500 Internal Server Error when moving website

  • I have moved a wordpress site from a sub-domain to a directory in the root of my site:

    test.thefieldfl.com (development site)
    thefieldfl.com/eoyummywp/ (directory for live site)

    I used instructions I found in these forums here:
    https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/moving-newly-designed-wpsite-from-subdomain-to-root

    the steps I followed are:

    Firstly install the “Velvet Blues Update URLs” plugin as recommended (fixes outdated links after a move)into the subdomain. Then ..

    (1) log into the current installation and change the URLs to the new location
    (2) download all of the files from the subdomain
    (3) upload all of the files to the new location in the root
    (4) log in at the new location and admire your success
    I’ve now got to delete all the old site pages so the search egines won’t continue to index them and send people to the wrong pages.

    I now get an error 500 for the site and also cannot login to wp-admin.

    Can anyone please help?

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Moderator James Huff

    (@macmanx)

    Internal server errors (error 500) are often caused by plugin or theme function conflicts, so if you have access to your admin panel, try deactivating all plugins. If you don’t have access to your admin panel, try manually resetting your plugins (no Dashboard access required). If that resolves the issue, reactivate each one individually until you find the cause.

    If that does not resolve the issue, try switching to the Twenty Fourteen theme to rule-out a theme-specific issue. If you don’t have access to your admin panel, access your server via FTP or SFTP, navigate to /wp-content/themes/ and rename the directory of your currently active theme. This will force the default theme to activate and hopefully rule-out a theme-specific issue.

    If that does not resolve the issue, it’s possible that a .htaccess rule could be the source of the problem. To check for this, access your server via FTP or SFTP and rename the .htaccess file. If you can’t find a .htaccess file, make sure that you have set your FTP or SFTP client to view invisible files.

    If you weren’t able to resolve the issue by either resetting your plugins and theme or renaming your .htaccess file, we may be able to help, but we’ll need a more detailed error message. Internal server errors are usually described in more detail in the server error log. If you have access to your server error log, generate the error again, note the date and time, then immediately check your server error log for any errors that occurred during that time period. If you don’t have access to your server error log, ask your hosting provider to look for you.

    Thread Starter jayyyoh

    (@jayyyoh)

    Thank you James.

    I have not tried changing themes or disabling themes as the site worked fine when parked over at the sub-domain – plus I also cannot access wp-admin so it would be difficult.

    When I changed the file name of my .htaccess to .htaccess2 the error changes to:

    Not Found
The requested URL /eoyummywp/wp-admin/ was not found on this server.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
Apache Server at thefieldfl.com Port 80

    And when I change i back to .htaccess the server goes back to:

    Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator, [email protected] and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.
More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
Additionally, a 500 Internal Server Error error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
Apache Server at thefieldfl.com Port 80

    The code inside of my .htaccess file is:

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

    Any other ideas?

    Moderator James Huff

    (@macmanx)

    1. Is this a multisite installation?

    2. Please try the plugin and theme troubleshooting previously mentioned. These are necessary, we wouldn’t mention them if they didn’t frequently reveal unforeseen problems.

    Thread Starter jayyyoh

    (@jayyyoh)

    Hi James,

    No it’s not Multisite. I have just removed the site and FTP’d the old site back for now.

    Can anyone advise on transferring a WP site from a sub-domain on the server to the root directory of the same server? What steps should I take?

    Could it be a database connection issue since the PHP files are in a different location?

    Moderator James Huff

    (@macmanx)

    Can anyone advise on transferring a WP site from a sub-domain on the server to the root directory of the same server? What steps should I take?

    Sure, just follow this guide: https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Moving_WordPress

    Could it be a database connection issue since the PHP files are in a different location?

    If WordPress cannot connect to the database, the error displayed is “Error Establishing Database Connection.”

    Thread Starter jayyyoh

    (@jayyyoh)

    True!

    So when moving an established WP install from one location to another, what should be done?

    Backup existing site and DB
    Remove current site (SSH)
    Upload new site (FTP)

    Last time I did not update my .htaccess girl but when I compared them, they were both the same.

    Can anyone help?

    Moderator James Huff

    (@macmanx)

    So when moving an established WP install from one location to another, what should be done?

    Everything that’s detailed in the guide I linked to. That’s why we have a guide. ??

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • The topic ‘500 Internal Server Error when moving website’ is closed to new replies.