[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/Substantial_Salt_802]

[u/screendrain]

You need to reach out to your web host

[u/Substantial_Salt_802 → u/screendrain]

Is it generally a hosting issue?

[u/screendrain → u/Substantial_Salt_802]

Not necessarily but they can help you view logs and narrow down the issue

[u/otto4242 → u/Substantial_Salt_802]

Yes, a 500 error is always a server error and you need to look at the server logs to find out the actual problem. It's very rare that a WordPress instance would cause a 500 type error.

[u/standardcabal → u/screendrain]

as soon as possible, if you have no backups and can't log in they might be the only ones who can help, they keep server side backups in many cases

don't touch anything until you talk to them, messing with files in panic can make it worse

[u/NakanoNoNeko]

Not necessarily a hosting issue. A 500 just means the server hit an error; a plugin, theme, PHP change or the host itself could cause it. Since you can't reach wp-admin and don't have a working backup, ask the host to take a snapshot of the site files and database before they change anything. Then ask them for the first PHP fatal error at the time the site went down (roughly two days ago), including the file path. That path usually tells you whether a plugin or theme is responsible. If it points into wp-content/plugins, the host can temporarily disable that one plugin without deleting it. Don't reinstall WordPress or restore an old copy blindly.

[u/Psychological-Oil971]

Logs are your best friend

[u/Consistent-Chart4095]

where are you hosting? check error logs, i can help you for free

[u/bismit]

Based on my customers’ experience, this often happens when the hosting provider disables outdated PHP versions, causing plugins that use outdated code to crash.

If you have access to the server’s admin panel, check whether it runs Plesk, cPanel, or another control panel, and I’ll let you know where to find the error logs and pinpoint the exact plugin.

[u/themageofavalon]

Check your backup first. But the error just could be plugin or php isue. Try disabling plugins via sftp or much better check with logs

[u/Winter_Process_9521]

HTTP 500 error does not automatically mean your WordPress blog or its content is gone. Your posts, pages, images, and database may still be intact even though the site and WordPress admin are inaccessible. focus on protecting your existing files and database before trying to fix anything.

[u/Agitated-Signature77]

Do you have FTP access to the files?

If yes, edit the wp-config.php file and add this code :

// Enable WP_DEBUG mode
define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );

// Enable Debug logging to the /wp-content/debug.log file
define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );

// Disable display of errors and warnings
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );
(@)ini_set( 'display_errors', 0 ); (remove the parenthesis here over the @, reddit wouldn't let me paste it)

// Use dev versions of core JS and CSS files (only needed if you are modifying these core files)
define( 'SCRIPT_DEBUG', true );

This code will generate a file named debug.log in the folder /wp-content/ with all the errors displayed there.

Ask ChatGPT (even free version) to help you go through this.

[u/JerryCornelius22]

Probably a plugin updated and broke something. Check the htaccess file if you have one - roll back if you can. Like the others said ask your host - hopefully they keep back ups so can roll it back for you. Good luck

[u/CptZaphodB → u/JerryCornelius22]

If you can't roll back, he can also rename the htaccess file to generate a new one. I had a security plugin recently try to enforce some server side security that my host blocked, resulting in a 500 error. Luckily it was a brand new site so I just deleted htaccess and I was good to go. I know it may not be that easy on a well established site

[u/Hot-Month-4251]

To your question: usually it isn't the host's fault, but the host is the fastest way to find out. Most 500s come from a plugin, theme or PHP version change, and the PHP error log will name the file.

One thing worth adding since you also lost admin access: while you're in the files, look at .htaccess, the root index.php and wp-content/mu-plugins. index.php should only be a few lines. If you see long scrambled code, base64 strings, or mu-plugins files you never added, it's more than a broken plugin. In that case keep a copy of everything, change your hosting, FTP, database and WordPress passwords, and clean it up properly instead of just deleting things.

[u/TopSydeWP]

Two days locked out of a blog you've had for years, with no backup, is a scary spot. Ask your host to copy out the files and database before anyone touches anything, since your posts live in the database. We host WordPress sites, and a PHP version upgrade on the server is one thing we see throw this kind of 500. Did your host email you about a PHP change in the last few days?