Common Installation Problems

The following are some of the most common installation problems. For more information and troubleshooting for problems with your WordPress installation, check out FAQ Installation and FAQ Troubleshooting.

I see a directory listing rather than a web page.

The web server needs to be told to view index.php by default. In Apache, use the DirectoryIndex index.php directive. The simplest option is to create a file named .htaccess in the installed directory and place the directive there. Another option is to add the directive to the web server’s configuration files.

I see lots of Headers already sent errors. How do I fix this?

You probably introduced a syntax error in editing wp-config.php.

1. Download wp-config.php (if you don’t have shell access).
2. Open it in a text editor.
3. Check that the first line contains nothing but <?php, and that there is no text before it (not even whitespace).
4. Check that the last line contains nothing but ?>, and that there is no text after it (not even whitespace).
5. If your text editor saves as Unicode, make sure it adds no byte order mark (BOM). Most Unicode-enabled text editors do not inform the user whether or not it adds a BOM to files; if so, try using a different text editor.
6. Save the file, upload it again if necessary, and reload the page in your browser.

My page comes out gibberish. When I look at the source I see a lot of “<?php ?>” tags.

If the <?php ?> tags are being sent to the browser, it means your PHP is not working properly. All PHP code is supposed to be executed before the server sends the resulting HTML to your web browser. (That’s why it’s called a preprocessor.) Make sure your web server meets the requirements to run WordPress, that PHP is installed and configured properly, or contact your hosting provider or system administrator for assistance.

This article has not been revised since publication.

This post was created by regina on May 18, 2017.