WordPress Tools: Error WordPress is not installed

A key feature of our WordPress hosting is our integrated WordPress tools suite available directly through the hosting management page. It offers a range of functions without having to access the admin area, such as adding new users or managing your plugins.

However, the Tools need to be able to detect a working WordPress installation on the hosting in order to display. If something prevents this being detectable, the Tools user interface will instead display an error, stating that WordPress isn’t installed. Should this occur, there’s a few main causes that are worth checking for.              

1.  WordPress Install Location

Our WordPress platform expects your site to be installed in a folder called public_html, and to be the only WordPress installation on the file space. If this isn’t the case, and your WordPress setup is located in another folder, the system won’t be able to check for the installation and will presume that it’s not installed at all.  

In a case like this, it’s simply a matter of navigating to your package and using the File Manager to move your site files to the correct folder.

• Log into My20i and head to your Manage Hosting area.
• Select Options > Manage on the hosting package you’d wish to edit.
• Under Web Files  you should be able to see File Manager.

Once you’ve opened the File Manager, simply drag and drop your site files to the public_html folder and the system should be able to detect them. You can also use FTP to move the files. Read our guide on how to connect your Web Hosting via FTP.

2. Database Connection Issues

Once a set of WordPress files is found in the correct folder, the system checks to ensure that the database defined in the wp-config.php file is reachable and has a WordPress installation present.

If it doesn’t, or the database connection doesn’t work, it will presume that the installation wizard needs to be run and display this option. As such, it’s important to ensure that the database details for the site are correct and the site is able to reach the database.

If your site is displaying the error Cannot connect to database then this is most likely due to incorrect details within the wp-config.php file. You can access this file using FTP or via our File Manager. Within this file, there should be some database connection details in the following format:

// ** Database settings - You can get this info from your web host ** //
/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define( 'DB_NAME', 'database_name_here' );

/** Database username */
define( 'DB_USER', 'username_here' );

/** Database password */
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'password_here' );

/** Database hostname */
define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );

Your database connection details can be accessed via the MySQL Databases area on your package. To access these:

• Log into My20i and head to your Manage Hosting area.
• Select Options > Manage on the hosting package you’d wish to edit.
• Head to the Web Tools section and select MySQL Databases.

Set the details in the file to match the details specified on the above page, and your site will then be able to connect to the database. 

If your WordPress site continues to throw a database connection error despite the details being correct, it is possible that your database may be corrupted and will need to be repaired.

This can be done via SSH using the command wp db repair. We have a guide on how to connect to your hosting package via SSH.

Once you’re connected, navigate to the public_html folder with the command

cd public_html

And run wp db repair – you’ll receive output as the site goes through and runs repair on each table. Once it has completed, retest the site and it should be back online.

3. Website Errors

Once a valid WordPress installation is detected, the system uses WordPress CLI to pull data such as the Plugins, Themes and Users. If a 500 error is occurring on the site, however, it will prevent the CLI from running. This will result in the tools also failing to load via the UI, so it’s important to check your site for any 500 errors.

500 errors are critical errors that get reported directly to the Error Logs area of your package. We have a full guide on how to check and debug ‘Error 500’.

4. Must-use Plugins

If the site loads fine and there’s notable errors within the site itself, it’s possible a plugin on the site is interfering with our platform’s ability to detect your WordPress install.

Most commonly, this is caused by Must-use Plugins, or mu-plugins. These are critical plugins used by specific platforms and processes in order to function, stored in a folder of the same name on the site separate from standard plugins. Platforms such as WP Engine have their own mu-plugin that they use for additional functionality – however, they aren’t required on our hosting and actually can interrupt the platform’s ability to detect the WordPress installation. It is worth checking your site’s mu-plugins folder, and remove any unrequired to function on the 20i platform. If you’re unsure, take a backup of the folder before you remove any.

wp-salt.php

One final common cause of the WordPress tools not being able to display on a WordPress package is the system being unable to detect the WordPress Salts. These are security keys generated to protect WordPress, and are defined in the wp-config.php file.

Our system checks for these as a part of its installation check, and if it fails to find them it can result in the system believing WordPress is not installed. Some systems and setups store the salts in a separate file called wp-salt.php. If this is how your site stores these, you’ll need to remove the salts from this file and instead place them back in wp-config.php. This will then allow the system to detect your WordPress install as normal.

By carrying out these steps, you can perform a number of checks to determine why your WordPress installation may not be detected. Generally, the cause boils down to either errors on the site itself, or a plugin or configuration interrupting the platform’s ability to detect your installation. Once these are cleared, you’ll be able to see WordPress Tools once more, and manage your site directly via My20i.