How to Fix a 403 Forbidden Error in WooCommerce?
From digital downloads to physical products, WooCommerce lets you sell anything. You can process payments with PayPal, Stripe, or any other payment gateway supported by WooCommerce. And you can easily manage your store’s inventory and orders with the built-in tools. So, we have to know How to Fix a 403 Forbidden Error in WordPress WooCommerce?
In recent months, web developers and site owners have been reporting issues with the 403 Forbidden Error. This error is caused by a plugin or theme that is not compatible with WooCommerce, which is the most popular eCommerce platform on WordPress. If your site is currently running WooCommerce, it is important to make sure all of your plugins and themes are up-to-date and compatible with the latest version of WooCommerce. If you experience the 403 Forbidden Error, your customers will not be able to purchase anything from your site.
If you’re running a WordPress site with WooCommerce installed and you get a 403 Forbidden error, don’t worry – you’re not alone. This error is caused by a number of things, but can often be fixed with a few simple steps. In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps to fix a 403 Forbidden error in WordPress WooCommerce.
Before we start, we highly recommend you use the WordPress backup plugin to backup your website.
These are all automatic backup plugins. Or, you can usually backup your website data from your hosting account.
WordPress Backup Plugin:
- UpdraftPlus
- VaultPress
- BackWPup
- Duplicator
Now we will give you proper guidelines on how to solve this problem. You can follow any of them.
What is a 403 Forbidden?
A 403 forbidden error is a particular type of HTTP error code that occurs when accessing a resource that is not allowed for the current user.
What Causes 403 Forbidden Error?
For some reason, accessing the web page or resource you were trying to reach is forbidden. This error is most commonly caused by permission issues—for example, when a file or directory is not writable by the web server’s user account. Other things that could be wrong are the wrong .htaccess file, a bad proxy server, or a plugin installed.
1. File Permissions
Your website’s files are protected by file permissions. Using these file permissions, you can decide who can see the files and folders on your website.
The 403 prohibited error might be caused by incorrect file permissions. As a result, your web server assumes that you do not have the authorization to read the following files:
If you wish to verify your file permissions, simply contact your hosting company, and a technical expert can assist you. You can also accomplish this by connecting to your site using software like FileZilla.
If you don’t know how to connect your WordPress website with FTP (FileZilla), this YouTube tutorial will help you.
So, if you want to do it yourself, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Use an FTP client to connect to your WordPress site. If you’re using FileZilla, then navigate to the wp-admin folder. Right-click your mouse on it and choose File > File Permissions from the menu. A pop-up window comes up, showing you a file permissions dialog box, like below.
Step 2:
You have to set the file permissions for the root folder to 744 or 755. Then, click on the check box next to “Recurse into subdirectories” and, after that, click on the check box for “Apply to directories only”.Then, click on the OK button. All subdirectories in that folder will now have permissions determined by your FTP client.
Step 3:
After that, you have to wait a few minutes, then repeat that process again. This time you have to set 644 or 640 for file permission. Like before, click on the check box next to “Recurse into subdirectories” and here you have to click on the check box for “Apply to files only”. Then, click on the OK button.
Once you’ve completed the above steps, try to access your website. If your site is working, it means the 403 forbidden error problem is solved.
If you’re still facing the same problem, don’t worry. There are still a few methods we have, so why not try them? Some of them are very simple.
2. Remove all WordPress plugins:
This method is so simpler, so the first thing you need to do is to temporarily deactivate all WordPress plugins. This includes cache and security.
If it resolves your problem, then that means one of your plugins is corrupted. You need to remove that plugin or ask your plugging provider to give you a bug-free plugin, then install and activate it.
The best way to figure out which plugin caused the error is to turn on all your plugins at the same time until you can get the 403 forbidden error again.
3. Delete and then Re-create the .htaccess file
The 403 Forbidden error can also be triggered by a corrupted .htaccess file. In the root directory of your site, you’ll find this file. It lets WordPress communicate with your server.
Recreating this file is quite easy. Follow this path:
First, you need to connect to your website using an FTP client or file manager in cPanel.in your site’s root directory (public_html).
Then, choose the. htaccess file, right-click on it and choose to delete it.
Next, try to access your website. If the 403 forbidden error is resolved by it, that means your .htaccess file was corrupted.
Now you have to create a fresh one with .htaccess.
Permalinks can be found in the WordPress dashboard under Settings >> Permalinks.
Then click on the Save Changes button. You will find it at the bottom of the page, where the new .htaccess file will be generated.
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Final Words
There are a few ways to fix a 403 forbidden error in WordPress WooCommerce. The easiest way is to use the WP plugin uninstall. If that doesn’t work, then you can try one of the other methods. First, make sure that you have the latest version of WordPress installed. Next, check to see if your server is blocking access to your WooCommerce files. If these do not work, then it is best to reach out to the support team for help. Remember to always back up your website before making any changes!
