Troubleshooting
Start from what you're seeing. Symptom-first guides for the common problems.
29 articles
Website errors
- Website not loading? Start here
A quick way to work out why your website won’t load: check the exact error, whether it’s DNS, SSL, the server or your site, and go to the right fix.
- Is it my website or the server? How to tell
Work out whether a problem is on the platform, in your account, in your site’s code or on your own network, before spending time on the wrong fix.
- 500 Internal Server Error: how to fix it
Find the real cause of a 500 error: read the error log, then check .htaccess, PHP errors, permissions and PHP version in order.
- 403 Forbidden: how to fix it
Why the server refuses access with a 403 — missing index file, permissions, .htaccess rules or security blocks — and how to fix each one.
- 404 Not Found: why pages are missing and how to fix it
Fix 404 errors after uploading or moving a site: files in the wrong folder, case-sensitive names, broken permalinks and changed URLs that need redirects.
- Blank white page: how to find the hidden error
A completely blank page usually means a PHP error that isn’t displayed. How to reveal it with logs and fix the cause.
- “Too many redirects” and HTTPS redirect loops
Fix ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS: conflicting HTTPS and www rules in .htaccess, WordPress settings, plugins and Cloudflare’s SSL mode.
- Website showing an old version or the previous host
Why you still see the old site after changes or a move: browser cache, page cache, Cloudflare’s cache, DNS caching or a hosts file entry.
- Seeing a default page instead of your website
Why a placeholder or ‘coming soon’ page appears instead of the site you uploaded or installed, and how to remove it.
- 502 Bad Gateway, 503 Service Unavailable and 504 Gateway Timeout
What 502, 503 and 504 errors mean on shared hosting, the difference between a platform problem and a slow site, and what to check.
- Why is my hosting account suspended? Filed under Account & billing
The reasons an account is suspended, how to tell which applies, and how to restore a suspended account before data is deleted.
- WordPress white screen of death: how to fix a blank page Filed under WordPress
A blank white WordPress page almost always hides a PHP error. How to reveal it, and how to fix the plugin, theme or memory issue behind it.
- “There has been a critical error on this website” Filed under WordPress
What WordPress’s critical error message means, how to use recovery mode, and how to find and disable the plugin or theme causing it.
- Can’t log in to WordPress: fixes for common login problems Filed under WordPress
Login page refreshes, redirect loops, ‘cookies are blocked’, 403 on wp-login.php and forgotten passwords — the fix for each.
- Why is my website slow? Filed under Performance
A methodical way to find why a website is slow — server response, page weight, third-party scripts or distance — and what to fix first.
- “508 Resource Limit Is Reached” and slowdowns under load Filed under Performance
What a 508 or resource limit error means, how to find what’s consuming CPU, memory or processes, and the fixes that stop it recurring.
- My website has been hacked: what to do Filed under Security
The signs a site is compromised and a clear recovery order: contain, preserve, restore or clean, close the hole, and check search engines.
Domains and DNS
- Domain not resolving: “This site can’t be reached”
Fix DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN and ‘server not found’: check the domain is registered, nameservers are set, records exist and DNSSEC isn’t broken.
- DNS changes not working
You changed a DNS record and nothing happened. How to tell whether it’s caching, the wrong DNS provider, a naming mistake or a conflicting record.
- Site works with www but not without (or the reverse)
Fix a domain that only loads with or without www: the missing DNS record, SSL coverage and the redirect to your preferred version.
- Email stopped working after changing nameservers
Why mail stops when you move a domain’s DNS, and how to restore Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or old-host email records at Traxio.
- Account suspended because your domain isn’t pointing to Traxio
Restore an account DNS Guard suspended during its first 30 days: check where your domain points, fix nameservers or A records, and let it restore automatically.
Email problems
- Can’t send email: how to fix outgoing mail
Fix email that won’t send from your app or phone: SMTP authentication, port and encryption mismatches, blocked networks and sending limits.
- Not receiving email: how to fix incoming mail
Find out why messages aren’t arriving: MX records, DNS pointing elsewhere, full mailboxes, forwarders, spam filtering and app sync problems.
- Understanding email bounce messages
Read an email bounce (non-delivery report): the common 4xx and 5xx codes, what ‘mailbox full’, ‘relay denied’ and ‘rejected by policy’ mean, and what to do.
- SMTP authentication failed
Fix ‘authentication failed’, ‘535 incorrect authentication data’ and ‘relay denied’ when sending email from an app, website or device.
- Certificate warning in your email app
Why Outlook, Apple Mail or iPhone warns that the mail server’s identity can’t be verified, and how to fix it without trusting an insecure connection.
- Outlook keeps asking for the password
Stop Outlook repeatedly prompting for your email password: wrong username, stored credentials, Exchange auto-configuration and blocked logins.
- Why are my emails going to spam? Filed under Email deliverability
The real reasons email lands in junk folders — authentication, content, reputation and recipient behaviour — and a checklist to fix each one.
- My email account is sending spam Filed under Security
Signs a mailbox has been compromised, how to secure it, check for rules and forwarders an attacker added, and recover your sending reputation.
SSL problems
- SSL certificate not issued or not renewing
Why a free certificate won’t issue or renew — DNS not pointing to Traxio, AAAA records, CAA, Cloudflare or rate limits — and how to fix each.
- “Your connection is not private” on your website
Decode browser certificate errors — NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID, DATE_INVALID, AUTHORITY_INVALID — and fix the cause on your site.
- How to fix mixed content warnings Filed under SSL & HTTPS
Why a site on HTTPS still shows ‘not fully secure’, how to find the insecure images, scripts and styles, and how to fix them for good.
Files, FTP and databases
- FTP connection failed: how to fix it
Fix FTP login failures, timeouts and ‘failed to retrieve directory listing’ with the right host, username format, encryption and passive mode.
- SFTP connection failed: how to fix it
Fix SFTP errors — authentication failure, connection refused, timeouts and host key warnings — including which login SFTP uses.
- “Permission denied” and files that won’t save or upload
Fix uploads and saves failing with permission errors in WordPress, apps and FTP, without resorting to unsafe 777 permissions.
- Database connection failed
Fix ‘Access denied for user’, ‘Unknown database’ and connection errors in PHP apps by checking prefixes, passwords, privileges and host.
- phpMyAdmin won’t open, logs out or times out
Fix common phpMyAdmin problems: login loops, session expiry, blank pages, import timeouts and ‘max_input_vars’ warnings.
- Cron job not running
Diagnose a cron job that doesn’t seem to run: wrong schedule, relative paths, PHP binary, permissions, silent errors and overlapping runs.
- “Error establishing a database connection” in WordPress Filed under WordPress
Fix WordPress’s database connection error: check wp-config.php credentials, database user permissions, the database host and damaged tables.