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A WordPress site showing warnings on the front end helps users maintain WordPress sites with proper messages.
Warnings in WordPress are used for various purposes. In this case, error statements on the WordPress front end help users fix WordPress issues, whereas warnings also help improve site security.
However, warnings, error statements, and messages on the WordPress front end also help bad guys exploit WordPress vulnerabilities.
This resource will teach us about warnings on the WordPress front end. You’ll learn about warnings’ benefits in WordPress and how to turn off error statements in WordPress if protection from hacking attacks is the purpose.
Introduction: Warnings showing in WordPress Front end
As its name suggests – warnings, error statements, and messages on the WordPress front end help us know – what went wrong in WordPress. The name suggests errors shown on the WordPress front end.
For example, if specific plugins fail to handle users’ requests, run a particular operation, or conflict with existing WordPress assets, such as a Theme, WordPress shows errors and warnings on the Front end. By looking at error statement(s) on the front end, users can find, track, and fix WordPress issues more easily.
How do WordPress Warnings help Users?
Warnings in WordPress help users track, manage, and fix WordPress issues.
For example, the error establishing a database connection and the error statement in wp-config.php that informs users of invalid database credentials help site owners replace credentials with correct values, assisting users quickly in solving database connection issues in WordPress. If you know the root cause, the error “establishing a database connection” will lead you to wp-config.php file. If you see such an error after migrating your site to a new host, ensure you’ve re-checked and set up WordPress credentials in the wp-config.php file.
Similarly, each warning or error statement shows the file path, showing the origin of the culprit asset in WordPress that caused the warning or error statement on the WordPress front end. For example, the following error statement shows the origin of the culprit plugin that caused the problem.
Warning: Undefined array key “sliding” in /home/customer/www/data-driven.com/public_html/wp-content/plugins/widget-options/includes/pagebuilders/elementor/render.php on line 395
Note: WordPress warnings have harmful effects on WordPress. Keep reading and learn how to deal with WordPress warnings showing on the Front end. Some errors enable attackers to exploit WordPress loopholes, such as errors that expose version numbers for vulnerable Themes, Plugins, or third-party scripts. In this case, ensure you’ve covered possible coverage to prevent WordPress disasters.
Front-end warnings showing in WordPress: Impacts on WordPress websites
Warnings on the WordPress front end have different impacts on a WordPress site.
As described above, if warning statements help site owners fix issues, they also open doors for hackers. For example – if a culprit plugin prints tracks for vulnerable components in WordPress, hackers can exploit WordPress sites with warning messages on screen.
In this case, showing profitable, safe, and declarative statements on screen helps users protect sites while getting information simultaneously. Also, as a WordPress site owner, you should’ve turned sensitive errors off on the WordPress front end.
Note: Make sure to crawl WordPress pages on regular pages. Any errors on the front end, if they occur, should help you prevent hackers from exploiting WordPress. You can also hire WordPress specialists That help you maintain your WordPress site regularly, while providing periodic reports for assessment. In this case, looking at Google Search Console’s data helps you cover possible data leakage through error messages.
How do you turn off warnings showing on WordPress’s front end?
Let’s learn if turning off front-end error messages would help you fix WordPress problems.
Now that you’ve learned how to handle WordPress warnings, error statements, and messages on the screen, let’s learn how to turn off WordPress warnings.
Before you perform the required manures, remember that you’ll need the following measures to proceed.
- Access to the Hosting cPanel -> File Manager (Root directory)
- Locating, editing, and saving the wp-config.php file in the Root directory
Without further ado, let’s start learning how to make the required changes to stop showing front-end error messages in WordPress.
STEP 1 – Log into Hosting cPanel
Logging into Hosting cPanel is easy with a company’s Web Portal, such as Namecheap. Once logged in, you can browse to enter the Public_HTML directory.
Log into Hosting cPanel using an FTP client, such as File Zilla. In this case, you should have created an FTP account in Hosting cPanel. To create an FTP account, you must first access your Hosting cPanel. Once there, look for an option that says FTP accounts. The option helps users see FTP accounts, create new ones, and manage existing accounts with point-and-click options. Once you have an FTP account, you can proceed to the next step.
In the Public_HTML directory, you can quickly locate the wp-config.php file—the file for WordPress configuration, as its name suggests. The following screenshot shows the file, its location, and surrounding files.
You can proceed to the next step if you’ve found the wp-config.php file.
STEP 2 – Edit the wp.config.php File
Now – if you’re using File Zilla, as discussed in the step above – you’ll need to download, edit, and re-upload the wp-config.php file. In this case, pay attention to what tool you’re using to edit and save the file. In this scenario, use a simple Text editor like Notepad in Windows. Using complex tools may add additional characters to the file, which may cause corruption.
If you’re using Hosting’s web interface, you’ll need to act in the following manner. Follow the instructions below to use the web version interface provided by the Hosting company.
Select the wp-config.php file and click Edit on the options bar above – as shown in the screenshot below.
Once clicked, the system will show a confirmation dialogue box, where you can choose the editing options for cPanel infrastructure. Once completed, click Edit to proceed.
The following page contains the content of the wp-config.php file in a separate window. You can make changes to the file’s content here. Finally, after you have made changes, don’t forget to save changes to the file.
STEP 3 – Insert the Code Snippet in wp-config.php File
Note: Please make sure you have added the code snippet in the right position in the file. Placing the code in the wrong position will create WordPress disasters.
Once the file is ready for editing, you must change the following code snippet in the wp-config.php source code.
Set the WP_DEBUG to FALSE in the source code and save changes at the end.
Once you’ve made the change, you should be fine moving forward.
Sometimes – hosting companies don’t allow changes in the wp-config.php or make changes to the WP-DEBUG feature. In such scenarios – you should take another approach to set the necessary measures for warnings in WordPress.
Change the WP_DEBUG value
(2nd method, if a Hosting company doesn’t allow changes by the above routine)
Sometimes – specific hosting companies force showing PHP errors for WordPress sites.
In this case, even if you’ve turned off the warnings in WordPress, you can still see what errors, messages, or warnings are displayed on the screen.
In this case – you need to take a different approach to fix warnings showing on the WordPress front end.
Replace the define(‘WP_DEBUG’, false); with the following code snippet and save changes at the end.
ini_set(‘display_errors’,’Off’);
ini_set(‘error_reporting’, E_ALL );
define(‘WP_DEBUG’, false);
define(‘WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY’, false);
Note: If you don’t know what you’re doing, editing the wp-config.php file may damage WordPress components. Better – if you consult WordPress Support professionals for assistance or let your Hosting support representatives know such scenarios.
Over to You
WordPress warnings, error statements, and messages don’t stop WordPress sites from loading, as in other scenarios, such as an error establishing a database connection.
However – such errors can open doors for attackers, helping them see revealed versions of vulnerable assets in WordPress. Then, hackers can craft payloads for weak points in a WordPress site – allowing them to take control of vulnerable areas.
If you don’t prefer changing the wp-config.php yourself, you can consult our support channel for assistance. In this case – you can ask for a one-time support plan, monthly package, or live session to fix, make changes, and maintain your WordPress infrastructure.
