start with the right steps

Uh, is it plugged in?

Does the problem still exist?

bonus tip for multi-user sites

stream plugin

Fixing Common Problems

Who knows what's in your cache. Flush it.

Troubleshooting basics:

Fixing Common Problems

• permalinks don't work
• broken pagination
• restoring site from a backup
• diagnosing errors

http://codex.wordpress.org/Troubleshooting

(don't forget to #googlethat)

Avoid common pitfalls

Troubleshooting basics:

avoiding common pitfalls

• using the editor in the WP dashboard
• not having FTP client and login at the ready
• editing core WordPress files
• editing framework or parent theme files
  

troubleshooting for developers

CODE helpers

Use a  code editor:

Sublime Text (mac, pc)

Notepad++ (pc)

Coda (mac)

Dreamweaver (mac, pc)

Or an IDE:

be nice to yourself

syntax validators

HTML

CSS

PHP

JavaScript

debugging

// add this to wp-config.php
define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );

Use plugins like...

• Query Monitor
• Developer

To help you...

• see what queries ran on a page
• which page template is used
• run php or sql against current query
• show all actions fired on a page
• break down HTTP requests (and show time)
  

query monitor