Why is my website showing 500 Internal Server Error? Print

Internal server errors can be caused for several reasons. Check the Error Logs in cPanel for specific details. 

Few examples of why HTTP 500 errors happen:

1. Invalid permissions, Writable by group

   All folders should be 755. cgi-bin executable scripts must also be 755. HTML, PHP, text files, images, and media files should be 644.
   
   Example of the error in the error log:

   [2012-08-19 04:43:31]: error: directory is writable by others: (/home/user/public_html/
   This means the folder has the wrong permissions such as 777, set it to 755 using File Manager or FTP.
   
   [2012-08-19 04:44:31]: error: file has no execute permission:  (/home/user/public_html/) 
   
   To fix this error, change the permission of the file in question to 755 using FTP or File Manager. 
   
   
2. Invalid .htaccess, Invalid command

   You have may have added invalid conflicting lines in your .htaccess file. To troubleshoot this, you should comment out the lines in the .htaccess file.

   To comment out a line in .htaccess file, just add # to the beginning of each line. It is highly recommended that you save a orignal copy of the file beforehand.
   
   Example, if your .htaccess file looks like
   
   
   DirectoryIndex default.html
   AddType application/x-httpd-php5 php 
   Change it to:
   DirectoryIndex default.html
   #AddType application/x-httpd-php5 php 
   
   

   Examples of .htaccess errors in Error Log

   [Wed Aug 1 05:21:42 2012][client 127.0.0.50] (13)Permission denied: /home/user/public_html unable to check htaccess file, ensure it is readable Set your .htaccess file permission to 644.
   
   
3. Exceeding resources, nothing in the Error Log
   
   Your script needs more time than usual to process and is being terminated by our server. This means that your script is exceeding the Timeout limit of the server, which is set to ensure stable performance for all customers hosted on the same server. 
   
   There could be an error within the programming code of your script. Only your web developer can assist you with this.  

If you are unable to determine the cause of your HTTP 500 Internal Server Error, you can contact our support team with the steps to reproduce the error on our end for further assistance.