Troubleshooting WordPress Issues
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This document outlines various types of issues encountered in WordPress, such as visual, interactive, functional, data, environmental, performance, caching, and security problems. It provides actionable steps for troubleshooting, including checking WordPress core, themes, plugins, data, caching, third-party APIs, and server issues. Additionally, it advises on next steps for addressing identified issues and details what information developers need for effective problem resolution.
Troubleshooting WordPress Issues
- 1. Troubleshooting WordPress Issues Micah Wood @wpscholar http://wpscholar.com For Those Who Aren’t Technically Inclined
- 2. Types of Issues Rules of Thumb for Classifying Your Problem
- 3. Visual Issue is specific to layout or styling. All data is correct and functionality works as expected.
- 4. Interactive The issue only occurs after a specific action occurs, an animation is no longer working, or you are unable to interact with a specific element on the page that was previously interactive.
- 5. Functional A web page won’t load or only loads partially. You get a white screen or errors on the page after performing an action that requires a page reload.
- 6. Data The issue is consistent, but isolated to a specific page, section or dataset on the site.
- 7. Environmental Issue occurs when no changes were made to the codebase or data. May result in a 500 status code. Issue may be sporadic, unreliably replicated and cannot be attributed to other sources.
- 8. Performance The page loads slowly or elements on the page behave in a sluggish manner.
- 9. Security If it is an issue you notice, it is generally because the site has obvious signs of tampering.
- 10. Caching Issue occurs reliably, except when changing browsers or devices.
- 11. Potential Sources Action Steps to Determine the Source of the Problem
- 12. WordPress Core Test to see of the issue occurs on a clean WordPress install with no plugins and running one of the default themes.
- 13. Theme Switch to one of the default WordPress themes. If the issue disappears, the theme is the source.
- 14. Plugin Disable all plugins; re-enable one at a time, testing the issue after enabling each plugin. If the issue reappears, disable all other plugins and test. Sometimes the issue is due to a combination of plugins.
- 15. Data Inspect the data and fix obvious issues. Remove the data temporarily to see if the issue persists. Try entering the data another way (e.g. type it out by hand vs. copy and paste).
- 16. Caching Check the site on another computer or browser. Check to see if logging into or out of WordPress gives you different results.
- 17. Third Party API Look to see if only data or functionality from the third party source is failing. Visit the third party site to see if it is down or showing an error or maintenance message. If a plugin handles the API, try another similar plugin to make sure it isn’t just the plugin.
- 18. Server It is difficult to isolate server issues when you aren’t technically inclined. If it isn’t anything else, it is likely a server issue.
- 19. Next Steps What to Do Once You’ve Identified the Source
- 20. WordPress Core Make sure WordPress is up to date. If it is, Report a Bug to WordPress
- 21. Theme Make sure your theme is up to date. If it is, contact the theme developer. If they are unresponsive or unable to help, find a good WordPress developer or consider switching themes.
- 22. Plugin Make sure your plugin is up to date. If it is, contact the plugin developer. If they are unresponsive or unable to help, find a good WordPress developer or consider switching plugins.
- 23. Data This is usually something you’ve messed up. Fix it yourself or call a developer if you’re stumped.
- 24. Caching If your web host does caching, flush the cache. If a WordPress plugin does caching, flush the cache. Flush your browser cache. Flush everything you can find, including your toilet.
- 25. Third Party API Wait to see if the issue resolves itself, or try contacting the third party.
- 26. Server Contact your web host.
- 27. Reporting Issues What Developers Need From You To Solve Problems Fast
- 28. URL Where Problem Occurs
- 30. Expected Results
- 31. Actual Results
- 32. Workarounds
- 33. Error Messages
- 34. Changes Made to the Site
- 36. Theme / Plugin Versions
- 37. Supporting Information Operating system, device, web browser, web host
- 39. Troubleshooting WordPress Issues Micah Wood @wpscholar http://wpscholar.com For Those Who Aren’t Technically Inclined