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An error code on your website is bad news delivered with unusual precision. 403 is not 404, and 405 is not 500 — each number narrows the search dramatically. The frustration is that WordPress sits on top of a server, and the code alone doesn't say which layer threw it: the firewall, the server config, a security plugin, or WordPress itself. That's the diagnosis we do daily.

Quick answer: the common WordPress error codes decode like this — 401: authentication demanded (password protection or security plugin), 402: a rare payment-required response usually from a CDN or API in front of the site, 403: the server refuses access (permissions, security rules, firewall), 404: the URL resolves to nothing (permalinks, deleted pages, bad rewrites), 405: the request method is blocked (form POSTs rejected by server rules), 505: an HTTP-version mismatch, typically proxy or server misconfiguration, and a fatal error / critical error screen means PHP itself crashed. Each has a short fix path once correctly attributed. Repairs start at $150 USD.

The Codes, and Where They Really Come From

  1. 401 Unauthorized. Something demands login before the page loads: leftover hosting password protection on a folder, a security plugin's hidden-login feature misfiring, or basic-auth on the server from a staging phase nobody removed.
  2. 403 Forbidden. The server knows the page exists and refuses to serve it: wrong file permissions or ownership, a ModSecurity/WAF rule triggering on innocent traffic, an IP ban, or .htaccess deny rules — often only on wp-admin, only for you.
  3. 404 Not Found — sitewide. When every post 404s but the homepage works, it's broken permalinks and rewrite rules, not missing content. After migrations, mixed old/new URL structures need proper 301 mapping too.
  4. 405 Method Not Allowed. The classic symptom: pages load fine but every form submission fails. POST requests are being rejected by server rules, a CDN, or an overzealous security layer.
  5. 402 & 505. The exotic ones. 402 almost always originates from a service in front of your site (CDN, API gateway) rather than WordPress; 505 points at HTTP-version mismatches in proxies and outdated server configs. Both are server-layer diagnoses.
  6. Fatal / critical errors. "There has been a critical error on this website" means PHP crashed — a plugin conflict, a PHP-version incompatibility, or exhausted memory. The debug log names the guilty file; we read it and act on it.

How We Diagnose Instead of Guess

The same code can come from four different layers, so we work top-down: check the CDN/proxy, read the server error logs (which name the exact rule or file involved), test with security layers bypassed, then inspect WordPress itself with debugging on. The logs almost always confess within minutes — the skill is knowing which log, and what the confession means. That's why our error fixes stay fixed: we repair the cause the log names, not the symptom the browser shows.

Pricing: From $150

Error diagnosis and repair starts at $150 USD, covering a single error condition on one site — including finding the root cause, fixing it, and verifying the whole site afterwards. If the error turns out to be a symptom of something bigger (a hack, a dying server), we tell you before proceeding and quote the real job honestly. Prefer to try yourself first? Our free WordPress errors guide covers the 500-family step by step.

HTTP Error FAQs

My site shows 403 Forbidden only when I try to log in. Why?

That pattern — site fine, wp-admin blocked — is a protection layer misfiring: a security plugin's rules, ModSecurity on the server, hosting-level admin protection, or an IP ban after failed logins. We identify which layer is blocking you, correct its rules, and restore access without weakening the actual protection.

All my posts show 404 but the homepage works. Is my content gone?

Almost certainly not — your content is safe in the database. Sitewide 404s on inner pages mean the rewrite rules that translate pretty URLs are broken. Re-saving permalinks fixes many cases; server-side rewrite config (especially on NGINX) covers the rest. Recovery is usually quick and nothing is lost.

Forms on my site fail with a 405 error. What's happening?

405 means the server is rejecting the POST method your forms use. The usual culprits are server or CDN rules blocking POST to certain paths, or a security layer treating submissions as attacks. We trace which layer rejects the request and correct the rule so forms work without disabling your protection.

What does 'There has been a critical error on this website' mean?

PHP crashed while building the page — most often a plugin conflict, an incompatibility with your PHP version, or exhausted memory. WordPress emails the admin a recovery-mode link, and the debug log names the exact file that failed. We read it, disable or fix the culprit, and restore the site, usually within hours.

Can you fix an error my hosting support gave up on?

That's a large share of our work. Hosting support stops at the server boundary; plugin developers stop at their plugin. Errors that live in the space between layers — server rules interacting with WordPress behavior — need someone who works on both sides, which is exactly what we do.

Whatever the number, the fix starts now.

Open the HELLO FIX chat in the corner or email your URL and the error code you're seeing. Error repairs start at $150 and most codes are resolved the same day.

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