Are your WordPress posts generating 404 errors on your website? This error occurs when you can access your WordPress admin area and blog, but when you try to open a post, it says “404 Not Found.” In this article, we’ll teach you how to resolve WordPress posts that return 404 errors.

Why Are My WordPress Posts Returning a 404 Error?

There are various reasons why your WordPress posts may return a 404 “Page Not Found” error. These may include:

Plugin or theme conflicts: Plugins or themes installed on your site may interfere with how WordPress handles permalinks. This can cause broken links and 404 errors. Custom code issues: If you’ve introduced custom code to your website, there may be mistakes that influence permalinks or cause other conflicts, resulting in 404 errors for your posts.

Problems with your .htaccess file: The .htaccess file affects how WordPress constructs URLs. If this file is faulty or missing, it can cause 404 problems in your articles. That being said, here’s how to fix WordPress posts that return 404 errors. You can use the links below to navigate directly to other solutions.

If you prefer textual directions, simply continue reading.

Method 1: Check for Plugin or Theme Conflicts and Custom Code Issues

Plugins, themes, or custom code uploaded to your WordPress site may interfere with permalinks or cause conflicts, resulting in 404 problems. We’ve even experienced it ourselves while testing tools on our demo site. One solution is to temporarily deactivate plugins. Plugins can occasionally alter how WordPress handles links.

After you’ve disabled the plugins, you can reactivate them one at a time, checking to see whether the 404 problem remains. If the error appears after activating a certain plugin, that could be the cause. You can then look for solutions linked to that plugin or contact the plugin creator for assistance. Similarly, your WordPress theme could be generating the problem.

To test, briefly switch to a default WordPress theme, such as Twenty Twenty-Three or Twenty Twenty-Four. All you have to do is go to Appearance » Themes and click ‘Activate‘ on the default theme.

If the 404 error is resolved with the default theme, it indicates a possible issue with your current theme. You can then try to fix the theme or switch to another theme. You might find recommendations in our professional pick of the most popular WordPress themes.

If you recently added code snippets to your website, there could be mistakes in the code that are creating the 404 errors. Take a thorough look at the code you inserted and see if you can find any errors.

The WPCode plugin provides the safest way to add code snippets to WordPress. This plugin allows you to incorporate custom code without directly editing the theme files, lowering the chance of disrupting your website.

Furthermore, if WPCode detects an issue in your code, it will automatically disable the snippet and prompt you to examine it. You can use the testing mode to ensure that your code works before deploying it to your real website. If none of these alternatives works, continue to the next step, where we will analyze your permalink settings.

Method 2: Fix Your Permalink Settings

WordPress articles may return 404 errors due to issues with rewrite rules in your .htaccess file. In most cases, you can resolve the issue by changing your permalink settings. Simply navigate to Settings » Permalinks in your WordPress admin and click the ‘Save Changes’ button.

There’s no need to update the permalink settings yourself. This will update your permalink settings and reset the rewrite rules. In most circumstances, this technique resolves the WordPress post 404 issues. If it doesn’t work, you’ll probably need to manually change your .htaccess file.

Method 3: Update the WordPress .htaccess File

Before you begin, be sure to back up your WordPress .htaccess file. If something goes wrong, you can simply restore the original file. Now, you must connect to your server via an FTP program such as FileZilla or the File Manager software in your WordPress hosting dashboard.

Next, locate and update the .htaccess file, which is placed in the same directory as directories like /wp-content/ and /wp-includes/. Simply right-click the file and choose ‘File permissions.’

You can make the file writeable by setting the permissions to 666.

Simply enter ‘666’ in the ‘Numeric value’ field and click ‘OK‘.

Then, follow the instructions in the first approach of our guide. Once you’ve completed this, remember to reset the permissions to 660. You can also modify the file by adding code to it. Once you’ve opened the .htaccess file in a text editor, simply enter this code: