Fix Common WordPress Problems

Running a WordPress website can sometimes feel like navigating a maze, especially when unexpected issues pop up.

When you encounter problems, like missing admin bars or pages not loading correctly, it’s easy to panic.

But, before reaching out to support, you can troubleshoot and fix many of these issues on your own.

Understanding the Problem

When something goes wrong on your site, the instinct often is to blame the theme or a specific plugin.

However, more often than not, the issue isn’t what you initially suspect. Instead of jumping to conclusions, take a systematic approach to finding the root cause.

Prepare Your Website

Before starting the troubleshooting process, it’s essential to back up your website. This protects your content and settings should anything go wrong during the troubleshooting. 

If your hosting provider offers a staging area, use that to test changes without affecting your live site. If not, there are simple ways to create a staging site at no cost.

Change Your Theme

One of the easiest ways to start diagnosing issues is by changing your theme:

Go to the WordPress dashboard and click on Appearance, then Themes.
Activate a default theme like Twenty Twenty-One or Twenty-Seventeen.
Check your website to see if the problem persists.

If changing the theme resolves the issue, you’ve pinpointed the root cause. If not, switch back to your original theme.

Diagnose Plugins with Plugin Detective

Next, if the theme change didn’t work, it’s time to investigate your plugins.

Traditionally, you would deactivate all your plugins, one by one, which can be time-consuming. Instead, you can use a free tool called Plugin Detective:

Install Plugin Detective by searching for it in the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard.
Activate it, and you’ll see a new option in your admin menu called Troubleshoot.
Click on Troubleshoot, then select the page where you’re experiencing the problem.
Follow the prompts to identify which plugins are critical for your site.

This tool will automatically deactivate plugins in groups, allowing you to see if the issue resolves itself.
Find the Culprit

As you go through the Plugin Detective process:

You’ll answer questions about whether the problem is fixed after each test.
If your issue reappears, you’ll know which plugin caused the problem.

Once you identify the conflicting plugin, you can either deactivate it or look for alternatives.
Conclusion

Troubleshooting WordPress issues doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

By changing your theme, creating a backup, and utilizing tools like Plugin Detective, you can often find and fix problems on your own.

This not only saves time but helps you understand your site better. 

Being prepared and knowing how to solve these issues can make your experience much smoother!