The dreaded 500 internal server error always seems to come at the most inopportune time and suddenly you are left scrambling to figure out how to get your WordPress site back online.
If you also suffer when it happens to you, be calm because from we tell you what is error 500 and how to fix it.
What is a 500 error?
A 500 error is an error that occurs when the browser interacts with a web server. It originates when the server is unable to respond correctly to a request made by the browser.
For example, we type a url in the browser bar, and when accessing, the server cannot show us that page. Depending on the type of error, it will show us a 5XX response code.
The type of error 500 will offer us a first clue of what may be happening.
Possible causes of error 500 in Google
The causes can be multiple and therefore the solutions can also be multiple. However, there are some common triggers for an Internal Server Error.
Excessively long PHP Timeout
When there is a normally external resource that exceeds the usual PHP response timeout, it is quite common that a 500 error is generated.
PHP memory limit exceeded
A process on your website has exceeded the memory limit and cannot be executed.
wrong .htaccess
In many cases, an incorrect or damaged .htaccess file causes a 500 error. There are many plugins that change the .htaccess, so this is usually a probable cause.
Error in the permissions of your files
When there is a confusion with the access permissions of files and directories, a 500 error occurs.
PHP Version Incompatibility
When we make a change in the PHP version and we have plugins or work with a template that is not compatible with this version, a 500 error will be generated.
In the event that you have recently made any changes, the most common is that this change has caused the error. This is the case when new plugins are installed or updated in WordPress. If you have no idea, you can go to the error messages that are saved on your server.
Most common 500 types of errors
Although there are several types of 500 errors with multiple cases, we are going to explain the most common.
Error 500: Internal server
It appears because “the server encountered an unexpected condition that prevented it from fulfilling the request”.
It can have different origins like database corruption, .htacess file error, browser cache errors, php errors and others.
Generally, it is usually the worst error, since if the server has a specific overload or we have a problem in the DNS, another error would be shown to us.
Error 502: Bad gateway
This error arises when there is a problem of understanding between different servers, or when the server is not capable of handling different requests.
A very common cause of this error is when there is a load on the server, for example when receiving DDoS attacks. It is also common for a firewall to intervene in the connection, making it impossible to respond with a 200 response code.
The 503 error indicates that the requested resource is temporarily unavailable. It is used to indicate maintenance tasks on a server, or to indicate that the server is having a spike in traffic that makes some resources unable to be served correctly.
A typical case of this error is when there is an offer or discount on a website, which means that only part of the users can buy or access the offer, while a 503 error will appear for the vast majority.
Error 504: Gateway timeout
As the name implies, it occurs when the wait time between the server and the browser has expired. This timeout can originate from both the server side and the user side.
How can I fix a 500 error?
There is no simple solution applicable to all 500 errors, but there is a series of tests that can help us narrow down the source of the problem.
On many occasions, by carrying out simple checks, we can identify the cause of the problem.
1- Refresh the page.
Refreshing the page a few minutes after the error appears can help us rule out a specific problem.
If we combine it with a tool that checks if the site is down, we can get more information. A website that will help us is
2- Try a different browser.
To rule out a browser issue, it’s helpful to try a different browser and use incognito mode.
3- Delete cache and cookies.
In some cases, to rule out a problem with the cookies or the cache, it will be necessary to delete both and check again if the 500 error persists.
4- Verify permissions.
Check that the permissions of the web files have not been modified. It is important to check the write, read and execute permissions to verify that there are no errors that cause problems.
5- Review the .htaccess file.
Check if it has undergone recent modifications and verify that the configuration is correct.
6- Check plugins and modules.
If the website uses WordPress or other cms that allow the installation of plugins and modules, it will be necessary to review the history of updates or new plugins added.
It is possible that when updating a plugin, a 500 error occurs. If it is not possible to keep track of the updates, it is advisable to uninstall or disable all plugins and extensions in a timely manner, and check and install one by one to see if the error originates from one of them.
7- Check the consumption of the server.
Sometimes a 500 error can be caused by an overload of the server, which is not capable of responding to all requests. If we review the consumption data of the server, we will be able to detect if the origin can be a consumption. .
What implications does a 500 error have for SEO?
A punctual 500 error has little impact on the SEO of a website. It may happen that while the error persists, it passes the Google crawler and encounters a 5XX error.
If the error continues, Google will not be able to access the web, nor will the users, so little by little the page will lose relevance and will stop giving the correct user response that made the specific url was receiving organic traffic.
This is one of the reasons why Google Search Console shows us 500 errors in your Coverage report, where once the changes have been made, we may ask you to validate our fix so you know the error is fixed and you can check that the page already offers a 200 response code
Depending on the size of the web and the frequency of crawling, the error can be more or less serious. A 500 error on a small website with little content updating can mean a small loss of traffic, while on larger websites, especially media, it can generate a much greater loss and stop competing in formats such as news or Google Discovery.
The recommendation will always be to solve it as quickly as possible to avoid loss of traffic and loss of credibility on the part of our users. The longer it takes to fix a 500 error, the more likely it is to have a negative impact on search results.
Other common errors that we can find
Among the HTTP status codes that cause errors, we find some common ones along with the 500 error.
It is the case of error 403- Forbiddenwhich indicates to a client or user that they do not have the necessary permissions to be able to access a certain directory on your website.
Another common mistake is , which is reported by the server when it is not possible to find a page within a web page that has been requested by the user. This can be caused when the page has been deleted or the contents have been moved but a 301 redirect of this url has not been specified.
And lastly, the error 503usually tells us that the server where we have hosted our website is overloaded.
All these errors affect the user experience of a web page and when they are detected, we must try to solve them as soon as possible. Has it become clear to you what a 500 error is and how it can affect your website? If you want to prevent your website from losing visibility, our is the option you were looking for. ➡️
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