Troubleshooting WordPress

Diagnose WordPress on TurboStack, find Nginx, PHP-FPM, Varnish and WordPress logs, and fix white screens, 404 permalinks, cache and database errors fast.

Most WordPress problems on TurboStack come from a single change: a plugin or theme update, a caching layer, or a configuration edit. This page shows where the logs live, the issues you are most likely to hit, and a repeatable workflow to isolate the cause quickly.

Where to find the logs

Read logs in the order a request travels: web server, then PHP, then WordPress, then the database.

Component Where
Nginx access/error The host's Nginx log directory (per-vhost access and error logs)
PHP-FPM The PHP-FPM pool log for the site's system user
WordPress (PHP) wp-content/debug.log in the site's public_html (only when debug logging is enabled)
Varnish The Varnish service log on the host (when varnish_enabled)
MySQL The MySQL error/slow-query log on the host
Nginx vhost config /var/www/<user>/<app>/nginx/50main.conf
wp-config.php In the site's public_html (DB credentials, salts, WP_DEBUG)

To capture PHP errors temporarily, set WP_DEBUG and WP_DEBUG_LOG to true in wp-config.php; this writes to wp-content/debug.log. Turn it off again on production. You can also see resource and service status on the host's Health tab and recent deploys in History.

Common issues

Symptom Likely cause Fix
White screen / HTTP 500 PHP fatal error from a plugin, theme or update Enable WP_DEBUG_LOG and read wp-content/debug.log; deactivate the offending plugin/theme via wp-cli (wp plugin deactivate <name>) or by renaming its folder
"Error establishing a database connection" Wrong credentials, or MySQL down/overloaded Verify the DB_* values in wp-config.php, confirm MySQL is running in Services, check the MySQL log
Pages 404 except the home page Rewrite/permalink rules lost Re-flush permalinks: wp rewrite flush --hard (the platform sets /%postname%/); confirm the Nginx try_files ... /index.php?$args block
Stale content after editing Full-page cache not purged Install/configure the Proxy Cache Purge plugin so edits purge Varnish; check the X-Cacheable response header to see hits vs passes
Logged-in or cart pages caching wrongly Page cache caching session traffic Varnish already bypasses wp-admin/cart/my-account; avoid stacking a second page-cache plugin and verify custom URLs are in the bypass list
Redis object cache not connecting Plugin misconfigured or Redis disabled Enable Redis in Services and reconnect the object-cache plugin; remove a stale object-cache.php drop-in if Redis is off
Media upload "exceeds the maximum" PHP/nginx upload limits too low Raise upload_max_filesize/post_max_size and the Nginx client_max_body_size for the site
Mixed-content warnings after HTTPS URLs still stored as http:// Run wp search-replace 'http://example.com' 'https://example.com' and set the site/home URL to https://

A troubleshooting workflow

  1. Check Health - rule out CPU, memory, PHP-FPM or database saturation before chasing application bugs.
  2. Read the relevant log - start with the Nginx error log and PHP-FPM/debug.log for 500s and white screens; the MySQL log for connection errors.
  3. Check the last deploy in History - if a recent change broke the site, revert and Publish the previous working revision.
  4. Verify services are running - confirm Nginx, PHP-FPM, MySQL and (if used) Redis and Varnish are up in Services; reload after config changes.

Getting help

If the issue persists after these steps, reach out via Support. For platform-wide problems beyond WordPress itself, see the general Troubleshooting guide. Include the relevant log excerpts and the revision where the problem started.

© 2026 Hosted Power — TurboStack