Wordpress "Not Found" Error Fix

Not Found

The requested URL /my-category/my-page was not found on this server.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

One of the scariest things a webmaster or blogger could see on their Wordpress blog is the dreaded "Not Found" error. If it shows up, it appears when visiting any non-home page area of your site. Don't worry, though - it's a simple, stupid issue that takes seconds to fix :)

This error is most likely due to the fact that you've changed your Wordpress permalink structure. The settings for your permanlink structure are found in your Admin panel, under Settings » Permalinks. Basically, it lets you choose how the URLs of your Wordpress site will look.

The default is always the first radio button, which says "http://www.mysite.com/?p=123". However, if you're like me - you'd rather have something more search engine friendly like "http://www.mysite.com/category/page" -- and you probably selected the last option which says "Custom Structure," then saved the change. This is where the error occurs!

Here's the reason why: by default, your .htaccess file is CHMODded to 644: disallowing Wordpress to successfully edit it. You'll even see the message in your admin panel under "Permalinks" that says this:

If your .htaccess file were writable, we could do this automatically, but it isn't so these are the mod_rewrite rules you should have in your .htaccess file. Click in the field and press CTRL + a to select all.


It is very easy to look past this message due to the fact that it's at the bottom of the screen, appearing in italics, and nearly blending in with the box above it. Anyway - in order to successfully change your permalink structure, you would have had to make the permission settings of your .htaccess file more lenient, so that Wordpress can be able to write changes within it.