6 Easy Solutions To Fix 405 Method Not Allowed Error on Your WordPress Site
Imagine if your audience faces the 405 error on your site. The next thing is them leaving your website without giving a second thought. Now, this may not sound quite damaging initially, but it is a disaster for your site’s overall engagement and sales.
Therefore, it is essential to understand what the “405 Method Not Allowed” is.
What Is 405 Method Not Allowed Error?
The HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)405 Method Not Allowed status code technically means that the request method is known by the server but is not supported by the target resource. What happens in this error is that your web server is tuned so that it doesn’t allow you to perform specific actions in a particular URL.
Although it is a hassle to navigate and fix this 405 error, you can quickly sort it into some possible solutions. In this read, we’ll explain to you how. But before that, let’s have a look at some variations of HTTP 405 methods not allowed error.
Different Variations In The 405 Method Not Allowed Error
While the 405 method not allowed error generally appears as we’ve shown in the image above, but depending upon you browser, you may come across different variations. These variations of the 405 error appear slightly different, let’s have a look at them.
- 405 Not Allowed
- Method Not Allowed
- HTTP 405 Error
- HTTP Error 405 – Method Not Allowed
- HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed
Regardless of which variation, you come across; you’ll have to find the foundation of error in order to eliminate it.
Now that you know the different variations of the 405 error, let’s move down to the 6 possible solutions to eliminate it.
Related: It’s Easy To Fix NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID Error (9 simple Methods)
How To Fix The 405 Method Not Allowed Error? (6 Possible Solutions)
A quick tip here is to back up your site in case you make a mistake. Although hosting services provide regular backup services but in case you don’t have that perk, you can ask your WordPress services provider to make a backup for you.
Once you’ve made the backup, it’s time to troubleshoot the error. Let’s begin.
1. Enter The Correct URL
Entering the wrong URL is one of the most common reasons behind the 405 methods not allowed error in WordPress.This happens because web servers keep users from accessing the wrong pages by disallowing access to invalid URLs.
Therefore, before you implement any of the other solutions mention ahead in this article, it is important to check if you’ve input the proper URL to access the content.
2. Revert Recent WordPress Updates
Updates generally bring in a pack of new exciting features and bug fixes but there are times when they become a root cause of frustrating errors on your WordPress site. It’s the same in the 405 methods not allowed error.
If you’ve recently updated your WordPress version before the 405 error occurred, there’s a high chance that it might be causing the problem. In this case, your best option is to revert any WordPress update that you’ve made recently. Again, it is highly suggested that you make a backup of your website data so that you don’t fall prey to irreversible errors.
Although you can revert back to the old WordPress versions manually, there are tons of tools and plugins available for doing it quickly. One great example could WP Downgrade plugin. It is completely free to use and will pretty much automate the process. You can download it from the link given below.
3. Uninstall Recently Added Plugins Or Themes
Plugins are the main reason why WordPress is so insanely popular. In simpler words, they’re the backbone of your website. However, here’s the catch. Plugins and extensions are also the reason why many WordPress sites crash every day. This is because there are plugins that might conflict with the theme of your website or any other element.
If you’ve recently installed a plugin before facing the 405 error, it may be the root cause. To solve the error here, you need to uninstall any recently installed theme or plugin from your WordPress site. Since WordPress boasts over its plugin directory of more than 45,000 plugins, you’d definitely find an alternative to the culprit.
It is always a great practice to choose themes are plugin that is premium. This is because these extensions are aligned with the latest protocols. If you’re looking for free alternatives, then it is essential to check out ratings and reviews of the plugins.
4. See If There Are Any Database Changes
Even though switching the plugins and extensions may resolve your 405 error, but there are times when the changes made by these extensions aren’t reverted from your database. This is because as soon as install a plugin to your WordPress site, they dig deep into your site’s database and make changes.
Now diagnosing and resolving this problem is quite tricky. To check your database, you need to manually check out all the records and tables modified by the plugin. We’d suggest you hire a WordPress maintenance company to do the job for you.
5. Check Your Server’s Configuration
Checking your web server software’s configuration files for any unintentional handling instructions may help to determine the root cause of the 405 Method Not Allowed error.
First, you need to determine which application is used by your web server. If it’s running Apache, you should be able to find a .htaccess file within the root directory of your website’s file system.
When your application is on a shared host, you’ll likely have a username associated with your particular account. If that’s the case, the application root directory can typically be found by following this path.
/home/public_html/
Therefore, you’ll find the .htaccessat
/home/public_html/.htaccess
Once you’ve found the .htaccess file, open it up in the text editor and navigate to the lines using Rewrite detectives. These are part of the mod_rewrite module in Apache and define a text-based pattern that will be matched against all entered URLs. If a matching URL is requested by a visitor to your site, the RewriteRule will redirect the visitor appropriately.
Here’s an example of the RewriteRule
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^(www.)?example\.com$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/bar/ [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/test/
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !=/favicon.ico
RewriteRule(.*) /index.php [L]
Again, this is a tricky process, therefore letting a WordPress maintenance service provider handle it would be a better option.
Don’t Just Resolve Your Errors. Eliminate Their Chances To Occur In The Future.
7. Debug Your Application Code Or Scripts
If you’ve tried all the methods mentioned above and still couldn’t get rid of the 405 methods not allowed error, then there’s a strong possibility that there’s an issue with your custom code in WordPress. Debugging the custom code would determine whether or not it is the cause behind the 405 error.
Ideally, you’ll want to make a copy of the entire installation to an online or local development area – such as a staging site. From there, you can begin to conduct a step-by-step debugging process, which will vary depending on your site and its attached software.
Wrapping It Up
There you go, now you know how to easily fix the WordPress 405 method not available error. If none of the solutions mentioned above help you get rid of the error, your final option is to hire a WordPress agency to handle it. In any case, you need to resolve this error as soon as possible because it can significantly affect your overall performance in terms of engagement and sales.