How to Fix a 500 Internal Server Error in Joomla

: Written by Nick Savov Nick Savov; Published: 23 October 2018 23 October 2018

At Joomlashack, several customers have asked us about "Internal Server Errors" on their Joomla site.

In this blog post, I will cover what an internal server error is in Joomla and how to fix it.

Background information

When you open a webpage in your browser, the host server sends back a response. The server response normally includes a three-digit status code.

This status code lets your browser know if everything is OK or not. It can tell you if there was a redirect, an error, or something else.

For example, you might have seen Page Not Found 404 error before. The 404 is a server code. It means the server tried to find the resource you requested, but couldn't find it.

After the error with the code 404, the 500 error is one of the most common errors.

What exactly is the Internal Error 500?

A server response with 500 error is an internal server error. It mostly means that there is some sort of a misconfiguration of the side of the server.

This server error message is pretty generic. It usually requires more investigation.

Since it's at the server level, then the server is the place to investigate. The error gets logged in the server error logs with a detailed message. This detailed error message is key to fixing the issue.

How do I find the detailed error message?

The fastest way is to get in touch with your host. Ask them to check the server error logs for you. They normally will be able to find the error within a few minutes.

Here is how to find an internal server error if you use CPanel.

Sign into CPanel.
Go to the Logs section.
Click on the Error Log icon.

Fix a 500 Internal Server Error in Joomla - go to error logs

You will see the errors listed.
Check the full details of the error messages.

Fix a 500 Internal Server Error in Joomla - error message

How do I fix the Internal Server Error?

Most often, fixing the internal server errors will be out of your reach. They can be triggers by many various things.

The good news is the detailed error message you find in the error logs might be enough to pinpoint the issue. It might have been an obsolete extension, a setting change, or something else.

The detailed error message will guide you and your host support team to the appropriate solution.