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[ REPAIR GUIDE ] WEBSITE ERRORS

How to fix HTTP error 500 (500 Internal Server Error)

ERROR DETECTED >500 Internal Server Error

UPDATED NOVEMBER 20263 MIN READ9 FIXES

QUICK FIX

If you are visiting the site, refresh after a minute or two and try again later; the fault is on the server. If you own the site, check the server error log first, then rename .htaccess and disable plugins to find what broke.

What it means

A 500 Internal Server Error means the website's server ran into an unexpected problem and could not build the page. It is a general catch-all error, so it says something broke but not what. It is almost always a problem on the website's side, not your device, so visitors can usually only retry or wait while the site owner fixes it.

Common causes

  • A bug or crash in the site's code, plugin or theme
  • A broken or invalid .htaccess or web.config file
  • The server ran out of PHP memory
  • Wrong file or folder permissions on the server
  • A failed or half-finished update
  • The database or another service the site depends on is down

How to fix it

Work down the list. Each fix is safe to try before moving on to the next.

FIX 01Refresh the page after a short waitEASY

  1. Wait about a minute.
  2. Press F5 on Windows or Command + R on a Mac to reload the page.
  3. If you were submitting a form or making a payment, check your email or account before submitting again so you are not charged twice.

Why it helps: Many 500 errors are brief glitches, such as the server restarting, and clear on their own.

FIX 02Clear this site's cookiesEASY

  1. In Chrome, open the three-dot menu and choose Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy and security > Third-party cookies > See all site data and permissions.
  3. Search for the website's name.
  4. Click the trash icon next to it and confirm with Delete.
  5. Reload the page and sign in again if needed.

Why it helps: A bad or outdated login cookie can trigger a code path on the server that crashes.

FIX 03Try another browser, device or networkEASY

  1. Open the same address in a different browser or a private window.
  2. Try it on your phone using mobile data instead of Wi-Fi.
  3. If it fails everywhere, the problem is on the website's server.

Why it helps: This quickly shows whether the problem is the site itself or something on your side.

FIX 04Check the site's status and contact the ownerEASY

  1. Look for the company's official status page or social media posts about an outage.
  2. If there is no notice, contact the site's support and tell them the page address, the time you saw the error and any reference or request ID shown on the error page.

Why it helps: Only the site's owner can fix a 500 error, and details like the time help them find it in their logs.

// RUN THIS SITE? FIXES FOR SITE OWNERS

FIX 05Read the server error logMEDIUMSITE OWNERS

  1. Open your hosting control panel and find the error log (often called Errors or Error Log in cPanel, or under the site's logs in other panels).
  2. Look for entries at the exact time the 500 happened.
  3. Note the file name and line number in any PHP Fatal error, or the module named in an Apache or Nginx error.
  4. On IIS, check the site's logs in inetpub\logs\LogFiles and the substatus code (for example 500.19 means the configuration file is invalid).

Why it helps: The log usually names the exact file or setting that failed, which saves guessing.

FIX 06Rename the .htaccess fileMEDIUMSITE OWNERS

  1. Open your host's File Manager or connect with SFTP.
  2. In the site's root folder, rename .htaccess to .htaccess_old (turn on showing hidden files if you cannot see it).
  3. Reload the site.
  4. If it works and you use WordPress, go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes to create a fresh .htaccess file.

Why it helps: A single bad rule in .htaccess makes Apache return a 500 for every page.

FIX 07Disable plugins and switch to a default themeMEDIUMSITE OWNERS

  1. In File Manager or SFTP, rename wp-content/plugins to plugins_old to turn off all plugins.
  2. Reload the site. If it works, rename the folder back to plugins.
  3. Reactivate plugins one at a time in Plugins until the error returns; that plugin is the cause.
  4. If plugins are not the cause, make sure a default theme such as Twenty Twenty-Five is installed, then rename your active theme's folder in wp-content/themes so WordPress falls back to it.

Why it helps: Faulty or incompatible plugin and theme code is a very common cause of 500 errors on WordPress sites.

FIX 08Raise the PHP memory limitMEDIUMSITE OWNERS

  1. Check the error log for a message like Allowed memory size of ... bytes exhausted.
  2. In WordPress, add define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' ); to wp-config.php above the line that says to stop editing.
  3. Some hosts do not let WordPress raise the limit itself; in that case raise memory_limit in the PHP settings of your control panel, or ask your host.

Why it helps: When a script runs out of memory, PHP stops and the server returns a 500.

FIX 09Check file permissions and recent changesADVANCEDSITE OWNERS

  1. Back up the site before changing anything.
  2. On most Linux hosts, folders should be 755 and files 644; fix anything set very differently using File Manager or SFTP.
  3. Undo any code, configuration or update you made just before the error started.
  4. If you use Cloudflare, view the error page's source: if it contains cloudflare or cloudflare-nginx, contact Cloudflare support with your domain, the time and timezone, and the output of yourdomain.com/cdn-cgi/trace; if not, the 500 came from your own server, so check it or contact your host.

Why it helps: Wrong permissions and recent changes are frequent triggers, and the Cloudflare check tells you who to contact.

Check it's fixed

  • The page loads normally after a full refresh.
  • The page works in a private window and on another device.
  • No new entries appear in the server error log when you load the page.

When to get help

If the error log shows nothing useful or the site still returns 500 after disabling plugins and resetting .htaccess, contact your hosting provider with the time of the error and the page address. Visitors should contact the site's support team.

Questions

Is a 500 error my fault?

Almost never. It means the website's server failed, so the fix has to come from the site owner. Refreshing or trying later is usually all a visitor can do.

What is the difference between 500 and 503?

A 500 means something unexpected broke. A 503 means the server is temporarily unable to handle requests, usually because of maintenance or overload, and is expected to recover.

Can clearing my cache fix an HTTP error 500?

Rarely. Clearing the site's cookies can help if a bad login session is involved, but in most cases the server itself needs fixing.

Will a 500 error hurt my site's search rankings?

A short outage is unlikely to matter much, but pages that keep returning 500 may eventually be crawled less or dropped. Fix it as soon as you can.

Related fixes

How to fix 503 Service UnavailableIf you are a visitor, wait a few minutes and reload; the site is busy or under maintenance. If you own the site, check whether the server isHow to fix 504 Gateway TimeoutAs a visitor, wait a minute and reload, then try another network if it keeps happening. As a site owner, find what is making the origin servHow to fix "There has been a critical error on this website" in WordPressOpen the recovery mode email WordPress sent to the site admin address, click its link, and deactivate the plugin or theme it names. No emailHow to fix "Error establishing a database connection" in WordPressSite owners should first confirm the database name, username, password and host in wp-config.php match what the hosting control panel shows.

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