How to fix the error in setting up a database connection In this post, you will learn three things:
What is the meaning of “Error setting up a database connection” message
Why this message shows some of the most common reasons
How to fix this error in WordPress
What exactly does that mean?
If you are not familiar with WordPress’s work, there are two essential parts on the WordPress website:
Your files – include WordPress software, your theme, your plugin, your media uploads etc.
Your database – this is where the actual content of your posts and pages is stored (as well as other important information).
Whenever a visitor lands on your WordPress site, PHP files in WordPress reach your database to determine what information exactly is displayed.
Without a working connection to the database, the PHP-file part of your WordPress site cannot find the necessary information to present a work page. This is why it displays the message “Error setting up a database connection” instead.
“What is the reason for setting up a database connection?” What is the reason for the message?
There are several possible reasons why you are seeing this message.
Most of the time boils down to these reasons:
A corrupted database
Wrong database configuration details in your wp-config.php file
Corrupt wordpress core files
Problems with Your Web Host
Because you can not make sure that the message is happening for your specific situation, the best way to fix the problem is to take a diagnostic approach.
That is, you need to systematically follow a series of tests to separate (and then correct) the problem.
Here’s what to do:
How To Fix “Error Establishing A Database Connection” in WordPress
To get started, you need to edit the wp-config.php file for your site. You can do this by either:
Using cPanel’s built-in File Manager tool
Your wp-config.php file is located in the root folder of your WordPress site. That’s the same folder that contains wp-admin and wp-content:
Once you’re able to edit your wp-config.php file, add this short code snippet to the bottom of the file:
define( ‘WP_ALLOW_REPAIR’, true );
Make sure to save your changes before continuing.
Check Your Database Login Credentials
If your database is not corrupt, then the next thing you should check is whether your database login certificate is working or not.
Your database certificates are defined in your wp-config.php file:
If this information does not match the database certificate created through your host’s dashboard, then WordPress will not be able to access your database.
final thoughts
Until this point, you are hoping that the error in setting up database connection messages has been fixed and your site is working again.
There are still some small issues that can cause this error. These problems are often unique to your site and therefore it is difficult to diagnose in such a post.
If you continue to see error messages after going through these improvements and talking to your host, then you may want to consider reaching out to WordPress Developers to investigate this issue.
Or, you can always leave a comment and hopefully, we all can fix the problem together!