HostArmada Web Hosting Knowledge Base

Knowledge is power! Use that power and achieve total and unconditional control over the Web Hosting Services!

The HTTP 500 error.

The HTTP 500 error code is a response that can be triggered by dozens of reasons. The most notorious ones are bad scripts, wrong .htaccess rules, or incorrect file/folder permissions. This article will go over the fixes you can implement to resolve it and hopefully receive good results!

HTTP 500 error due to Wrong File/Folder permissions

The best thing you can do in such a situation is to change your application's permissions to the appropriate ones. To ease you in this regard, we have prepared a ready-to-use command you can execute over SSH. You can check this command in our How can I change the permissions on my files and folders knowledge base article at the very bottom.

For HostArmada's servers, the file/folder permissions settings should be as follows:

  • Folders - 755
  • Files - 644

HTTP 500 error broken script

The easiest way to fix the HTTP 500 internal error is to change the website's current PHP version. You can do that by following our How to manage the PHP version of your cPanel account tutorial. If changing the PHP version does not help, you should examine your application's error_log, located inside the application's root directory. It will most likely contain lines that can point you to the culprit causing this issue.

HTTP 500 error due to wrong .htaccess rules

A widespread reason why you can see the HTTP 500 error response is wrong .htaccess rules. You can quickly put this to the test if you disable the file by renaming it to ".htaccess-old" so that you can see if the response will change. If this is the case, keep the file disabled and carefully review its contents so you can understand what piece of code is triggering it.

HTTP 500 error due to extreme resource utilization

You can experience this issue on our Shared Hosting servers because our system distributes resources evenly between our users. As we have separate packages, each providing a specific amount of resources when they get fully utilized by your web hosting account, you may see the 500 error when accessing your site.

You can easily confirm this by logging inside your cPanel account and pointing your attention to the screen's right side under the "Statistics" section. If you notice that cPanel has marked a specific resource(CPURAMEntry Processes, or Processes), then the internal server error is most likely because of this high utilization. 

Unfortunately, you will not be able to solve this on your own, and you need to reach our technical team to receive assistance. 

If you are not hosting your websites with HostArmada and facing this issue, please be sure to contact our sales department over our live chat on our website by clicking the "Chat" icon on the bottom of the screen. They will be happy to talk about your projects and help you figure out a suitable solution where this issue will never bother you again.

Last Words concerning the 500 error

No matter the reason for the HTTP 500 error, if you cannot solve it or do not feel confident enough to follow our recommendations, please feel free to reach our technical team. They are reachable 24/7 via the ticketing system in your Client Area.

Was this article useful and on point?

Find out more about HostArmada entire range of optimized Web Hosting Services and take action today on improving your website Loading Speed, Security, and overall Stability!