Fix a broken WordPress site

Tools and steps to help you troubleshoot errors and seek help when your WordPress site breaks.

Transcript

1. FIX A BROKEN WORDPRESS
   HOW TO
   

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2. WHY SHOULD YOU KNOW THIS?
   ▸ Fix your mistakes
   ▸ Fix someone else’s mistakes
   ▸ Provide useful information when seeking assistance
   

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3. CODEX.WORDPRESS.ORG/TROUBLESHOOTING
   THE CODEX
   ▸ The codex has a whole troubleshooting page!
   ▸ installation
   ▸ login problems
   ▸ themes
   ▸ other common issues
   

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4. FTP & MYSQL
   KNOW YOUR SITE!
   ▸ WordPress is made up of files & database
   ▸ Keep a way to access your files
   ▸ FTP, SFTP, SSH
   ▸ Host file manager
   ▸ Know how to access the database if you have to
   ▸ phpMyAdmin
   ▸ Sequel Pro
   

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5. FTP CLIENTS
   ▸ Use SFTP when possible
   ▸ Commonly needed for
   ▸ turning on WP_DEBUG
   ▸ disabling plugins
   ▸ disabling theme
   

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6. SEQUEL PRO OR PHPMYADMIN
   DATABASE CLIENTS
   ▸ Good to:
   ▸ Reset password
   ▸ Repair/optimize database
   ▸ Automatically
   ▸ Remove spam, post revisions
   ▸ Fix encoding
   ▸ Backup database
   

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7. CODEX.WORDPRESS.ORG/DEBUGGING_IN_WORDPRESS
   WP_DEBUG
   ▸ Turns on display of errors
   ▸ Most useful for:
   ▸ WSOD (white screen of death)
   ▸ truncated page (eg sidebar, or footer
   completely missing)
   ▸ Turn to false when not using
   ▸ Can use with a plugin (eg Debug Bar)
   ▸ define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );
   /** The name of the database for

   WordPress */

   define( 'DB_NAME',
   'database_name_here' );
   /** MySQL database username */

   define( 'DB_USER', 'username_here'
   );
   /** MySQL database password */

   define( 'DB_PASSWORD',
   'password_here' );
   /** MySQL hostname */

   define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );
   …
   define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
   

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8. WORDPRESS.ORG/PLUGINS/DEBUG-BAR/
   DEBUG BAR
   ▸ Shows
   ▸ PHP errors & warnings
   ▸ Queries on current page (what is being requested from the database)
   

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9. READING ERRORS
   PHP ERROR
   ▸ Fatal
   ‣ Call to undefined function add_acction()
   ▸ in
   ▸ line
   Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function add_acction() in /
   kristarella/wp-content/plugins/my-plugin.php:6
   

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10. 500 ERROR
    

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11. GENERIC SERVER ERROR
    500 ERROR
    ▸ If you just did something, undo it!
    ▸ Check host error logs
    ▸ define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
    ▸ automatically creates wp-content/debug.log
    ▸ Fix or remove error
    

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12. BROWSER ISSUES
    INSPECTOR TOOLS & CONSOLE
    ▸ In a browser, right click & ‘Inspect Element’
    ▸ Yellow ⚠ for warnings, red ❌ for errors
    

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13. EXAMPLES
    

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14. TROUBLESHOOTING STEPS
    1. Undo what you just did
    2. Upgrade themes & plugins & core
    3. Disable plugins
    ‣ activate 1 by 1
    4. Activate default theme
    5. Check Browser Console
    6. Enable WP_DEBUG
    7. Check error logs
    ‣ Google search for error message
    8. Ask for help
    ‣ wordpress.org/support
    ‣ paid plugin author
    ‣ WP meetup
    ‣ clickwp.com (paid)
    

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15. IMAGE CREDITS
    ▸ https://www.flickr.com/photos/odisea2008/9159834089/
    

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