Error Establishing Database Connection
The "error establishing database connection" message appears when your WordPress website can't connect to its database. This critical database connection error takes your entire site offline instantly. Understanding how to fix database connection errors in WordPress requires checking credentials, server status, and database health. This database error is one of the most common WordPress issues.
What You're Seeing
- "Error establishing a database connection" WordPress error displayed
- Cannot access WordPress admin panel due to database error
- Database connection error may work intermittently (connects sometimes, fails other times)
- Blank white page with error establishing database connection message
Why This Happens
- 1Incorrect database credentials in wp-config.php causing connection error
- 2MySQL database server crashed or not running
- 3Database maximum connections limit reached
- 4Database server hostname changed by hosting provider
- 5Corrupted WordPress database tables blocking connections
How We Fix It
Our senior engineers follow this systematic approach to resolve the issue quickly and permanently.
Fix Database Connection Error - Verify Credentials: Check your wp-config.php file for correct database credentials:
- DB_NAME: Your database name
- DB_USER: Your database username
- DB_PASSWORD: Your database password
- DB_HOST: Usually 'localhost' (check with hosting provider)
Most database connection errors WordPress sites experience are from incorrect credentials after migrations or hosting changes.
Test Database Connection Directly:
Log in via SSH and test MySQL connection manually:
mysql -u YOUR_DB_USER -p YOUR_DB_NAME
If this fails, your database credentials are wrong or the database server is down. Contact your hosting provider if the error establishing database connection persists after verifying credentials.
Repair Corrupted Database Tables:
Corrupted tables can cause database connection errors. Use mysqlcheck to repair:
mysqlcheck -r YOUR_DB_NAME -u YOUR_DB_USER -p
Or add this to wp-config.php temporarily:
define('WP_ALLOW_REPAIR', true);
Then visit: yoursite.com/wp-admin/maint/repair.php
Fix Maximum Connections Database Error:
If your site hits MySQL max_connections limit, increase it in my.cnf:
max_connections = 200
Restart MySQL: sudo systemctl restart mysql
Preventing This Issue
Prevent database connection errors by: monitoring MySQL database server health continuously, implementing connection pooling in WordPress, maintaining regular database backups (daily recommended), optimizing slow database queries that hold connections, increasing max_connections if you have high traffic, setting up database monitoring alerts, documenting your database credentials securely. Regular WordPress database maintenance prevents most error establishing database connection issues.
Related Guides
If you're experiencing this issue, you may also want to check these related problems:
- 500 Internal Server Error - The most common website crash causing a 500 internal server error. When you see this critical error, your server encountered an unexpected condition and couldn't complete the request. This 500 error fix guide covers WordPress 500 errors, PHP fatal errors, and all internal server error causes.
- Corrupted WordPress Database - Database tables corrupted, causing errors or missing content.
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