troubleshoot-wordpress

Troubleshoot a Hostinger WordPress site

When to use

• "My WordPress site is down / blank / showing a 500."
• "Admin is really slow."
• "I updated a plugin and now nothing works."
• "My changes aren't showing up."

What the API can and can't see

The WordPress and hosting MCP servers expose installations, plugins, themes, core version, caches, maintenance mode, and PHP configuration. They do not expose PHP error logs or shared-hosting backups. When the diagnosis genuinely needs an error log or a restore, say so and point the user to hPanel rather than calling a tool that doesn't exist.

Inputs to gather first

1. Domain.
2. Symptom: blank front-end, 500, 502/504, slow admin, login loop, stale content, failed update.
3. What changed recently — plugin install or update, theme switch, PHP version bump, core update.

Steps

1. Establish the baseline:
   • hosting_listWordPressInstallationsV1 → which installations exist on the account.
   • hosting_checkIfWordPressInstallationsAreValidV1 → whether Hostinger considers the install healthy. Run hosting_detectWordPressInstallationsV1 first if the site isn't listed.
   • hosting_showWordPressCoreVersionV1 and hosting_listAvailableWordPressCoreUpdatesV1 → core version and pending updates.
   • hosting_listInstalledWordPressPluginsV1 and hosting_listInstalledWordPressThemesV1 → versions and active state.
   • hosting_getPHPDetailsV1 (and hosting_getPHPInfoV1 for the full dump) → PHP version, extensions, limits.
2. Map the symptom using the table below.
3. Propose one fix at a time, confirm, then apply.

Common issues

Symptom	Likely cause	First check / fix
Blank front-end ("white screen of death")	Fatal PHP error, usually from a plugin or theme update	Compare hosting_listInstalledWordPressPluginsV1 against what the user just changed, then hosting_deactivateWordPressPluginV1 on the suspect. The fatal itself is only visible in the hPanel error log.
500 site-wide	PHP fatal, or a PHP version/extension mismatch	hosting_getPHPDetailsV1 to confirm the version and loaded extensions; hosting_updatePHPExtensionsV1 if something required is missing
Admin extremely slow	Heavy plugin, or a low PHP memory limit / execution time	hosting_updatePHPOptionsV1 to raise the limits; deactivate non-essential plugins one at a time
"Requires PHP x.y" warning	Plugin needs a newer PHP than the site runs	Confirm theme and plugin compatibility, then hosting_updatePHPVersionV1
Changes not appearing	LiteSpeed or website cache serving stale content	hosting_showLiteSpeedCacheStatusV1, then hosting_purgeLiteSpeedCacheV1; also hosting_clearWebsiteCacheV1, and hosting_toggleCachelessModeV1 while actively debugging
Object cache errors after a plugin change	Memcached object cache out of sync	hosting_showMemcachedObjectCacheStatusV1, then hosting_toggleMemcachedObjectCacheV1
Site stuck showing "briefly unavailable"	Maintenance mode left on	hosting_showMaintenanceStatusV1, then hosting_toggleMaintenanceModeV1
Core auto-update failed	Version conflict or a blocking plugin	hosting_listAvailableWordPressCoreUpdatesV1, then hosting_updateWordPressCoreV1
Can't reach wp-admin to verify a fix	Lost or broken admin session	hosting_createLoginLinksV1 for a one-time admin login link
Broken checkout on a shop	WooCommerce missing or inactive	hosting_checkIfWooCommerceIsInstalledV1
Hostinger plugin features misbehaving	Outdated Hostinger plugin	hosting_updateHostingerWordPressPluginV1

Isolating a plugin conflict

Deactivate one plugin at a time with hosting_deactivateWordPressPluginV1, re-test, and reactivate with hosting_activateWordPressPluginV1 before moving to the next. Say which plugin you're about to disable and what user-facing feature might break. Do not bulk-deactivate a production site without explicit approval.

Confirm before

• hosting_deleteWordPressInstallationV1 — destroys the site.
• hosting_uninstallWordPressPluginsV1, hosting_uninstallWordPressThemesV1 — may drop plugin data.
• hosting_updateWordPressCoreV1, hosting_updateWordPressPluginsV1, hosting_updateWordPressThemesV1 — can introduce new breakage.
• hosting_updatePHPVersionV1 — can break themes and plugins that don't support the new version.
• hosting_toggleMaintenanceModeV1 on production — takes the site offline for visitors.

Do not

• Do not claim to have read an error log. Direct the user to hPanel for PHP error logs.
• Do not offer to restore a backup — shared-hosting backups aren't exposed by the API.
• Do not edit wp-config.php or .htaccess directly when a Hostinger MCP tool covers the same change.