Do you want to log in to WordPress to post blog articles, but the WP admin page can’t be accessed?
Because WP admin is the login page for logging into WordPress, this problem certainly needs attention. Moreover, the causes are quite a lot, it could be an error in the WordPress file, or something else. So, what should I do?
Don’t worry! That doesn’t mean you can’t log into the WordPress Dashboard forever. There is a solution for that. Well, in this article, you’ll learn eleven ways you can log into WordPress again.
Before starting, make sure you have made a backup in cPanel so you don’t lose important website files. Come on, see this guide in full!
10+ Ways to Overcome WP Admin Can’t Be Accessed
Here are some ways you can do it if you can’t log in to WordPress WP admin:
1. Clear Cookies and Cache in Browser
Like when you access a website in general, the web browser will store cookies and cache every time you open the WP admin page. The goal, is so that the browser can load the page faster.
However, if you don’t delete it regularly, cookies and cache can actually make WP admin inaccessible. Well, here are the steps to clear cookies and cache in Google Chrome:
1. Click the menu button (three dots in the top right corner of Google Chrome).
2. Klik menu More tools > Clear browsing data.
3. In the Time Range column, select All time. Then, click the Cookies and other site data and Cached image and files checkboxes. Click Clear data to clear cookies and cache.
2. Check Login Password Through phpMyAdmin
Are you unable to log in to WordPress WP admin because you forgot your password? Don’t worry, you can check your password via phpMyAdmin. Below is how:
1. Please log in to your cPanel. If you don’t know how, please follow this guide.
2. Find and click the phpMyAdmin menu.
3. Click your website database on the left side of the phpMyAdmin page. Then, locate and click on the database named wp_users or wpvy_users .
4. On the next page, you can find your WordPress login password under user_pass .
By knowing your WordPress login password, you can now log into the Dashboard again.
3. Disable Plugins and Themes Through cPanel
An error plugin or theme could be the cause of your not being able to login to the WordPress Dashboard. To ensure that, you need to disable plugins and themes via cPanel.
1. Please login to cPanel.
2. Locate and click the File Manager menu.
3. File Manager, locate folder public_html > wp-content, folder plugins.
4. Right-click on the plugins folder and click Rename to rename it.
5. Type a folder name in the field that appears ( plugins disabled, for example) and click Rename File.
6. Find the themes folder in public_html and rename it like the plugins folder earlier.
7. If you can access the WP admin page after changing the names of the two folders, it means that a plugin or theme is causing the error.
4. Scan Websites for Malware
Malware could be the cause of your not being able to enter the WordPress Dashboard. The reason is, hackers who infiltrate websites through malware are able to change your login and user settings.
To ensure the presence of malware on the website, you can do a scan using free tools such as VirusTotal. You simply access the website and click the URL tab. Next, type the website address in the field provided and press the enter key on the keyboard.
However, these tools will only tell you whether the website is infected with malware or not.
So, if you use Hostiger hosting service, you can use the Imunify360 feature to scan and delete website files that are affected by malware. Thus, the website can be free from malware and hackers.
Important note: You must make a backup before deleting files affected by malware.
5. Re-upload wp-login.php
If the WP admin page cannot be accessed, it could be because the wp-login.php file is missing or deleted. The solution to this problem is to re-upload the file to the hosting. Here are the steps:
1. Download the WordPress installation from the website.
2. The WordPress installer is a .zip file. So make sure you have a program like WinZip or WinRAR to extract it. To do this, right-click on the file and click Extract here.
3. Open the WordPress installer folder that you extracted and look for the wp-login.php file .
4. Log in to cPanel and open File Manager to access the public_html folder.
5. Click the Upload button at the top of the File Manager. The file upload page will appear.
6. Click and drag the wp-login.php file from your Windows Explorer to the file upload page.
7. Once wp-login.php is uploaded, right click on the file and click Edit to open it.
8. Add the following code to the last line of the wp-login.php file:
// Delete this line
$user_login = $user_data[“user_login”];
// Replace it with this line
$user_login = $user_data->user_login;
9. Click Save Changes to save the code changes.
6. Restore File .htaccess
An error in the .htaccess file is another reason you can’t log into the WordPress Dashboard. To fix this, you must restore the file by following these steps:
1. Log In to cPanel, go to File Manager, and open the public_html folder.
2. Find the .htaccess file and delete it by right-clicking > Delete.
Note that .htaccess may be hidden. To display it, click the Settings menu in the upper right corner of the File Manager.
Then, click the Show Hidden Files checkbox and click Save.
3. If you can access WP admin after deleting .htaccess, you will need to restore the file.
7. Change the Permission File
You may not be able to login WordPress WP admin because there is a code error in important files such as .htaccess. The reason could be a coding error made by a member of your website management team. Or, there are hackers who infiltrate and tamper with the file code.
So that both things don’t happen, make sure you change the permissions of each important WordPress file. The goal is that these files can only be accessed by the people you are responsible for managing them.
To change file permissions, follow these steps:
1. Log in to cPanel and open File Manager.
2. For example, you want to change the .htaccess permissions. Right-click on the file and click Change Permissions.
3. Make sure Group and World only have a checkmark for Reading mode. That way, people who don’t have administrator access to your WordPress can’t change the code in the file.
After changing the permissions, click Change Permissions to save the settings.
We recommend that you also apply these permission settings to the following files and folders:
- wp-admin
- wp-content
- wp-content/themes
- wp-content/plugins
- wp-content/uploads
- wp-config.php
8. Increase PHP Memory Limit
PHP memory limit is the hosting memory limit used to run PHP scripts. If the limit is too small, the website may crash when there are too many PHP scripts running. One of these errors is that the WP admin cannot be accessed.
To resolve the error, you need to increase the PHP memory limit. Here are the steps:
1. Log in to cPanel and open File Manager.
2. Akses folder public_html dan edit file wp-config.php.
3. Find this line of code: define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ’32M’); .
4. Change 32M to 128M.
5. Click Save Changes to save the changes.
9. Fix Errors That Appear When Accessing WP Admin
When accessing the WP admin page, you may be greeted with an error message, such as:
- HTTP 500 Internal Server
- Error establishing a database connection
- White screen of death
- PHP error
- And others
Fortunately, you can solve each of these errors easily. For example, you can deal with the white screen of death by enabling debugging mode. The method:
1. Log in to cPanel and open File Manager.
2. Akses folder public_html dan klik kanan > Edit file wp-config.php.
3. Find the line of code defined ( ‘WP_DEBUG’, false ), then change false to true.
4. Klik Save Changes.
If you experience other errors when opening WP admin, you can follow the guide to resolve them in this list.
10. Reinstall WordPress
If you can’t access WP admin after you’ve tried all of the above, it’s possible that the WordPress core files are corrupt. The fix is to reinstall WordPress.
There are several ways to reinstall WordPress, namely:
- Via FTP
- Using WP-CLI
- Using the WordPress Auto Installer
To try these methods, you can follow the guide to know How to Fix Permalinks in WordPress.
You need to remember that a reinstall will delete all the old WordPress files. Therefore, you must have a backup so you don’t lose files other than the WordPress core, such as plugins and themes.
11. Restore Backup WordPress
Restoring the state of WordPress before the problem occurred can also be a way to overcome the inaccessibility of the admin. To restore WordPress, of course, you must already have a website backup in cPanel.
Next, perform the steps below:
- Import backup database WordPress
- Installing WordPress
- Reinstalling themes and plugins
- Fix broken links
- Fix broken image
You should be able to log into WP admin by following the various methods discussed in this article. But, what if you haven’t?
What Should You Do If WP Admin Still Can’t Be Accessed?
If the WP admin cannot be accessed after using the methods above, you can take advantage of the WordPress support forum or other WordPress forums.
Later, you simply explain the details of the problem at hand. With a fairly strong WordPress community, WordPress users on the forum will certainly be happy to help you.
In addition, you can also ask your hosting provider’s customer support service. They will help you solve the problem swiftly.
It would be better if your hosting provider has customer support ready to help 24 hours a day. Especially if you can contact them via live chat, email, and others like HostGator.
Ready to Overcome WP Admin Can’t Be Accessed?
There are many ways you can do to solve the WP admin that cannot be accessed. We have explained in full above, including:
- Clear cookies and browser cache
- Checking login password via phpMyAdmin
- Deactivating plugins and themes
- Scan websites for malware
- Upload the wp-login.php file again
- Restore file .htaccess
- Change file permissions
- Increase PHP memory limit
- Fixed an error that appeared when accessing the WP admin
- Reinstalling WordPress
- Restore backup WordPress
Some of these methods require you to make major changes to the website, for example reinstalling. Well, to avoid unwanted things, do a backup first.
Another more practical solution is to take advantage of the automatic backup feature, such as the one provided by HostGator. This automatic backup feature is valid daily or weekly, depending on the hosting package you choose.
By always having a backup of the website, you are ready to restore website data in case an error occurs such as a login problem. So, don’t wait until you can’t log in to WordPress WP admin.
Come on, use a web hosting service with a complete range of features!
