Reasons to Hike in California (and How I Plan Trips That Actually Happen)

Reasons to Hike in California (and How I Plan Trips That Actually Happen)

The first time I really fell for hiking California (a primary motivation for exploring the state’s trails), it wasn’t on some epic summit day. It was a random Tuesday when I had two free hours, a half-full water bottle, and a trailhead 15 minutes away. That’s the thing here. California hiking can be big and…

How to Set Up Automated WordPress Backups to S3 (UpdraftPlus and No-Plugin WP-CLI Options)

How to Set Up Automated WordPress Backups to S3 (UpdraftPlus and No-Plugin WP-CLI Options)

The first time I needed a WordPress backup, I didn’t need a backup. I needed a restore. My site was down, my inbox was loud, and my “backup plan” was a folder on my laptop from three weeks ago. That’s why I like automated WordPress backups to Amazon S3 for real-world protection. Amazon S3 is…

How to Fix WordPress Emails Not Sending? My Detective Playbook for Logs, SMTP, and Hosting Blocks

How to Fix WordPress Emails Not Sending? My Detective Playbook for Logs, SMTP, and Hosting Blocks

When WordPress emails not sending hits during troubleshooting WordPress email issues, it never shows up politely. It waits until a client misses a lead from contact form plugins, WooCommerce order notifications go quiet, or password resets vanish into smoke. I treat it like a case. I don’t guess. I collect evidence, check the logs, and…

How to Fix the WordPress “Are You Sure You Want to Do This?” Error (nonces, mod_security, caching)

How to Fix the WordPress “Are You Sure You Want to Do This?” Error (nonces, mod_security, caching)

The first time I saw the WordPress error, it felt like WordPress was accusing me of a crime it wouldn’t name. I’d click “Update,” “Install,” or “Save,” and I’d get that blunt pop-up, no details, no logs, no mercy. Over time, I learned to treat it like a noir case. This common WordPress error within…

How to Fix “Sorry, You Are Not Allowed to Access This Page” in WordPress (Roles, Capabilities, Plugin Conflicts)1232

How to Fix “Sorry, You Are Not Allowed to Access This Page” in WordPress (Roles, Capabilities, Plugin Conflicts)1232

How to Fix “Sorry, You Are Not Allowed to Access This Page” in WordPress (Roles, Capabilities, Plugin Conflicts)1232 The last time I saw the message, it felt like a bouncer had shoved me out of my own club. I had the keys, I owned the place, and WordPress still stared back with: “Sorry, You Are…

How to Fix WordPress Login Redirect Loops (Cookies, URL Mismatch, Cache, Cloudflare)

How to Fix WordPress Login Redirect Loops (Cookies, URL Mismatch, Cache, Cloudflare)

WordPress login redirect loops feel like getting tailed in a bad neighborhood. You enter the right door, you know the password, and still you’re shoved back out to the sidewalk. Sometimes it shows up as ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS. Sometimes it just “refreshes” wp-login.php like it’s stuck on repeat. I’ve fixed this enough times to know the pattern….

How to Enable AVIF Images in WordPress (Server Support, Plugins, and Safe Fallbacks)

How to Enable AVIF Images in WordPress (Server Support, Plugins, and Safe Fallbacks)

The first time I tried to enable AVIF WordPress support on a busy site, I expected a simple win, smaller AVIF images in, faster pages out with better Largest Contentful Paint (LCP). Instead, I got a quiet failure: uploads worked, but some thumbnails never showed up, and a few browsers grabbed the wrong format. As…

How to Fix “The Link You Followed Has Expired” in WordPress (Upload Limits, Timeouts, Plugin Checks)

How to Fix “The Link You Followed Has Expired” in WordPress (Upload Limits, Timeouts, Plugin Checks)

The first time I saw “The Link You Followed Has Expired”, I thought I’d clicked a bad bookmark. Then it happened again, right after I tried uploading a perfectly normal plugin ZIP while working within the WordPress dashboard. Same bland message, no clue what actually broke. It felt like a detective handed me a case…

How to Fix WordPress 500 Internal Server Error (htaccess, PHP errors, plugin conflicts)

How to Fix WordPress 500 Internal Server Error (htaccess, PHP errors, plugin conflicts)

The 500 Internal Server Error always feels personal. One minute my site is fine, the next it’s a blank page or a cold “Internal Server Error” (HTTP error 500) message, like a locked door with no keyhole. When it happens, I treat it like a quick detective job. My troubleshooting process is simple: I don’t…

How to Fix Allowed Memory Size Exhausted in WordPress (PHP Limits, Plugin Culprits, Safe Increases)

How to Fix Allowed Memory Size Exhausted in WordPress (PHP Limits, Plugin Culprits, Safe Increases)

How to Fix Allowed Memory Size Exhausted in WordPress (PHP Limits, Plugin Culprits, Safe Increases) The first time I saw “Allowed memory size exhausted” on a WordPress site, it felt like walking into my office and finding the lights on, the door cracked open, and papers everywhere. Nothing “looked” broken, but something clearly went off…