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What is a 500 Internal Server Error? – Causes & Fixes

In this guide, we’ll explain what causes it, how to fix it, and how to prevent it from affecting your website’s performance

A 500 Internal Server Error is one of the most common and frustrating server-side errors you might encounter while browsing or managing a website. It’s a generic HTTP status code that indicates something has gone wrong on the server, but the server can't be more specific about the exact problem.

This error does not point to an issue with your device or browser. Instead, it signals that the web server encountered an unexpected condition that prevented it from completing your request.

What You'll Learn

What is 500 Internal Server Error?

Why Does the 500 Internal Server Error Occur?

Who Should Fix It?

What a 500 Error Response Looks Like

How to Troubleshoot a 500 Internal Server Error

How to Prevent 500 Errors from Harming Your Site

A 500 Internal Server Error is one of the most common — and frustrating — server-side errors you might encounter while browsing or managing a website. It’s a generic HTTP status code that indicates something has gone wrong on the server, but the server can't be more specific about the exact problem

A 500 Internal Server Error is one of the most common — and frustrating — server-side errors you might encounter while browsing or managing a website. It’s a generic HTTP status code that indicates something has gone wrong on the server, but the server can't be more specific about the exact problem

Why Does the 500 Internal Server Error Occur?

This error is essentially a catch-all message when the server fails to handle the request properly. It can be caused by several server-side issues, such as:

  • Incorrect server configuration

  • Out-of-memory (OOM) or resource overload

  • Faulty or broken .htaccess files

  • Wrong file or folder permissions

  • Coding or scripting errors (e.g., PHP or Python)

  • Third-party plugin or module failures

  • Uncaught software exceptions

Who Should Fix It?

If you're visiting a website and see a 500 error, there’s not much you can do other than wait or report the issue to the website’s support team website’s support team.

If you're the website owner or developer, you’ll need to check your server logs, configurations, and scripts to identify the root cause.

What a 500 Error Response Looks Like

Here’s an example of how the server might respond when encountering this error:

  • Add the following code to the file:

    php 
     
GET /highlights HTTP/1.1 
    Host: example.com
    User-Agent: curl/8.6.0  
    Accept: */*

  • Server Response:

    pqsql 
     
HTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error  
        Content-Type: text/html  
        Content-Length: 123
    html 
     
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
    <head>
        <title>500 Internal Server Error</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Internal Server Error</h1>
        <p>The server was unable to complete your request. Please try again later.</p>
        <p>If this problem persists, please <a href="https://example.com/support">contact support</a>.</p>
        <p>Reference ID: ABC-123</p>
    </body>
</html>

How to Troubleshoot a 500 Internal Server Error

If you're a website admin or developer, here are some steps to resolve the error

  1. Check Server Logs:

    Look for error logs on your server (e.g., Apache, Nginx, or application-specific logs) to see what went wrong.

  2. Review .htaccess File:

    Corrupt or misconfigured .htaccess files are a common culprit. Try renaming the file temporarily to see if the error clears.

  3. Inspect File Permissions

    Make sure files have correct permissions — typically 644 for files and 755 for directories.

  4. Restart the Server

    Sometimes, a simple restart of the web server can clear temporary issues or hung processes.

  5. Check for Script Errors

    Review any PHP, Python, or backend scripts for syntax errors or unhandled exceptions.

  6. Disable Plugins or Modules

    In content management systems like WordPress, a faulty plugin can trigger a 500 error. Try disabling them one by one.

How to Prevent 500 Errors from Harming Your Site

Search engines don’t like inaccessible websites. Frequent 500 errors can negatively impact your SEO rankings and user trust. To protect your search engine visibility:

  • Set up automatic uptime monitoring

  • Use Google Search Console to track crawl issues

  • Configure custom error pages to retain visitors

  • Log and resolve server errors promptly

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