How to Fix a 500 Internal Server Error

A “500 Internal Server Error” means something went wrong on the server. The good news is that most causes are common and fixable with a few systematic checks.

Common Causes #

• A corrupted or misconfigured .htaccess file
• Exhausted PHP memory limit
• Bad code in a plugin or theme, especially after an update
• File permission issues on the server

Step 1: Fix a Corrupted .htaccess File #

1. Connect to your site via SFTP or the File Manager in Your Apex Managed Panel.
2. Navigate to your site’s root directory (where wp-config.php lives).
3. Locate the .htaccess file (you may need to enable “show hidden files”).
4. Rename it to .htaccess-old.
5. Reload your site. If it comes back, go to Settings > Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard and click Save Changes — this regenerates a fresh .htaccess file automatically.

Step 2: Increase Your PHP Memory Limit #

1. Open wp-config.php via SFTP or File Manager.
2. Add this line near the top: define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’);
3. Save the file and reload your site.

Alternatively, check the PHP Settings section of Your Apex Managed Panel to adjust the memory limit directly.

Step 3: Deactivate Plugins as a Diagnostic Step #

1. Rename the wp-content/plugins folder to temporarily deactivate all plugins.
2. Reload your site to see if the error clears.
3. If it does, rename the folder back and reactivate plugins one at a time to find the culprit.

Step 4: Check Error Logs in Your Apex Managed Panel #

1. Log into my.apexmanagedhosting.com and open Your Apex Managed Panel.
2. Navigate to the Logs or Error Logs section.
3. Look for the most recent entries around the time the error started — these point to the exact file and line of code responsible.

Need Help? #

If you need further assistance, contact our support team at [email protected] or start a live chat from any page on apexmanagedhosting.com.