How to Fix a 500 Internal Server Error on Your Site

The well-known 500 server internal error. It usually comes at the most untimely moment, and then you’re faced with a dilemma of the best way to get your website back up and running. Trust us, we’ve been there.

Other issues that are similar to what you’ve experienced include the terrifying error in establishing the database connection and the well-known blank white screens. However, from the moment your website is down, you’re losing customers and visitors. In addition, it appears bad for your business.

Today, we’ll dig deep into the error 500 Internal Server and walk you through a few ways to get your website up and running quickly. Learn more about the causes that are causing this error and the steps you can take to keep it from happening in the future.

Check Out Our Video Guide To Fixing a 500 Internal Server Error on Your Site

What is a 500 Internal Server Error?

This error occurs when the server is confronted with an unusual condition that stops it from completing the request. It’s a general warning which indicates that the server is aware there’s something wrong however, it isn’t specific about the issue.

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When you visit a site, your browser transmits a request to the server on which the website is hosted. The server accepts the request, processes it, and returns all the resources requested (PHP, HTML, CSS, etc.) as well as the HTTP header.

The HTTP also has what is known as the HTTP status code. Status codes are means of notifying you about the status of your request. The status code could mean a status code of 200, which means “Everything is OK,” or a 500 status code ,signifies that something is not working properly.

There are numerous different kinds of status errors 500 (500, 501, 502, 503, 504, and 504.), and each one means some other thing. In this instance, an internal server error of 500 error means it is because the server was confronted with an error which prevented it from processing requests( RFC 7231 Section 6.6.1).

Error Code HTTP Error 500

Error Type Code error

Error Variations “500 Internal Server Error”

“HTTP 500”

“Internal Server Error”

“HTTP 500 – Internal Server Error”

“500 Error”

“HTTP Error 500”

“500 – Internal Server Error”

“500 Internal Server Error. Sorry for the error. Something was wrong.”

“500. It’s an error. The error was made. Try again. We’re not sure.”

“The website cannot display the page – HTTP 500.”

“Is currently not able to process this request. HTTP ERROR 500.”

Error Causes Browser Cache.

A corrupted .htaccess file as well as PHP limitation on memory.

Problems with third-party plugins and themes.

Files that are corrupted within Your WordPress installation.

Troubles in your server’s database.

500 Internal Server Error Variations

500 internal server errors in WordPress

Because of the many operating systems, web servers, and browsers, an internal server error could manifest itself in many different ways. However, they all communicate the same message. Here are a few of the numerous variants you could see on the internet:

• • “500 Internal Server Error”
  • “HTTP 500”
  • “Internal Server Error”
  • “HTTP 500 – Internal Server Error”
  • “500 Error”
  • “HTTP Error 500”
  • “500 – Internal Server Error”
  • “500 Internal Server Error. Sorry, something was wrong.”
  • “500. It’s an error. The error was made. Try again later. This is all we know.”
  • “The website cannot display the page – HTTP 500.”
  • “Is currently not able to process this request. HTTP ERROR 500.”

It could also be that you see this message that is attached to it:

The server was unable to resolve an internal error or a misconfiguration and was unable to finish your request. Contact the administrator of the server, webmaster@domain.com, and inform them of the time and date the error occurred, as well as any other actions you did that could have caused the error. Additional information regarding the error could be found in the error log of the server.

Internal Server Error

Sometimes, you may just see a blank screen. When you’re dealing with the 500 internal server issues, This is actually fairly common in browsers like Firefox or Safari.

500 internal server error in Firefox

Larger brands may even have their own customized 500 internal server errors, like the one provided by Airbnb.

Airbnb 500 internal server error

Here’s a different and creative 500 server error sample from the folks at Readme.

readme 500 internal server error

Even the powerful YouTube isn’t immune to 500 server-related errors.