Question
Hi I am in desperate need of help. I've finished my WordPress site but I can't access it and I'm not sure how to get it back.
- Posted October 29, 2021
- WordPressDigitalOcean
Hi guys, I made a massive rookie mistake (which I am). And I need a fix ASAP. I had completed my WordPress website and wanted to add the domain to it so it didn’t show the IP address but I went into WordPress - General Settings and changed the
WordPress Address (URL) - From the IP address to my domain name Site Address (URL) - From the IP address to my domain name
Now it just says ‘This site cannot be reached’ on both the IP and the domain.
I also changed the WP URL settings from http://ipaddress.com to httpS://mydomainname.com on both…
I know it was stupid, if I install an SSL certificate, will the site load? Or is it lost hope because I don’t know how to edit the wp-config.php file.
Thanks Harrison
These answers are provided by our Community. If you find them useful, show some love by clicking the heart. If you run into issues leave a comment, or add your own answer to help others.
Try DigitalOcean for free
Click below to sign up and get $100 of credit to try our products over 60 days!
Hello,
Yes installing an SSL certificate could potentially fix the problem for you as that way your website will be accessible over HTTPS.
You can follow the steps here on how to install a free Let’s Encrypt certificate:
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-secure-apache-with-let-s-encrypt-on-ubuntu-20-04
Also, this is a common problem when changing the site and the home URLs, the good news is that it is only a configuration issue and your actual website is still there and can be recovered. However, this is a good example of why it is always important to have backups enabled for important projects.
Let me know how it goes. Regards, Bobby