How to Fix a 403 Forbidden Error in WordPress

Forbidden errors comes when your site has permission settings which are configured in wrong way. Every file/folder has a specific permission access number that control whether the content is writable, executable or readable. It can cause a lot of damage when trying to attract visitors if these configured wrongly. Below will to show you some options that allow you to fix the 403 error in WordPress.

403 Forbidden error can be very problematic, and sometimes are very small problems and it's very easy to identify and to fix it. 

When you see a 403 forbidden error, that means you do not have the permissions needed to view the requested file or resource. 

The error can be bad sometimes. However, most of the times, it is due to wrong permissions misconfigured.

There can be many several things that cause this type of error to show. A 403 error in WordPress most of the times is caused by security plugins that have been added to a website and not configured properly.

When plugin is not configured properly, these security plugins can block your IP addresses just because they incorrectly think that they are malicious.

Let’s take a look at a few different ways to look for these problems and fix a 404 error in WordPress.

Method 1: Very plugins which are the causing the 403 error

Not every plugin you install in WordPress will be compatible with your site. 

There are many plugins that simply don’t work very well when you put together. To verify that a plugin is causing the 403 error on your website, you’ll need to do the following steps: 

1. Deactivate all plugins that you installed on your WordPress Site.
2. Select all and re-activate one of the plugins on your list.
3. Go and visit the site to see if the 403 error is still active.
4. Repeat those steps two and three until the 403 error is shown. And you'll find the plugin which is causing the problem. You may need to change the plugin configuration settings to fix.
5. If you steps above doesn't help you and the 403 forbidden error is still displayed, then the problem may not be to the plugins.. If this is the case, then you’ll need to do more additional troubleshooting.

• If you can't access WordPress to delete plugins, then you need to go to log in your cPanel and go to the file manager section. 
• Access the wp-content directory and look for the Plugins folder and enter into it. Once you are in the Plugins folder, delete any plugins you want directly out of the file manager.
• One good alternative is to move these plugins to a new location, as a temporary directory. On this way, you don’t have to lose any custom tools or any premium plugins from deleting them outright.
• Then, you can add the plugins back one at a time until you find the one that is causing the issue.

The .htaccess file can cause lot of complications on your website if it’s not properly configured. A corrupt or modified file can block users from accessing pages or even the entire site itself. There are two ways where you can check the .htaccess, you can check it through FTP access or through WordPress Plugins.

FTP Access

Our hosting company uses applications like cPanel, and the .htaccess file can be accessed and edited by using the “File Manager” tool for your domain. Other FTP programs can be used to access those files as well, such as FileZilla, you can find a tutorial how to upload files using FileZilla.

WordPress Plugins

Using a WordPress plugin that help you with .htaccess file issues is not a bad choice and can help you to be stabilized with the .htaccess file. These plugins can be found by going to the “Plugins” area at your dashboard, go and click on “Add New” at the top and search for with that keyword “htaccess.”

If you think the .htaccess file is corrupt or bad configured, you can simply remove it entirely from your hosting, or rename it. After this step is done, go to “Settings” in your WordPress dashboard and select “Permalinks” at list. Once you click the “Save Changes” button, a new .htaccess file will be created automatically by default.

If methods above doesn't works, please Contact us