How to Fix a 403 Forbidden Error?

To help you fix the 403 Forbidden Error on your site, we’ll cover nine separate troubleshooting steps in detail:

1. Refresh the Page and Double Check the Address

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the only ones capable of solving complex problems.

So try to refresh the page you are not able to access. The 403 error is often temporary, so maybe you’ll get lucky.

We also recommend checking that the URL is spelled correctly. If the address you are trying to access is a directory and not a web page, there is a chance that you will encounter a 403 error. (example: www.kinsta.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/)

2. Clear Your Browser Cache

Another very handy solution is to clear your browser’s cache.

Cache is very useful to help us see a website faster, but sometimes some mismatch can happen between the real version of a page and its cached version.

Check below some tips on how to clear cache in various browsers:

3. Modify Your File Permissions

Each folder and file on your site’s server has its own unique file permissions that control who can:

Read – see the data in the file/view the contents of a folder.
Write – modify the file/add or delete files inside a folder
Execute – run the file and/or execute it as a script/access a folder and perform functions and commands.

These permissions are indicated by a 3-digit number, with each digit indicating the level of permission for each of the 3 categories above.

Normally, these permissions just “work” for your site.

However, if something gets messed up with the file permissions at your site, it can cause the 403 Forbidden error.

To view and modify your site’s file permissions, you’ll need to connect via FTP/SFTP. Here’s how to use SFTP if you’re hosting at Kinsta.

For the screenshots in the tutorial below, we’ll be using the free FileZilla FTP program.

The basic principles will apply to any FTP program, though – you’ll just need to apply them to a different interface.

Once you’re connected to your server, you can view a file or folder’s permissions by right-clicking on it:

Of course, manually checking the permissions for each file or folder isn’t really an option.

Instead, you can automatically apply file permissions to all the files or folders inside of a folder.

According to the WordPress Codex, the ideal file permissions for WordPress are:

Files – 644 or 640
Directories – 755 or 750

One exception is that your wp-config.php file should be 440 or 400.

To set these permissions, right-click on the folder that contains your site (the folder name is public at Kinsta). Then, choose File Attributes:

Enter 755 or 750 in the Numeric value box. Then, choose Recurse into subdirectories and Apply to directories only:

Once you’ve applied the correct permissions for directories, you’ll repeat the process for files. Only this time:

Enter 644 or 640 in the Numeric value box
Choose Recurse into subdirectories
Choose Apply to files only

To finish the process, you just need to manually adjust the permissions for your wp-config.php file to make them 440 or 400:

If file permissions issues were causing the 403 Forbidden Error, your site should now start working again.

4. Delete and Restore the .htaccess File

Kinsta uses the NGINX web server, so this potential issue doesn’t apply if you’re hosting your site at Kinsta because Kinsta sites do not have a .htaccess file.

However, if you’re hosting elsewhere and your host uses the Apache web server, one common cause of the 403 Forbidden error is a problem in your site’s .htaccess file.

The .htaccess file is a basic configuration file used by the Apache web server. You can use it to set up redirects, restrict access to all or some of your site, etc.

Because it’s so powerful, even if a little mistake can cause a big issue, like the 403 Forbidden error.

Rather than trying to troubleshoot the .htaccess file itself, a simpler solution is to just force WordPress to generate a new, clean .htaccess file.

To do that:

Connect to your server via FTP
Find the .htaccess file in your root folder
Download a copy of the file to your computer (it’s always a good idea to have a backup just in case)
Delete the .htaccess file from your server after you have a safe backup copy on your local computer

Now, you should be able to access your WordPress site if your .htaccess file was the issue.

To force WordPress to generate a new, clean .htaccess file:

Go to Settings → Permalinks in your dashboard
Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page (you do not need to make any changes – just click the button)

And that’s it – WordPress will now generate a new .htaccess file for you.

5. Deactivate and then Reactivate Your Plugins

If neither your site’s file permissions nor .htaccess file are the problems, the next place to look is your WordPress plugins. It could be a bug in a plugin or a compatibility issue between different plugins.

No matter what the issue is, the easiest way to find the problematic plugin is with a little trial and error. Specifically, you’ll need to deactivate all of your plugins and then reactivate them one by one until you find the culprit.

If you can still access your dashboard, you can perform this process from the normal Plugins area.

If you cannot access your dashboard, you’ll instead need to connect to your WordPress site’s server via FTP/SFTP (here’s how to connect via SFTP at Kinsta).

Once you’re connected to your server via FTP:

Browse to the wp-content folder
Find the plugins folder inside of the wp-content folder
Right-click on the plugins folder and choose Rename
Change the name of the folder. You can name it anything different, but we recommend something like plugins-disabled to make it easy to remember.

By renaming the folder, you’ve effectively disabled all the plugins at your site.

Now, try accessing your site again. If your site is working, you know that one of your plugins is causing the 403 Forbidden error.

To find the culprit, reactivate your plugins one-by-one until you find which plugin is causing the issue.

After changing the file name of the plugins folder, you should see a number of errors that say plugin file does not exist when you go to the Plugins area on your site:

To fix this issue and regain the ability to manage your plugins, use your FTP program to change the name of the folder back to plugins. So, if you renamed it to plugins-disabled, just change it back to plugins.

Once you do that, you’ll see the full list of all your plugins again. Only now, they’ll all be deactivated:

Use the Activate button to reactivate them one-by-one.

Once you find the plugin that’s causing the issue, you can either reach out to the plugin’s developer for help or choose an alternate plugin that accomplishes the same thing.

6. Deactivate CDN Temporarily

If you’re getting 403 forbidden errors on your assets (images, JavaScript, CSS), it could be a problem with your content delivery network (CDN).

In this case, we recommend temporarily disabling your CDN and then checking your site to see if the issue is resolved. If you’re a Kinsta client, click through to your WordPress site within the MyKinsta dashboard, select CDN in the sidebar menu and then click the Disable button.

7. Check to See If Hotlink Protection Is Misconfigured

Hotlinking is when someone adds an image to their site, but the hosted link is still pointed to someone else’s site. To prevent this, some will set up what is called “hotlink protection” with their host or CDN provider.

When hotlink protection is enabled, it will typically return a 403 forbidden error. This is normal. However, if you’re seeing a 403 forbidden error on something you shouldn’t be, check to make sure hotlink protection is configured properly.

8. Disconnect From Your VPN

Another simple tip, but that can solve this problem.

Some sites block VPN users, which may be why the 403 Forbidden message is showing up for you.

To verify this, disconnect from the VPN and try connecting to the site in another way. Or try switching to a different server provided by your VPN service.

9. Reach Out to Your Hosting Provider

If none of the above solutions worked for you, then we recommend reaching out to your hosting provider. They can most likely help you pinpoint the issue and get you back up and running. If you’re a Kinsta client, open up a support ticket with our team. We are available 24/7.

10. Use the Sitechecker Website Crawler Tool

The Sitechecker Website SEO Checker is able to provide you with a detailed SEO audit report by providing solutions and checkers for your website. There is a website crawler, a site monitoring tool, and a rank tracker amongst other built-in tools.

It’s important to constantly monitor your pages for 403 errors, and you can do this with Sitechecker. You can check your website not only for 403 errors but also for all other errors.

Summary

The 403 Forbidden error means that your server is working, but you no longer have permission to view all or some of your site for some reason.

The two most likely causes of this error are issues with your site’s file permissions or .htaccess file. Beyond that, some plugin issues might also cause the 403 Forbidden error. Or it could be that something is misconfigured with hotlink protection or your CDN.

By following the troubleshooting steps in this guide, you should be able to get your site back to working in no time.

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