Resolving Common Errors with Wordpress Sites

Issue: I see a 404 error when I browse to http://domain.com/ but the page loads when I browse to http://domain.com/index.php

Resolution: There are two potential causes.

• The default document search can be case sensitive when it comes to PHP/MySQL based applications. This is  common with Wordpress sites. The solution is to remove Index.php from the default document search list and add index.php and put it at the top of the list. See the KB How-To Set the default document for a site or virtual directory.
   
• There is a php.ini or php-cgi-fcgi.ini file in your site's root directory. If you have migrated from one server to another, this should be renamed or removed as the paths to the PHP executable and extensions may be located in a different place on the new server than on the old server.
  
  • NOTE: Customers hosted on servers with Plesk 12 can manage your PHP settings through the Plesk Control Panel now.. Find the PHP Settings button in the menu options.
• 
   

Issue: I see a 500 error when I browse to the site.

Resolution: There are multiple potential solutions

• Ensure the password for the MySQL database is correct. The database name, ,database user id (uid), and password are all specified in teh wp-config.php file in your site's root directory. Check the password in the file and then in the Plesk Control Panel, go to Databases, Users, and there select the database uid. Here you can reset the password for the user. See KB How-To: Create or Manage Databases and Database users
   
• On Windows/IIS platforms, ensure the IUSR or IWPG user has modify (read/write/delete) rights on the wp-content directory.
  
  • Note: This does not apply to Linux/Apache platforms
     
  • Depending on the Windows/IIS version, either the IUSR_XXXX uid or the IWPG_XXXXX uid will need modify rights to the wp-content directory. You can manage the file permissions using the Plesk Control Panel. See KB How-To Edit Folder and File Permissions with the Plesk Control Panel

Issue: There is a Plesk default page loading when I browse to my site.

Resolution: The Plesk default page is called index.html. In the default document search order this is usually very in the priority. This means that the web server will serve this page when browing to http://domain.com/ .The solution is to move your page to the top of the list in the search order. See the KB below on How-To Set the default document for a site or virtual directory