Troubleshoot common hosting errors

Most frequent HTTP errors

This guide helps you diagnose and resolve the most common errors in shared hosting.

Error 500 - Internal Server Error

The most common error. It indicates a problem on the server or in your code.

Causes and solutions

1. Error in .htaccess:

# Temporarily rename .htaccess
mv .htaccess .htaccess.bak
# If the site loads, the problem is in .htaccess

2. Incorrect permissions:

# Fix permissions
find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find . -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;

3. PHP memory limit:

; In .user.ini or php.ini
memory_limit = 256M

4. Corrupted plugin/theme (WordPress):

# Rename plugins folder
mv wp-content/plugins wp-content/plugins_bak
# If it works, reactivate one by one to find the culprit

5. Check the error_log:

tail -50 ~/public_html/error_log
# Or from cPanel → Metrics → Errors

Error 403 - Forbidden

The server denies access to the resource.

Causes and solutions

1. Restrictive permissions:

chmod 755 public_html/
chmod 644 public_html/index.php

2. No index file:

# Verify that index.html or index.php exists
ls public_html/index.*

3. Rule in .htaccess blocking access:

Check for Require or Deny from rules in .htaccess.

4. ModSecurity blocking the request:

Check in cPanel → Security → ModSecurity for blocking logs.

Error 404 - Not Found

The requested resource does not exist.

Causes and solutions

1. Incorrect URL or deleted file:

Verify that the file exists at the correct path.

2. Broken permalinks (WordPress):

1. Go to Settings → Permalinks
2. Without changing anything, click Save Changes
3. This regenerates the .htaccess

3. Missing RewriteBase:

# If WordPress is in a subdirectory
RewriteBase /subdirectory/

Error 503 - Service Unavailable

The server is temporarily unavailable.

Causes and solutions

1. Too many processes:

Your account exceeded the simultaneous process limit. Wait a few minutes or contact support.

2. Server maintenance:

Check the service status in the Baires Host panel.

3. .maintenance file (WordPress):

# Delete maintenance file
rm ~/public_html/.maintenance

White Screen (White Screen of Death)

The site loads but displays nothing.

Solutions

1. Enable debug (WordPress):

// In wp-config.php
define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);

2. Increase memory:

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

3. Check logs:

tail -20 ~/public_html/wp-content/debug.log

Email not sending

Diagnosis

1. Check the mail queue in cPanel → Email → Track Delivery
2. Verify SPF/DKIM records: dig yourdomain.com TXT +short
3. Check if the IP is on blacklists: mxtoolbox.com/blacklists

Solutions

• Verify that PHP mail() function is enabled
• Use authenticated SMTP instead of mail() (plugins like WP Mail SMTP)
• Check that you are not exceeding the hourly sending limit

Database connection error

Error establishing a database connection

Solutions

1. Verify credentials in wp-config.php or configuration file
2. Verify that the database exists in cPanel → MySQL Databases
3. Verify that the user has assigned permissions
4. Try to repair the database:

// In wp-config.php (temporary)
define('WP_ALLOW_REPAIR', true);
// Visit: yourdomain.com/wp-admin/maint/repair.php

Disk Quota Exceeded

Your account ran out of space.

Solutions

1. Check usage in cPanel → sidebar → Disk Usage
2. Delete unnecessary files:

# Find large files
find ~/ -type f -size +50M -exec ls -lh {} \;

# Clean old logs
find ~/logs -name '*.log' -mtime +30 -delete

# Clean old backups
rm ~/backup-*.tar.gz

1. Empty the cPanel trash: Trash → Empty Trash

Diagnostic tools

# View active processes
ps aux | grep $USER

# View disk usage
du -sh ~/public_html/*

# View recent error logs
tail -100 ~/logs/error.log

# Verify database connectivity
mysql -u username -p -e 'SELECT 1;'

General recommendations

• Always check the error_log as a first step
• Make a backup before attempting solutions
• If a change does not resolve the problem, revert it
• Use debug mode only temporarily
• If the problem persists, contact Baires Host support with the relevant logs