{"id":13170843,"date":"2026-02-07T12:14:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T12:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/?p=13170843"},"modified":"2026-03-27T12:17:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T12:17:01","slug":"how-to-check-wordpress-error-logs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/how-to-check-wordpress-error-logs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Check WordPress Error Logs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When a WordPress site throws an error, checking the error logs is usually the fastest way to find the cause. You have two options to do this: the manual way or the easy way (i.e., using a plugin).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s look at both approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Manual Way: Using WordPress\u2019 Built-In Debug Logs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress includes a native debugging system, but it\u2019s disabled by default. To use it, you'll need to access your site files and follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Enable Debug Mode<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Edit your <code>wp-config.php<\/code> file and add (or update) the following lines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-codemirror-blocks-code-block code-block\"><pre class=\"CodeMirror\" data-setting=\"{&quot;showPanel&quot;:false,&quot;languageLabel&quot;:false,&quot;fullScreenButton&quot;:false,&quot;copyButton&quot;:false,&quot;mode&quot;:&quot;php&quot;,&quot;mime&quot;:&quot;text\/x-php&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;lineNumbers&quot;:false,&quot;styleActiveLine&quot;:false,&quot;lineWrapping&quot;:false,&quot;readOnly&quot;:true,&quot;fileName&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;PHP&quot;,&quot;maxHeight&quot;:&quot;400px&quot;,&quot;modeName&quot;:&quot;php&quot;}\">define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );\ndefine( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );\ndefine( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This tells WordPress to log errors instead of showing them to visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Locate the Error Log<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once enabled, WordPress writes errors to \/wp-content\/debug.log.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll usually need FTP, SSH, or your hosting file manager to open and read this file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Check Server Logs if Needed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If <code>debug.log<\/code> stays empty, your host may be logging errors elsewhere (for example, Apache or PHP error logs). These are often buried in hosting dashboards and can be cluttered with unrelated messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This approach works, but it\u2019s slow, technical, and easy to forget to turn off. It also means jumping between files, dashboards, and downloads just to track down a single error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Easier Way: Using WP Debug Toolkit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-12.png\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"542\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-12-1024x542.png\" alt=\"WP Debug Toolkit\" class=\"wp-image-13181595\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-12-1024x542.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-12-300x159.png 300w, https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-12-768x406.png 768w, https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-12-1536x813.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-12.png 1810w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For many site owners, manually editing config files and digging through logs isn\u2019t ideal. This is where <a href=\"https:\/\/wpdebugtoolkit.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WP Debug Toolkit<\/a> shines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s Different?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of editing <code>wp-config.php<\/code>, WP Debug Toolkit lets you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enable WordPress debug mode directly from the admin<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>View PHP errors, warnings, and notices inside your dashboard<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See issues as they happen, without downloading log files<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Quickly identify which plugin, theme, or file caused the error<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All the underlying WordPress debug features are still being used\u2014you just don\u2019t have to manage them by hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why It\u2019s More Convenient<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>No FTP or SSH access required<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No hunting for <code>debug.log<\/code> files<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Easier to toggle debugging on and off safely<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Faster feedback while developing or troubleshooting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Manually checking WordPress error logs gets the job done\u2014but it\u2019s very much the \u201cold school\u201d approach. If you only debug once in a blue moon, it may be fine. But if you troubleshoot sites regularly, using a tool like WP Debug Toolkit makes errors easier to spot, understand, and fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Either way, don\u2019t guess. Check the logs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a complete list of debugging plugins, see the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/wordpress-debug-plugins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">7 Best WordPress Debug Plugins<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When a WordPress site throws an error, checking the error logs is usually the fastest way to find the cause. You have two options to do this: the manual way or the easy way (i.e., using a plugin). Let\u2019s look at both approaches. The Manual Way: Using WordPress\u2019 Built-In Debug Logs WordPress includes a native [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82597,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","inline_featured_image":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"content_author":[213],"cta":[222],"class_list":["post-13170843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","content_author-editorial-staff","cta-wp-debug-toolkit"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Check WordPress Error Logs - WP All Import<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How to check WordPress error logs to quickly find and fix site issues, manually or by using an easier plugin-based approach.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/how-to-check-wordpress-error-logs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Check WordPress Error Logs - 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