How to fix the WordPress ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS Error

The WordPress ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS is an error that occurs more often in WordPress sites. This error usually stems from a bad server configuration, a caching issue, a rogue plugin, or incorrect WordPress settings.

Let’s get started with fixing the WordPress error. Like all unknown debugging tasks we need to start with the resolution that holds the least impact.

Option 1:

First, clear your web browser’s cookies and cache. Surprisingly sometimes this is all that is needed to fix the issue. If that does not help and you have access to the WordPress admin area then clear the cache from the WordPress admin page as well. If you are using a CDN such as Cloudflare and many others you can also clear the cache there.

Option 2:

Sign in to your WordPress admin page and click Settings > General. Here you want access to the WordPress URL settings. Visually confirm that the details are correct for WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL). That includes whether the URLs contain the www prefix and the scheme HTTPS://. Here you can go a step further and change the URL scheme from HTTPS to HTTP and see if the issue was related to redirects to secure pages.

Option 3:

Sometimes the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error makes one unable to access the WordPress admin page. This stops you from using the directions in Option 2 above.

You have nothing to worry about as the above URL can be set by making some changes in the wp-config.php file. This file is usually found in your document root folder which should be given to you by your web hosting company. Usually, it will be in the public_html folder /public_html/wp-config.php. You can use an FTP client software or the File Manager provided by your web hosting company.

Edit the file and add the following lines to it depending on what your actual URL is.

define('WP_HOME','https://www.example.com');
define('WP_SITEURL','https://www.example.com');

Option 4:

Make sure your .htaccess file in the document root folder is configured correctly. The default .htaccess file should look something similar to this:

BEGIN WordPress
RewriteEngine On 
RewriteBase / 
RewriteRule ^index.php$ - [L] 
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f 
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d 
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
#END WordPress

Plugins and themes may also add additional directives to the .htaccess file but what you are interested in is the section with the above code.

Option 5:

If you have reached here without a solution then it’s time to disable all the plugins. This can be done from the WordPress admin page if you have access to it.

Simply go to Plugins > All Plugins and make your way down the list disabling each of the plugins.

If you do not have access to the WordPress admin page then you will need to use either an FTP client program or the web host provided File Manager.

Next, you need to rename the plugins folder found under the wp-content/ directory. After renaming the folder do the same with the .htaccess file and rename it.

Go back to your WordPress admin page and sign in. You will see a whole list of errors. This is okay seeing the plugins cannot be found.

Sign out of the WordPress admin page and go back to the File Manager and rename the plugins folder back to the default.

Sign in to the admin page and go to Settings > Permalinks and pick your desired settings to restore the existing links on the website. View the front end of the website to confirm that there is no ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error.

Next, go to the plugins page and start enabling the plugins one by one. Be sure to refresh the front end of the website each time you re-enable a plugin. These steps are important in determining which plugin was causing your issues.

There you have it. That is how you can solve the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error that you find in WordPress websites.

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