My WordPress Website is no longer loading after I installed SSL plugin

Certainly! You can do the following steps:

1. Recheck .htaccess: Reverify the .htaccess file to ensure no residual SSL/HTTPS configurations are present, and if uncertain, reset it to WordPress defaults.

2. URL Settings: If you can access WP Admin, ensure the URL settings are using http://.

3. Plugins and Theme: Deactivate all plugins via SFTP by renaming the plugins folder and switch to a default theme by renaming your current theme’s folder in wp-content/themes.

4. SSL Configuration: Review and correct SSL settings from your hosting control panel.

5. Browser Cache: Clear it or use a different browser/incognito mode.

6. Debug Mode: Enable debugging in wp-config.php to identify any specific errors.

7. DNS Propagation: Check if your DNS changes have propagated fully

Heya @kolademalikademola,

Can you please share the exact error you are receiving? Additionally, you can provide errors from your error log to help further troubleshoot the issue.

Hi there,

Indeed SSL-related problems can be tricky, can you share the exact error you are getting when you try to visit your website?

Here are a few things that I could suggest checking:

1. Backup Everything: Before making any changes, always ensure you have a backup of your website files and database.

2. Check the Site URL:

   • Login to your WordPress database using phpMyAdmin or any other database management tool.
   • Navigate to the wp_options table.
   • Check the siteurl and home options. Ensure they are set to the correct URL. If you were trying to switch to HTTPS, they should start with https://.

3. .htaccess File:

   • Since you mentioned you edited the .htaccess file, ensure you have the default WordPress .htaccess rules. Here’s the default:

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress

If you have additional rules, make a backup, then try using only the default rules to see if that resolves the issue.

If none of that helps, I could suggest also checking the error logs on your server at /var/log/apache2/error.log.

After making changes, always clear your browser cache or try accessing the site in incognito mode to see the latest version of the site.

If the problem persists, would you mind sharing your Apache virtual host here, both your SSL and non-SSL versions?

Best,

Bobby