WordPress Pages Returning 404 (Permalink Issue)

Warning Frequency: Common

Error message: 404 Not Found — page exists but returns 404

One of the most common WordPress issues: your pages and posts exist in the database, but visiting them returns a 404 Not Found error. Only the homepage works. This is almost always a permalink/rewrite rule issue.

WordPress uses URL rewriting to create pretty permalinks (e.g., /my-post/ instead of ?p=123). If the rewrite rules are missing or corrupted, the web server can’t route requests to WordPress, and you get 404s.

Common Causes

Corrupted or missing .htaccess file (Apache)
nginx missing try_files directive for WordPress
Rewrite rules need flushing after migration or plugin change
mod_rewrite not enabled on Apache
Custom post type rewrite rules not flushed after plugin activation

How to Fix It

Flush permalinks: Go to Settings > Permalinks, don't change anything, just click Save Changes
Check .htaccess: Make sure it contains the standard WordPress rewrite rules (Settings > Permalinks will regenerate them)
For nginx: Add try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args; in your server block
For Apache: Ensure mod_rewrite is enabled: sudo a2enmod rewrite && sudo systemctl restart apache2
For custom post types: Run wp rewrite flush via WP-CLI after activating CPT plugins

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my WordPress pages show 404 when they exist?

This is a permalink/rewrite rule issue. Go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes to regenerate the rewrite rules. This fixes it 90% of the time.

My .htaccess keeps getting overwritten. What should I do?

A plugin or your server config might be overwriting it. Make sure .htaccess is writable (644) and check if a security or caching plugin is modifying it.