File Permissions

• Sometimes file permissions are changed during WordPress installation, and the changes may cause an Internal 500 error. To identify affected files, review the "Error Log" in your cPanel. Navigate back to the “File Manager,” locate the WordPress install, and ensure file permissions for the WordPress files are set no higher than “755,” which provides the owner with read, write and execute permissions. Follow your Web host's instructions for changing file permissions, as these instructions vary by provider.
  
  

The .htaccess File

• The .htaccess file often does not install correctly during a WordPress installation, and when it doesn’t, it will create an “Internal 500” error. The .htaccess file is found in the WordPress installation directory. WordPress needs the directives in this file to operate properly, so if one did not install in the root directory of the WordPress installation, you must create and add it manually. Copy the following code into a text document, upload it to your root directory, and change the name to .htaccess after it is loaded:
  # BEGIN WordPress
  <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteBase /
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
  RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
  </IfModule>
  # END WordPress
  
  

File Permissions for .htaccess

• Verify that the .htaccess file has its permissions set to 755 as well, or you will still receive the "Internal Server" 500 error. If you find that you have an .htaccess file, and still get the error after checking the permissions, this will require changing the existing .htaccess file by renaming it to .htaccessold and creating a new one following the procedure in Section 2. The .htaccess is easily corrupted.
  
  

PHP

• Sometimes the internal server error problem requires creating a php.ini file with added memory. Navigate to the "wp-admin" directory in your WordPress installation from the “File Manger” icon on the cPanel page. Once inside the directory, create a “New File” and name it “php.ini.” After creating the file, open it and put this line in it: memory=20MB. Hit save, and exit. Some Web host servers suffer a memory overload after a WordPress install, and this corrects the problem.