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It’s fair to say that we all hate dealing with bugs, isn’t it? One minute your site works fine, the next, something’s broken, and you don’t know why.

If you run a WordPress site, bugs will occur. It doesn’t mean you broke something. But here is the good news: WordPress debugging isn’t as scary as it sounds.

The truth is, debugging in WordPress doesn’t require a tech degree. Most common bugs can be tracked down in minutes, even if you’ve never written a line of code. These steps will walk you through it.

Here’s how you can figure out what’s wrong in less than 5 minutes.

WordPress Debugging Steps You Can Do Yourself

Skip the panic. These quick steps make debugging in WordPress feel way less intimidating.

WordPress-Debugging-Steps-You-Can-Actually-Do-Yourself

Step 1: Open Your Site in Private Mode

Use your browser’s incognito or private tab.

This helps you see the real version of your site. Sometimes, your browser shows an old, cached version that hides the actual problem.

Personal tip: I once spent 30 minutes fixing a layout bug that only existed in my browser cache. Cookies move. Always start here.

Step 2: Check What’s Broken

Look closely and ask:

  • Is it the layout?
  • Is a feature missing?
  • Are you locked out?
  • Does something look weird?

Write it down or take a screenshot. You’ll need this info in the next steps.

Step 3: Turn off Your Plugins (temporarily)

Go to your WordPress dashboard → Plugins → Installed Plugins.

Click “Deactivate All.” Then check your site again.

If the issue goes away, it was one of the plugins that caused it.

How to Find the Problem Plugin

  • Reactivate each plugin one by one.
  • Refresh your site after each.
  • As soon as the problem comes back, you’ve found the one.

Pro tip: Install the plugin Health Check & Troubleshooting. It lets you test plugins without breaking the live site for visitors. This is a helpful tool when you’re debugging WordPress issues with minimal disruption.

Step 4: Switch Your Theme

Still seeing the bug?

Test things out with a basic WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four.

If the issue disappears, it’s your theme. Maybe it’s outdated or clashing with a plugin.

Been there: A client’s site broke after a theme update. Turns out the theme used an old jQuery script that wasn’t supported anymore. Debugging in WordPress often starts with ruling out theme compatibility issues.

Step 5: Open Your Browser Console

This part sounds nerdy, but it’s simple.

Right-click anywhere on your page → click Inspect → go to the Console tab.

Now reload the page.

Look for red errors. These could say:

  • 404 (file missing)
  • 500 (server problem)
  • JavaScript errors (often plugin or theme conflicts)

You don’t need to understand every line. Just spot the name of a plugin, file, or script. That’s your clue—and often the first hint when debugging WordPress scripts or file paths.

Step 6: Turn On Debug Mode 

This step tells WordPress to log errors in a file. 

Open your wp-config.php file using cPanel, FTP, or File Manager. 

Place the code directly above the comment that reads “That’s all, stop editing!”: 

php 

define (‘WP_DEBUG’, true);  

define (‘WP_DEBUG_LOG’, true); 

Then, visit your site again to trigger the bug. After that, go to this file: 

/wp-content/debug.log 

Open it. Look for any error messages, especially ones showing plugins or theme names. 

Quick warning: Turn debug mode off after you’re done. You don’t want to expose errors to users. This log is essential when you’re debugging in WordPress, especially for backend issues.

Step 7: Check With Your Web Host

If everything else looks fine but your site’s still broken, it could be your server.

Check for:

  • A full storage limit
  • PHP version is too old
  • Server errors (500, 503)
  • CDN or firewall blocks (like Cloudflare)

Most hosts have a dashboard showing error logs. Or you can contact support and say:

“My WordPress site is showing [bug]—can you check the server logs?”

If your site handles transactions, user data, and frequent content updates, then consider reaching out to a WordPress development company for deeper analysis and long-term fixes.

Consider Security Hardening During Debugging

While fixing bugs, it’s a good time to review the security of your site. As you may have seen that many issues occur due to outdated plugins and also due to weak settings.

Simply follow security hardening steps such as limiting logins or disabling XML-RPC. All this can stop bugs before they bug you later!

Most Common WordPress Glitches (And How to Solve Them Fast)

Here’s a quick list of common problems and fixes:

Most-Common-WordPress-Glitches-And-How-to-Solve-Them-Fast

White Screen of Death

  • Usually from a bad plugin or theme
  • Disable all plugins via FTP or File Manager
  • Switch to a default theme

Login Loop

  • Clear your browser cache and cookies
  • Check your .htaccess file

Broken Layout

  • Clear browser and plugin cache
  • Check for missing CSS or JS files in the console

Slow Site Out of Nowhere

  • Recent plugin update?
  • High traffic spike?
  • Low hosting resources?

Useful Tools to Bookmark

  • Health Check & Troubleshooting plugin
  • WP File Manager
  • Debug Bar
  • Chrome DevTools (Console + Network tabs)

These tools won’t fix bugs, but they’ll help you see what’s broken faster, and they’ll help you debug WordPress faster by narrowing down what’s broken.

When You Should Call a Developer 

If you’ve tried everything and: 

  • The bug affects checkout or payments 
  • You see a white screen and can’t access the admin 
  • The debug log shows fatal errors you don’t understand 
  • Your site got hacked or defaced 
  • Or you’re stuck Googling “WordPress debug not working” with no luck… 

This is your sign to bring in experts. 

Don’t wait. Bring in help. You can hire WordPress developers to get expert-level support in tracking down complex issues and applying performance-friendly fixes. It’s not worth risking more damage. 

Final Thoughts

You don’t need to panic the next time something breaks. WordPress debugging needs a plan, that’s it.

  • Use private mode to check the real page
  • Disable plugins and themes to find the cause
  • Use debug tools to gather clues

Most of the time, you’ll spot the issue in under 5 minutes. And the more you practice debugging in WordPress, the faster you’ll get at solving problems—even before they affect users.

FAQs

Q1. What tools can I use for debugging WordPress?

You have great options. Try Query Monitor to catch PHP errors, slow queries, or REST API calls in real time. Or use WP Debugging—a one-click plugin that turns debug mode on/off without digging into code.

Q2. How do I solve a WordPress debugging error?

Start simple: turn on debug mode, check the debug.log file, and look for plugin or theme names in the error. Nine times out of ten, deactivating the culprit plugin fixes the issue.

Q3. How do I debug 403 and 404 errors in WordPress?

For 403 errors, check your security plugin settings or file permissions. For 404s, it’s often a broken permalink. Just head to Settings → Permalinks and click “Save” to refresh them—yes, it works.

Q4. How do I turn off debug mode in WordPress?

To turn off debug mode, go to your wp-config.php file and look for the lines related to debugging. Simply change the value from true to false for any debug settings like WP_DEBUG, WP_DEBUG_LOG, and WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY. This will stop WordPress from showing or logging errors—perfect once you’ve finished troubleshooting.