How to Fix 404 Errors in WordPress

A 404 error usually appears when permalinks are not read correctly or .htaccess is misconfigured, especially on Apache servers.

1. Re‑save Permalinks (Flush Rewrite Rules)

1. Go to Settings → Permalinks.
2. Without changing anything, click Save Changes.

This forces WordPress to rewrite permalink rules to the .htaccess file.

In many cases, this simple step is enough to resolve 404 errors.

2. Check the .htaccess File (Apache)

If the step above does not solve the issue, continue by checking the .htaccess file.

1. Log in to cPanel / hosting panel / FTP.
2. Go to the WordPress installation root folder (usually public_html or wherever WordPress is installed).
3. Look for a file named .htaccess.
4. If it’s not visible, enable Show Hidden Files in the file manager or configure your FTP client to show hidden files.
5. If you still can’t find .htaccess, contact hosting support to ensure the file can be created.

If the .htaccess file is empty or missing, add the standard WordPress rules below:

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress

Save the changes, then try opening the page that previously showed a 404 error.

3. Ensure the mod_rewrite Module Is Active (Apache)

On Apache servers, WordPress requires the mod_rewrite module so pretty permalinks (/post-name/) work.

• Ensure mod_rewrite is enabled on the server.
• If you don’t have access to server configuration:
  • Contact hosting support.
  • Ask them to ensure mod_rewrite is active and supports WordPress rules in .htaccess.

Without mod_rewrite, custom permalinks often result in 404 errors.

4. Notes for Nginx Users

If your hosting uses Nginx:

• The .htaccess file and mod_rewrite module are not used.
• All rewrite rules are configured directly in the server configuration (Nginx server blocks).
• If re‑saving permalinks does not fix the 404 error:
  • Contact hosting support.
  • Explain that you’re using WordPress and experiencing 404 errors on permalinks.
  • Ask them to ensure Nginx is configured correctly for WordPress.

5. Check Plugins That Manage URLs (Optional)

Some plugins can change URL and permalink behavior, for example:

• Redirect plugins.
• Security plugins.
• Multilingual plugins.

If 404 errors started after installing or changing settings of a particular plugin:

1. Temporarily deactivate the suspected plugin.
2. Perform Re‑save Permalinks again.
3. Check if the 404 error disappears.

If the issue goes away after deactivating the plugin, the plugin is likely the cause and needs reconfiguration or replacement.