How to Fix Pages Not Appearing on Your WordPress Website
If you are reading this, it’s most likely because you’re experiencing issue with your WordPress website. Maybe you’re getting an empty page instead of the page you were expecting, or the content on the page is not appearing as you intended. Whatever the case may be, welcome to the club. It seems like every other day, we’re faced with some sort of WordPress-related anxiety. And like many other problems that revolve around technology, there is a fairly simple solution that you can implement to restore the good old days of blissful ignorance. So without further ado, let’s get to it.
Reset Your Website
The best way to troubleshoot any issue with your WordPress website is to reset it. That means backing up your content (e.g., posts, pages, galleries), deleting your site, and then reconstructing it from the ground up. While this may seem like a daunting task, there are tools that can make the process simpler and less stressful. One handy tool for this purpose is WPLift. Simply enter your website’s URL (e.g., http://www.example.com) and choose the option that best suits your needs. Once you’ve done that, hit the Create button and WPLift will start syncing files and the like so that when you get your site back up and running, it’s in the exact same condition that you left it in. If you’d like, you can use WPLift to also generate a clean install of WordPress (version 4 or higher) and import your content from the previous installation.
Clear Cache
Another thing that you can do to help troubleshoot issues with your WordPress website is to clear its cache. That is, whenever you make any changes to the site (e.g., post or page content), WordPress stores that information in a cache so that it can be accessed fast and without having to resync everything. If for some reason your page isn’t showing up despite making changes and clearing the cache, it is, in all likelihood, due to a caching issue. To test this theory, navigate to the page in question and choose the Preview tab to examine its contents before the change went live (note: this will only work if you’re on a live website). If you can access the page’s previously cached content, all is well and you should clear your cache.
Check Forgery
You may also want to check for malware on your website. That is, malware can potentially lurk in the form of a hidden script or an insecure plugin that is collecting your personal information without your knowledge. While there are reputable plugins that can perform this function, it is always a good idea to perform a thorough scan of your entire website with a reputable anti-malware tool to catch any sneaky scripts or plugins that might be doing the virtual equivalent of printing money off your site. Simply download and install the Anti-Malware plugin, then click on the Scan button to initiate a scan. This will take a while, so please be patient.
Check Permissions
Another thing that you can do to help troubleshoot issues with your WordPress website is to examine its permissions. That is, WordPress stores all the content that is uploaded to the site in a series of folders and subfolders under the site’s top-level folder. One common mistake that people make is leaving the permissions for these folders and subfolders set at ‘public’, which means anyone can access and view the contents of those folders and subfolders. Obviously, this isn’t what you want. You want to ensure that only those with specific permissions can access and modify the content on your site. To do this, you will need to navigate to yoursite’s root folder and choose the Settings option in the top left. Then, from the Permissions tab, choose the additional radio button and add a new permission. Name the new permission something that makes sense (e.g., write, read, create, delete). Hit save and this new permission will be added to the group of existing permissions for that folder and subfolder. Now, if you’re wondering why your WordPress website isn’t appearing, clear all the caches and launch WPLift, take a deep breath, and then try again.
Sometimes it takes a bit of a mental health day to bring our tech-related anxiety levels back down to Earth. If this sounds like you, remember that there is help available. You’re not alone in this world. We’re all in this together. And whether you’re struggling with WordPress-related anxiety or another type of anxiety, don’t be afraid to reach out for help. There are people who can and will help you find the most suitable treatment for you.