Tips in Fixing Broken WordPress Themes

Ever encounter those broken WordPress themes? Well, they usually take just a few minutes to troubleshoot and sometimes with not much effort exerted to the job.

For starters, you should be informed and aware that WordPress works great out of the box! If you’re encountering some problems like; you’re current theme is damaged, things aren’t displaying properly as they should be, pages are not fully loading, pages are not found or 404 error, or clicking or certain things breaks and worsen stuff – then here are some steps you should take into consideration to put you theme back in working condition.

Try to follow the steps carefully for utmost effectiveness:

1. First, turn off all existing plugins. Then, reload the blog page that’s encountering the problem. If the page goes back online, activate all your plugins one by one, and reloading your blog page each time –you’ll notice the plugin that’s causing the problem since it’s the one that breaks the page. This is certainly your problem (deactivate and delete it). If this process doesn’t solve the problem, then proceed with the 2^nd procedure below.

2. While all existing plugins are still deactivated – choose activate and revert to the “default” WordPress theme. Does your page work now? If that’s so – you’ve just hacked your theme and broken it. Try to download a fresh copy (or just switching themes) to replace the other one. If the problem still somehow persists, try using the instructions on step 3.

3. If you encounter Links to your own blog pages that don’t work. Try going to “Settings->Permalinks” and just hit “save” to update the links again. Are they back online? Move on to step 4 if you’re still encountering problems.

4. Problems like Blank pages, blank WordPress dashboard login – or can’t login? Try checking your wp-config file first and make sure that’s its intact and has the accurate connection information. Then reupload all the WordPress core files once more to see if one was corrupted or containing problems, and check your theme page again. Go to step number 5 if this didn’t do the trick.

5. If you’re still encountering some problems, the first advisable thing to do is to contact your web host and ask if there were any recent upgrades to the server you’re hosted on. Sometimes upgrades to Apache or security rules can give unwanted error to WordPress sites, and you might not be the only customer affected by this nuisance.

If none of the 5 steps worked in solving the problem, try searching the WordPress Support Forum and Codex – you might encounter someone there with the exact same problem as yours that has already found a solution!

98% of the time when your WordPress theme breaks, it’s actually something simple, and the steps listed above will aid you in getting back in business in no time. If you’re already in there mucking around with themes and plugins, and experimenting on how to fix those pesky problems – I would also advise that you read my WordPress Security Guide for DIY info on how to secure, upgrade and polish your blog to its finest condition. If ever you’re WordPress blog has been hacked and you need immediate assistance in relation to the problem then don’t hesitate to follow that link for information and tips on asking me for some assistance.

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