Error HTTP 500

Error 500 indicates that something went wrong, but what exactly is hard to say. It could be errors in the code, incorrectly set file permissions, or something else. You'll have to do a little research to find out what exactly is causing this error.

In order to find the issue, try enabling error reporting - this allows you to get more information from the server. Next, go to the page where a 500 error occurred, and you will see a list of errors.

After you get a list of errors that could be the cause of a 500 error, you need to figure out which one is causing the error and fix it. The most common causes of this error are:

  • File access privileges: try changing the file and folder access privileges from 777 to 755 and vice versa. The 777 setting is not recommended, as it allows less experienced hackers to  access files and implement malicious code. However, this risk is quite low, as the hacker would have to access to the FTP account first.
  • Incorrect settings in the .htaccess file: in case of a misconfiguration in e.g. PrestaShop or friendly URLs, even the slightest mistake in the .htaccess file can cause a 500 error. Before making any changes to this file, do not forget to back it up.
  • Change the execution time of a script: this issue usually occurs when importing CSV files, backups, etc. In that case, ask us how to increase the max_execution_time limit for your account.

If you still haven't found the cause of the error 500, check the server logs and PHP logs. If you do not have a VPS or a dedicated server, and your site is running on shared hosting, you can contact us using one of the methods described in this article.