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Why Your Domain Isn't Working With WordPress: Common Issues and Fixes

37 threads Sep 16, 2025 Core → Installing wordpress

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Connecting a domain name to a WordPress site is a fundamental step, but it's a process that often leads to confusion and unexpected behavior. Based on community reports, this guide covers the most frequent domain-related issues and how to resolve them yourself.

Why Domain and WordPress Issues Happen

WordPress is software that runs on a web server. The domain name itself is a separate entity, registered through a domain registrar and connected to your server via DNS (Domain Name System) settings. Problems almost always occur at the intersection of these three components: your domain's DNS, your web hosting server, and the WordPress configuration files. Misconfigurations in any one of these areas can prevent your site from loading correctly or cause frustrating redirects.

Common Problems and Their Solutions

1. The Domain Redirects to the Wrong Place or an Old Site

This is a classic issue, especially after migrating a site or changing hosting providers.

  • Cause: Your browser or DNS is caching the old location of the site. More critically, the WordPress database might still contain the old site address.
  • Solution: First, clear your browser cache and try a different browser. If the problem persists, you likely need to update the site URLs within WordPress. If you can access phpMyAdmin through your hosting control panel, you can run a direct SQL query to change the wp_options table (or your custom prefix_options table), updating the siteurl and home values to your new domain. Alternatively, you can define the correct URLs in your wp-config.php file by adding these lines: 
    define('WP_HOME','https://yournewdomain.com');
define('WP_SITEURL','https://yournewdomain.com');

2. You See a "Error Establishing a Database Connection"

This error means WordPress cannot talk to its database.

  • Cause: The domain's DNS may not be correctly pointing to your hosting server. Alternatively, the database credentials in the wp-config.php file are incorrect, or the database itself is not running.
  • Solution: Double-check that your domain's nameservers are pointed to your web host, not your domain registrar. This is the most common oversight. You can use a tool like WhatsMyDNS to see if your domain is propagating correctly. Next, log into your hosting control panel to verify that your MySQL database is active and that the username, password, and database name in wp-config.php match exactly what your host has on record.

3. You Can't Access wp-admin or the Login Page

You try to go to yourdomain.com/wp-admin and get a 404 error or a blank page.

  • Cause: The WordPress files may not be installed in the correct directory on your server, or your permalink structure is broken.
  • Solution: Use an FTP client or your host's file manager to ensure the WordPress files (like wp-admin, wp-content, and wp-includes) are in the web root directory (often public_html). If the files are in place, try resetting your permalinks. You can do this by visiting Settings > Permalinks in your dashboard and simply clicking "Save Changes" without making any modifications. If you cannot access the dashboard at all, this often indicates a deeper installation or DNS issue that may require contacting your hosting provider's support team.

4. The Site Looks Broken (Missing CSS/Images) After a Domain Change

The text loads, but the styling is gone and images are broken.

  • Cause: Resources are still being loaded from the old domain name. This is usually due to hardcoded absolute URLs in the database or a configuration file.
  • Solution: Beyond updating the siteurl and home values as mentioned in problem #1, you may need to run a search-and-replace operation on your entire database to change all instances of the old domain to the new one. Warning: This must be done carefully with a tool like Better Search Replace or via SQL queries, and only after creating a full backup of your database.

When to Contact Your Hosting Provider

Many domain-related issues are outside the scope of WordPress itself. You should contact your hosting provider's support for help with:

  • Changing your domain's nameservers or DNS A records.
  • Verifying that your domain is correctly added to your hosting account.
  • Checking server configuration files (like Apache or Nginx virtual hosts) if you are hosting multiple domains.
  • Issues with SSL certificate installation.

Properly connecting a domain to WordPress requires careful attention to both DNS settings and internal WordPress configuration. By methodically working through these common points of failure, you can successfully resolve most domain-related issues.

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