helloplugin, and for the theme error, it is hellotheme.
9. Now that you’ve identified the component triggering the error, you need to disable it. Move to the steps below to disable the plugin or theme triggering the error.

B. Disable the plugin or theme causing the error

The next step is to disable the plugin or theme causing the 500 internal server error on your website.

1. Log in to your hosting control panel
2. Click on the File Manager button

3. Double click on the domains folder

4. Locate your website’s folder and double click on it

5. Locate the public_html folder and double click on it

6. Locate the wp-content folder and double click on it

7. In the wp-content folder, you will see a plugins and themes folder. If you are trying to disable a plugin, double click on the plugins folder. If you are trying to disable a theme, double click on the themes folder.

8. Inside the plugins or themes folder, locate the folder for the plugin or theme you are trying to disable (it will have the exact same name as from your error log).
9. Right click on the folder to reveal a dropdown and select Rename

10. In the Rename popup, in front of the existing name of your plugin or theme, put – old as its suffix. For example, if your plugin folder name is akismet, then you would rename is to akismet-old

11. Once you’ve added – old to the plugin or theme folder name, click the Rename button to save it

12. Now, log in to your WordPress admin dashboard – it should now be loading
13. You can also reload your website and you should now see it loading

If the error is still happening, continue to the next solutions below.

C. Increase PHP memory threshold

The ‘500 Internal Server Error’ can be triggered when your website has exhausted its PHP memory threshold. Follow the steps below to increase the threshold.

1. Open this guide: Manage PHP options
2. Locate the memory_limit dropdown

3. On the dropdown, select the highest threshold value available

4. Re-attempt to load your website

D. Load your website in Incognito or Private mode

The ‘500 Internal Server Error’ can be triggered by a bad browser cache. Follow the steps below to load your website from an incognito or private browser window.

Google chrome:

1. Click the three-dot menu in the top right corner of your browser
2. Select New Incognito Window
3. Load your website from the Incognito window

Safari:

1. Click File from the menu at the top of the screen
2. Select New Private Window
3. Load your website from the private window

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Click the three-line menu in the top right corner of your browser
2. Select New Private Window
3. Load your website from the private window