You’re reading this article because you want to know why WordPress websites breakdown or yours appears to be broken right now. You’re not alone! Many people have broken WordPress sites and don’t know how to fix it. The good news is there are some common reasons why WordPress websites break and an experienced web developer should be able to identify the issue and sort it out.

Let’s jump right in…

Your Hosting Service Isn’t Reliable

A common reason why your WordPress website may appear to be broken isn’t really a problem with the website at all. Unreliable, cheap hosting providers often make websites crash or not load correctly. This is because they are slow, have a lot of downtime and often send error messages to your visitors.

If you’re using a cheap hosting service, it’s probably time to switch to a better provider. Sometimes even good quality hosting providers have a bad day or you could be unlucky and just find your website on a bad server. Good hosting providers will remedy the situation reasonably quickly however, if the issues are ongoing, it could be time for a change.

Your Website PHP is Outdated

One of the main reasons WordPress websites breakdown is because they are running on old, out-of-date PHP versions. This can be a problem because when new features or security updates are released for WordPress, they may not be compatible with your current PHP version. As a result, your website could become vulnerable to attacks, become slow or simply stop working correctly.

It’s important that your website hosting provider includes suitable PHP versions within their hosting packages or it may be difficult to get your website performing well.

Brute Force Attacks

Unfortunately, there’s lots of hackers out there who are particularly fond of WordPress websites.  One of the ways these hackers try to get into your website is through a brute force attack. This is where they repeatedly try to guess your password, using software, until they get it right.

There are lots of ways you can protect yourself from a brute force attack including using a strong password, limiting login attempts and using two-factor authentication. A brute force attack on your website can put a heavy load on your website and cause it to crash.

If you’re worried about a brute force attack, make sure you take the necessary steps to protect yourself. If you’re not sure how, contact us for help. And remember, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!

Your Website is Hacked

WordPress websites are vulnerable to hacking if they are not well maintained. Typically, a hacker will inject malicious code into a website which can often cause a website to break. They might also inject distasteful content or phishing scams.

If you suspect your website has been hacked, it’s important to take action right away. You might need to reinstall a backup of your WordPress website or remove any malicious code that was injected into the system by a hacker. If you’re not sure how this can be done, contact us for help with these types of issues.

You’re Using Too Many Plugins

There are so many amazing plugins available on WordPress, and they are easy to install. The problem is, when lots of plugins are installed, it leads to ‘website bloating’ and can slow down your website performance to the point it might crash completely.  You should install only the plugins you really need, and make sure they are always up-to-date.

Plugins can cause a variety of issues with your WordPress website including slowness, errors, or even an entire crash of your site. To troubleshoot these problems, you’ll need to identify which plugin is causing the issue and then either remove it from your site or update it if possible.

You’re Using an Outdated Themes and Plugins

Having an outdated theme or plugin can cause broken functionality, errors in the layout or completely crash your website. By having a more modern theme installed you will be able to enjoy benefits like faster speeds, better security features and access to new plugins.

Unfortunately, plugins are sometimes no longer supported by their developers and they stop working with newer versions of WordPress. This is another reason to keep your plugin use to a minimum. Plugins that are no longer supported, can often break a WordPress website. This is because they are not updated to work with newer versions of WordPress, which can cause errors in the layout of your website

Too Many People Dabbling with Your Website

A good website is never finished. You’ll be adding fresh unique content to it regularly, possibly having SEO work done and might have marketing people making changes or 3rd party integrations installed. Sometimes people know enough to make themselves dangerous when it comes to websites. 

If you’ve got various people working on your website, they might add code snippets they found on the internet, or change things around that they don’t understand. Too many cooks in the kitchen can often spoil the broth, and when it comes to website development, too many people working on a website can easily break it.

Need Help?

Is your website not working like it should be or you’d just like a Website Audit to see how it could be improved? Contact us today!