[Resolved] Error 500 after changing default language

The 500 error page means that there is an error in the PHP code that your site runs. When errors are not caught, the server stops everything and returns a page that says “500 error” or an empty page. Different servers are configured to display these errors slightly differently, but they all mean the same – there is an unhandled PHP error in the site’s code.

First, you need to see what the errors are. Guessing what might be the problem and trying different solutions may lead to even more trouble. The first step is to enable debug. You can do this by adding a few lines to the site’s wp-config.php file. With error log enabled, you will see what the actual problem is.

To enable it, open your wp-config.php file and look for define(‘WP_DEBUG’, false);. Change it to:

define('WP_DEBUG', true);

In order to enable the error logging to a file on the server you need to add yet one more similar line:

define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );

In this case, the errors will be saved to a debug.log log file inside the /wp-content/directory.

https://wpml.org/documentation/support/debugging-wpml/

Let me know what you see after the debug mode has been enabled.

Yes, that's strange. PHP memory limit is more than enough.

What are the results of you temporarily disabling WPML only and visiting the WordPress General Settings page?

Are you getting the fatal error when changing the site's default language in WPML >> Languages?

I need to request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to your site – preferably to a test site where the problem has been replicated if possible – in order to be of better help. You will find the needed fields for this below the comment area when you log in to leave your next reply. The information you will enter is private which means only you and I can see and have access to it.

I appreciate your patience. The issue you faced seems to be related to https://wpml.org/errata/wordpress-6-3-performance-issues-with-string-translation-in-specific-scenarios/.

Please do the following:

- Deactivate the Woocommerce plugin and update it

- Go to “WPML > String Translation”, find and delete the strings belonging to “default” textdomain

- Activate back Woocommerce

- Switch the default language of the site. It should be fine now

Please remember to back up your database first before you proceed.

Let me know if still the problem.

Great! Have a great weekend ahead 🙂