What is a 403 Forbidden Error in WordPress and How To Fix It?

WordPress is the most widely used platform for developing websites at the present date. In fact, almost 3 out of 5 websites present on the web are created using WordPress. 403 forbidden errors are one of the most common types of errors encountered in a WordPress website. 

If you are also the one who is facing this kind of error in your WordPress website and struggling to resolve it then all your worries end here as you are landed at the right place. With the help of this article, we are aiming to introduce you with the most common 403 forbidden error occurred in WordPress websites, the main causes that generate it and the ways to fix it. We will begin in a moment meanwhile if you are looking to develop an effective and efficient website in WordPress and need to hire dedicated WordPress developer, you can get in touch with us anytime.

What Exactly Is A 403 Forbidden Error?

You might have seen the screen something like the one shown in the above picture on your WordPress website. This is nothing but a 403 forbidden error.

The 403 forbidden error occurs when your server permissions do not allow you to access a specific page/pages on your website. If you are getting this error, it means that your server is functioning but you do not have access to some or all pages of your website due to one or more reasons. A forbidden error can be seen in a number of different scenarios such as – drafting a new article or modifying the older one, migrating the website from live server to the local server, visiting a page on your WordPress website,  and so on.

The Main Causes Behind The Occurrence Of 403 Forbidden Error

• Misconfiguration in security plugins

One of the main reasons behind the occurrence of 403 forbidden error is misconfiguration of security plugins. The installation of a badly configured security plugin/ plugins on your website can make an individual or a group of IP addresses hindered that results in 403 forbidden error.

• Corrupted .htaccess file

A corrupted .htaccess file is yet another common reason behind the occurrence of 403 forbidden error.

• Incorrect file permissions

All the files and folders associated with your WordPress website have some predefined permissions that decide who is eligible to access files and folders present on your WordPress website. If these permissions are faulty, this can encounter a 403 forbidden error on your WordPress website.

How To Fix Forbidden Error In WordPress

Getting a 403 forbidden error is a very common issue you face with WordPress websites and often times the situation can be irritating as well. To your comfort, several different ways are available that you can try to fix it by yourself. However, before moving forward, backing up your complete site is highly recommended as this is something that can aid you to get your site back in case you lose your site by chance while doing modifications.

Now let us discuss the most common ways to fix 403 forbidden error in detail

• Deactivating the plugins

You are required to deactivate all plugins installed on your website and check if the problem still arises. If you do not find the problem anymore it means that it was nothing but one of the plugins causing the problem. It is recommended to reinstall all your plugins one by one and check the website for the issue every time. This will help you to figure out the specific plugin that was responsible for the problem.

• Repairing the  .htaccess file

Login to your cPanel. Get connected with your site via a file manager or FTP client. Now, find out the .htaccess file in the root folder. Backup it then deletes it. 

Recheck the issue now. If the error is gone, it means that your .htaccess file was corrupted. However, if the issue is still there, it means that it has nothing to do with your .htaccess file and you can add the file again by performing the basic steps. 

• Checking file permissions

If you still encounter the issue even after trying with the above two methods then the problem can be associated with the file permissions on your website. Every file saved on your website has file permissions that decide who is permitted to access the files and folders on your website. This task can be a bit difficult for you as figuring out the particular file or a folder that is having faulty permissions is like finding a needle in hay. What you can do in this scenario is applying the default file and folder permissions to all your files and folders.

For this, login to your cPanel. Select all the folders associated with your website, right-click then click on Change Permissions.  

All the folders associated with your website should have permissions of 744 or 755 and all the files associated with your website should have permissions of 644 or 640 so adjust them accordingly. 

Hope this will definitely fix the 403 forbidden error associated with your website. However, if this is not the case, then this is the time to get in touch with your hosting provider as the issue might not be related to your files, folders, or plugins and can be associated with the server. Your hosting provider can surely help you to figure out and fix the issue in such a scenario. 

The Bottom Line

Encountering a 403 forbidden error can be really bothersome for one and all. Hence, we have created this article to ease the overhead of fixing the 403 forbidden error for you. Hope this will be helpful. However, if you need more assistance, you can directly get in touch with our WordPress developers to get the best help!