Follow the relevant steps below depending on whether your site is a static HTML or a WordPress installation.

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🌐 Static HTML Sites

1. ✅ Check for a Valid index.html

Your homepage must be named index.html (or index.php, if needed) and must be placed in the root folder of your File Manager.

• Make sure your files aren’t buried in a subfolder.

• index.html should be directly inside /public_html/ (or root folder).

If the server can’t find this file, it may return a 500 or 403 error.

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2. ⚠️ Fix .htaccess Errors

A bad .htaccess file is one of the most common causes of 500 errors on static sites.

Fix:

1. Go to File Manager in your PBN LTD dashboard.

2. Find .htaccess in the root folder.

3. Rename it to .htaccess-backup to disable it.

4. Create a new .htaccess file and paste in this clean version:

# Use index.html as the default file
DirectoryIndex index.html

# Prevent directory listings
Options -Indexes

# Enable rewrite engine (optional, only if you're using rewrites)
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
  RewriteEngine On
</IfModule>

5. Save and refresh your website.

✅ If your site now works, your previous .htaccess file had invalid or unsupported rules. You can now go back and review your old code, re-adding only what’s necessary one step at a time, or correcting the errors before re-uploading.

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3. 🔁 Reupload Your Files

A 500 error can occur if files were uploaded partially or became corrupted during transfer.

• Reupload your full site using File Manager.

• We recommend uploading your site as a .zip file and extracting it inside the dashboard for best results.

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⚙️ WordPress Sites

1. ⚠️ Corrupt .htaccess File

WordPress uses a more complex .htaccess structure. This file is automatically generated, but errors or manual edits can break your site.

Fix:

1. Open File Manager and rename the .htaccess file to .htaccess-backup.

2. Refresh your site. If it works now, the problem was in that file.

3. Create a new .htaccess file with this standard WordPress code:

# 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

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2. ❌ Plugin or Theme Conflicts

If the 500 error occurred after installing or updating a plugin or theme, it's likely a PHP issue.

Fix:

• Open File Manager and go to:

  • /wp-content/plugins/

  • /wp-content/themes/

  </li>
  <li data-end="3188" data-start="3092">
  <p data-end="3188" data-start="3094">Rename the most recently added or edited folder (e.g. <code data-end="3161" data-start="3148">plugin-name</code> &rarr; <code data-end="3186" data-start="3164">plugin-name-disabled</code>).</p>
  </li>
  <li data-end="3208" data-start="3189">
  <p data-end="3208" data-start="3191">Refresh the site.</p>
  </li>
  

✅ If your site works, the problem was with that plugin or theme.

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3. 🧱 Corrupted Core Files or Uploads

Manually migrated or partially uploaded WordPress files can result in errors.

Fix:

• Reupload WordPress core files, or restore a backup from your PBN LTD dashboard.

• Always use the official version of WordPress files and upload via File Manager.

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4. 🛠 Permissions Issues (Rare)

Incorrect permissions can sometimes trigger a 500 error.

• Files should usually be set to 644, folders to 755.

• You can check and adjust these by right-clicking files in File Manager.

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🧑‍💻 Still Seeing the Error?

If none of the steps above resolve the issue:

• Double-check that the correct default file (index.html or index.php) exists in your root folder.

• Clear your browser cache and try again.

• Restore a backup from your dashboard if available.

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📩 Need More Help?

Submit a support ticket and include:

• The domain name

• When the issue started

• What changes were made recently

• Any relevant screenshots or error messages

Clear details help our team assist you faster!