Sometimes WordPress website owners face some problems related to accessing the control panel, and one of these problems is the “Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page” problem. Which does not allow the site owner to access the WordPress control panel or some other settings.
It is always easy to solve this problem, by trying possible solutions one by one. Through the following lines, we will learn about these solutions that enable you to do this, and before that, we will take a look at a group of information about this problem.
Why do you not have permission to access this page?
This problem may be a warning that there is a problem with your site, which is a data and information conflict between both the plugins and the template with the databases or even possibly the reason is the permissions used or the presence of an old version of PHP.
As for users, they can access and use the site, but you will not be able to enter the control panel, whether to upload articles, modify the site, or other reasons. This problem looks like this:
In order to begin solving this problem, you must first be able to access the site’s control panel and files at the hosting provider. If your role is not as an administrator on the site, in this case you must contact the responsible person from the site to grant you sufficient permissions to complete your work.
This problem may also appear after opening the control panel of the WordPress website, or it may prevent the user from even opening the control panel.
Sorry, you do not have permission to access this page
Solving the problem is not complicated and does not require advanced experience in dealing with WordPress or files. You will only need to be able to access the site’s files and with a little patience. Because the problem does not have a single cause and is solved only through experimentation, and before you start doing that, you must take a backup copy of the site , then follow the following steps:
Initial check to solve the problem
Before embarking directly on the steps to solve the problem, there are a group of quick solutions that can be done, and may lead to solving the problem without spending a lot of time and effort, which are as follows:
- Clear the browser’s cache : Sometimes the browser saves some data and files that may be old and not renewed. In this case, it would be good to clear the cache, and it is worth noting that its steps differ from one browser to another. Also, if there is a backup plugin installed on the site, it is better to clear the site’s cache .
- Try another browser : This should be the next step. Sometimes there may be some settings that cause a problem. Sorry, you do not have permission to access this page. In this case, it would be better to change your browser.
- Restoring a site backup : If there is an old backup of your site and you made some changes, restoring it will restore your old site settings.
- Check if I have permission to access the Control Panel : If you have the ability to access the Control Panel, but there are some pages that you cannot access such as Settings, Pages, or Extensions. Here you must verify your role. You can do this by clicking on the Members option > All Members; The user’s rank will appear on the left side of the screen.
If these steps do not succeed in solving the problem, sorry, you do not have permission to access this page. In the following lines, we will look at a group of steps to solve the problem. It is worth noting that this problem does not have a single solution, but rather you must try it step by step:
Disable all add-ons
Sometimes add-ons may cause a problem. Sorry, you do not have permission to access this page. By disabling them, it is possible to fix the problem and return the site to normal. But first you will need to access your site files, through FTP or using the cpanel.
You will need to click on public_html, then wp-content, and select the plugins option to find all the plugins installed on the site. Now you must uninstall the plugins one by one by changing their name to plugins.deactivate (or any name other than the original name) by clicking on them with the right mouse button. And specify Rename .
After that, you should try the site, if the problem is resolved; This means that the reason is from the add-on that you deactivated, and you can replace it with another add-on or contact the add-on developer to provide possible solutions. If the problem is not solved, in this case it means that the reason is not one of them.
Uninstall the site’s template
If the first step does not work, this time you will have to disable the template installed on the site, through the same previous steps, and by going to the wp-content file and then you will find the themes folder, change its name to themes.deactivate (or any name different from the name the original)
Try the site again. If the site works, you can discover the errors in the template and then solve them. It is also recommended to contact the template developer or use another template.
Activate Debugging Mode
Debug mode is a great feature that allows you to detect all errors on the site; To help you solve the problem, sorry, you do not have permission to access this page. In order to activate it, you will also have to access the site’s files.
Then click on public_html and you will find the wp-config.php file. Select it and click Edit.
You will find the code define( ‘WP DEBUG’, false ) to convert false to true. If you do not find it, in this case you must add the code to the file. Click on the save changes option at the top. To show you the errors on the site.
Read also: Debug Mode in WordPress
Repair the .htaccess file
Repairing the . htaccess also to solve the problem: Sorry, you do not have permission to access this page, and in order to be able to do so, you will have to go to the file manager and then click on public_html
After that select on file. htaccess right-click to rename it by clicking on Rename and specify a name for it, such as htaccess .old.
After that, you should try the site to see if it works or not. If it doesn’t work then you should remove the entire .htaccess file.
To create a new file, you must go to the WordPress control panel and click: Settings > Permanent Links. Without making any changes, scroll down and click Save Changes and the .htaccess file will be created automatically.
Read also: Full explanation of htaccess. File functions, uses, and most important modifications
Modify wrong file permissions
Sometimes there are some errors in specifying file permissions, as these permissions are what determine who can use the file and access it, and in order to modify the wrong file permissions, it is necessary to go to the site files and then click on public_html and select both the wp-admin file and wp-content and wp-include. Right click on it and select Change Permissions.
Then make sure that all files are selected for the User option. The number below will be 755
Next, select the rest of the files, and click Change Permissions
Select the options to be 644 as in the image below, and click on Change Permissions
Thus, these were some steps to solve the problem: Sorry, you do not have permission to access this page. If the problem is not solved, then in this case you must contact your hosting service provider.
