If you manage a website on WordPress, you have likely found yourself tearing your hair out over a problem you can't seem to fix. In this article, we have decided to list and present the various errors you may encounter while using WordPress.
The Most Common Errors and Bugs in WordPress
1. WordPress Plugin Issues
Plugins are integral parts of the WordPress CMS. These extensions allow you to add new features to your site and manage various aspects of your online presence, whether it's for SEO management, website design, or implementing pop-ups and much more. However, with the growing number of these extensions, bugs can occur.
(1) Conflicting Plugins
The more plugins you have, the harder it is to keep track of your WordPress admin panel. Installing and managing numerous plugins can undermine the smooth operation of your website.
One common issue is the conflict of one extension with one or more others. An extension can negatively interact with another one, causing your site to malfunction. This is one of the major points to watch out for when you have multiple plugins.
(2) Slowing Down Your Site
In addition to conflicting with each other, having too many plugins can affect your website’s performance. The more extensions you use, the heavier your site becomes. A “heavy” site takes a long time to load. Loading time has implications for your SEO as it increases your pages' bounce rate. You need to be very vigilant about this!
(3) Plugin, Theme Updates, and WordPress Maintenance
Your extensions, like all applications or software, need to be updated regularly. In addition to updating your extensions, there are also updates for WordPress and the themes you use. Not to mention the necessity of using a child theme.
After several updates, your site may become stuck in maintenance mode. This is inconvenient when you need to keep your online business running. Furthermore, to fix this bug, you’ll have to dig into your site's root files.
(4) Display Bugs on Mobile Devices
Some plugins are not optimized for mobile. This is a significant issue since user experience is crucial, particularly on mobile devices compared to desktops. An extension may look fantastic on a "desktop" version but be inadequate on a small screen.
2. The “White Screen of Death” in WordPress
Experiencing a blank screen from your WordPress interface (WSOD: White Screen Of Death) and being unable to do anything about it can be either frustrating or panic-inducing. Once again, this problem may arise due to plugins or your theme. Both elements can cause database or PHP errors. Backing up your site will allow you to revert to a previous state and possibly fix this display bug (the blank page).
3. HTTPS Error: Managing SSL Certificates
Having an SSL certificate is very important for your site. This certificate helps secure your site and transition from HTTP to HTTPS. If your site isn’t secure, a warning message from search engines may appear, instilling distrust among users regarding your website.
On WordPress, HTTPS may not display correctly if you’re not using a specific plugin. So it’s essential to ensure the extension does not conflict with others.
4. Managing Comments and Spam
You may also encounter inconsistent comments or spam on your blog and pages. While this issue may not drastically affect your site, it can be annoying. To resolve this error, there are anti-spam plugins available in addition to WordPress’s filtering system.
5. Hacking Issues on WordPress
Your sites can be subjected to various types of hacking. Attempted logins on your accounts may occur. Don’t forget to protect your account well and properly define the different types of user access. WordPress provides good security, but vigilance is essential.
6. Connection Error: Stuck on the Login Page
Another problem concerning login attempts is getting stuck and being unable to log into your account. If resetting your password doesn’t work, you may need to perform operations on the databases, source files, and code of your site.
7. Media File Errors
Having textual content on a site is good, but having media files (images, videos, etc.) in addition is even better!
However, some of your images or icons may not display properly on mobile or within your theme. Therefore, it’s vital to ensure that the user experience on mobile is optimal. A buggy element can drive away many users. There are plugins available to properly resize your files, especially the featured images.
Another error related to media files concerns their loading times. A “heavy” image can slow down the loading time of your web pages. Again, plugins exist to compress your images’ file sizes.
8. Social Media Sharing Errors
Speaking of images, another common issue for WordPress users is sharing posts on social media. The thumbnail may not appear, or it may not display as it should. This is troublesome, knowing that visual elements significantly increase click-through rates. Again, plugins are available to ensure your images display correctly when shared on social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn).
9. Issues in the Text/Visual Editor for Your Pages
To create your pages and articles in WordPress, you need to use the text editor or visual editor. Display errors may occur on your live site because it doesn’t match the exact configuration you wanted. Even using templates for your themes may present display bugs (these bugs can stem from certain plugins). Extensions may help you resolve these display issues.
10. Your WordPress Site is Not Indexed on Google
Optimizing your SEO on WordPress is not necessarily intuitive. Once again, you’ll need to install plugins just to fill in the <!-- fs-richtext-ignore --><Title> and <Meta-description> of your pages and articles. If your site is not indexed or poorly indexed by search engines, it may be due to it not meeting several performance criteria, which can be a consequence of WordPress.
You can test your site’s performance using this audit tool: Lighthouse.
The Solution to All Your Problems: Webflow
No, Webflow is not a WordPress plugin; rest assured!
Webflow is a no-code tool that allows you to develop sites without needing to know how to code, using a combination of blocks. It is a powerful tool that competes with WordPress as it offers numerous advantages over the popular CMS. One of the many benefits of Webflow is the ability to have an interface that simplifies site management through the editor mode.
Webflow allows you to correct all the problems related to the plugins you have on WordPress. Indeed, in Webflow, you can access many features directly from your user interface (almost everything natively). An almost magical solution!
Additionally, Webflow empowers you to create aesthetic (customizable to your taste), fast (Amazon AWS hosting), and user-friendly sites. Your only limit on Webflow is your imagination.
If you wish to migrate your WordPress website to Webflow, our Webflow agency can assist you with the various stages. Digidop offers you a mockup (created on Figma) of your site, the development of this mockup on Webflow, and finally training on using the editor mode. In the end, you’ll walk away with a beautiful site (reflecting your image) that adheres to best SEO practices.
You can also find our tutorial videos on the Webflow editor interface:
