How to Check WordPress Error Logs: The Easiest Guide (2025)

Where are the error logs?

By the end of this guide, you will learn how to easily check the WordPress error logs in three simple steps.

Here’s what’s inside this article:

• What an error log is
• Steps to checking those error logs
• How to enable debugging

Ready? Let’s get started!

What is an error log?

A WordPress error log is a record of error messages generated by the website, which includes the details of the errors along with their dates and times.

These logs are important for diagnosing and resolving issues, as they provide information about the source of the problem, such as a specific plugin, theme, or code snippet.

Once WordPress debug mode is enabled, these error messages are collected in a file, typically named debug.log, located in the /wp-content/ directory.

👉 Related: The Ultimate Guide to WordPress Error Troubleshooting

How to Check WordPress Error Logs

To check WordPress error logs and identify issues on your site, follow these detailed steps:

Step 1: Enable WordPress debug mode

There are two ways to enable WordPress debug mode:

1. Altering a PHP file
2. Using a plugin

Any of those methods would enable error logging on your website.

Method 1: Enable debugging via the WP CONFIG file

For this, you must first access your website’s files using an FTP client like FileZilla or the file manager in your hosting control panel. 

Once you have access, you need to locate the wp-config.php file, which is typically found in the root directory of your WordPress installation.

When you find the file, you must edit it by inserting specific lines of PHP code just before the line that reads /* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */:

php
define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );
@ini_set( 'display_errors', 0 );

This code enables WordPress’s debug mode, logs errors to a file, and prevents errors from being displayed to site visitors.

Method 2: Enable Debugging via a Plugin:

If you prefer not to edit files directly, you can use a plugin like WP Debugging to enable debug mode.

To use this method:

• Navigate to the plugins section of your WordPress dashboard
• Click on add new > find the plugin

Once you find it, install the plugin by clicking the install now button and then activate it after the installation is complete.

After the activation, this plugin will automatically configure the necessary settings to enable WordPress’s debug mode.

Step 2: Reproduce the problem

Once you have enabled debug mode on your WordPress site, the next critical step is to replicate the conditions that led to the errors you’re investigating.

This is important because the debug log only captures errors as they occur — no historical data from before debug mode was activated.

To generate fresh entries in the debug log, you should methodically revisit your site and interact with it in the same manner that initially produced the errors.

Step 3: Access the debug log

To access your WordPress site’s debug log, replicate the initial step by connecting to your site’s files via an FTP client or your hosting control panel’s file manager.

Once connected, navigate to the /wp-content/ directory where you should locate a file named debug.log.

Upon finding the file, proceed to download, view, or edit it to scrutinize the error messages it contains.

The log entries are detailed, with info such as:

• Date
• Time
• Specifics of each error

These are all instrumental in pinpointing and resolving the issues that your site is experiencing.

Fixing the Issues in the Logs

After completing all the steps mentioned, you can now use the information from the debug log to troubleshoot and resolve errors.

After fixing the problems, it’s better to turn off debug mode — this stops the log file from getting too big and shields private details from being exposed.

You can do this by simply reversing the steps taken in the first step, which is to set that script to false or deactivate the plugin.