How to Fix “Error Establishing a Database Connection” in WordPress

There are several reasons why you might be seeing this error but more times than none they will relate to one of the following categories:

1. Incorrect credentials for your database – there are several credentials needed in order to connect to a MYSQL database. The most common reason for the error is using the wrong credentials.
2. Hosting service issue – It can happen. Sometimes hosting companies’ servers crash. If you are seeing the “Error Establishing a Database Connection” error, it might not even be your fault. It could directly relate to your hosting company.
3. Corrupt database – Inexperienced WordPress users tend to corrupt their database due to several reasons. If this is the case, the site will not be able to connect to the database until it’s fixed.

So how do you know which one of the above is the cause of the error on your site? Let’s begin…

In our experience this is the most common reason for the “Error Establishing a Database Connection” error. You may have typed the user or password wrong.

While this doesn’t usually happen on a live site, you may have accidentally made a change in the wp-config.php file, or even replaced it using your FTP. Another common reason this can happen is changing hosting companies.

In order to fix the issue:

1. Make sure you have the correct credentials you got from your WordPress hosting company
2. Head over to the  wp-config.php file and scroll down till you see something similar to this

   // ** MySQL settings - You can get this info from your web host ** //
   /** The name of the database for WordPress */
   define('DB_NAME', 'db_name');
   
   /** MySQL database username */
   define('DB_USER', 'username');
   
   /** MySQL database password */
   define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password');
   
   /** MySQL hostname */
   define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
   
   /** Database Charset to use in creating database tables. */
   define('DB_CHARSET', 'utf8');
   
   /** The Database Collate type. Don't change this if in doubt. */
   define('DB_COLLATE', '');
   

3. Switch the user, password or DB_NAME if needed
4. Upload the altered file
5. Check if the site is working now

Do you have a similar error message but not quite? “One or more database tables are unavailable. The database may need to be repaired.”

If you have a feeling that you may have corrupted your database by installing a bad plugin, making some manual changes in phpMyAdmin or any other various reasons, this may be the solution for you.

Repair Corrupt WordPress Database

WordPress has a built-in database repair tool that needs to be enabled via the  wp-config.phpfile.

So, head over to wp-config.phpagain and add the following line to the bottom of the file:

define( 'WP_ALLOW_REPAIR', true );

Now head to the repair URL at: //example.com/wp-admin/maint/repair.php – switch the example.com into your site’s URL of course.

Now you should see this:

As you can see, there are 2 options here and they are both a good idea however, note that it could take a while to finish and they will put the site into maintenance mode while they are running.

It’s very important to remember to remove the line of code you added, since the repair URL is not secure, anyone can access it without being logged in.

If the 2 above options didn’t work, check with your hosting company, something may be wrong on their end. When you contact them, explain exactly what you have done to troubleshoot the issue, that should help them pinpoint the issue and get your site back up as soon as possible.