WordPress® 24-Hour Trainer

Appendix A. Troubleshooting WordPress

I've tried throughout the book to include small troubleshooting tips with the lesson to which they relate. In this lesson the goal is help you think through the troubleshooting process.

Consider the variables involved in viewing a web page: what computer you're using, what web browser and what version, what Internet service provider you're using, what type of server the website is on, what version of WordPress you're running, what versions are being run for the dozens of software packages required to run a web server, and so on. No wonder then, that you might have a problem and virtually no one else has exactly the same one.

Addressing particular problems is next to impossible in a few pages, but what I can do is offer some strategies for trying to solve problems, as well as provide some ideas for getting more information online.

Troubleshooting an Installation

Although WordPress installations are straightforward, sometimes there are issues. Here are some suggestions for a few of the most common.

1. Error connecting to the database: Check that you correctly entered the database name, username, and password, and that you don't have any stray spaces before or after each variable (that can happen in particular when you're copying and pasting). Re-enter the information and try again.

2. "Headers already sent" error messages: This is usually caused by the presence of characters or whitespace before a file's opening <?php tag or after the closing ?> tag. You ...