WordPress is the most popular Content Management System (CMS) in the world powering about 45% of the top 1 million websites. Consequently, there are hundreds of different errors of varying severity affecting websites powered by WordPress.

If you’re a WordPress website owner, you can ill afford to let your website suffer downtime because of some avoidable error. Hence, I will share 5 tips to keep your site (mostly) error-free.

1. Keep your site updated

Keeping your website updated is paramount to avoid the common WordPress errors. This is because every few months, a major version of WordPress is released with important security and bug fixing enhancements. In between the major releases, there are a number of minor releases that fix the bugs that managed to get through in the earlier versions.

Hence, you should always be running the latest and greatest version of WordPress.

2. Use plugins and themes that are regularly updated

Just like WordPress releases, your plugins and themes should also be regularly updated to keep the unwanted errors at bay. The WordPress.org repository contains more than 60,000 plugins and thousands of free themes. Many of these themes and plugins are no longer supported by their authors that could result in serious errors on your website.

Hence, it’s important that you only use those plugins and themes that are regularly supported by the plugin and theme authors.

3. Avoid hacked plugins and themes

Cracked or hacked versions of your favorite WordPress plugins and themes are easily available for download. But these rogue plugins and themes can inject malicious encrypted code into your website that will not only result in avoidable errors but also security breaches that could prove very costly for you.

4. Use the latest version of PHP

WordPress runs on the PHP scripting language. If your PHP version is outdated, it will display ugly WordPress errors on the screen. Hence your server should ideally be running the latest version of PHP and in any case, not less than PHP 7.4.

This provides the added benefit of keeping your website running fast and smoothly.

5. Don’t tinker with the core WordPress files

The core WordPress, theme, or plugin files should not be tinkered with. These files are overwritten with every update. Hence, even if you make some customization, it will be lost during the next update. Also, messing around with code that you don’t understand is a sure way to invite trouble by way of some or the other error.

Therefore, you should leave the core files alone. If you really need to make some edits, you can use the WordPress Customizer, or a child theme so that the changes you make are preserved in the future as well.

6. Seek professional help if required

Perhaps the biggest advantage of using WordPress over other CMS is that there is a vast community of WordPress users that are willing to help you if you face any troublesome error on your website through blogs, forums, and social media.

However, there are some errors that are unique and not easy to resolve on your own. In such a scenario, you should not hesitate to seek professional help if required. There are some recommended WordPress bug fixing services available that will fix that nagging error on your website for a small fee.

These simple tips will help to avoid the most common WordPress errors on your site.