WordPress Users often encounter login issues preventing them from accessing their WordPress admin area and these issues could arise from different errors such as the white screen of death; internal server error; an error establishing a database connection.
But there is another form of login error wherein the login page keeps redirecting and refreshing back to the login screen.
At times, while working on your WordPress platform, you’ll experience this strange error, and though it might seem to be an enigmatic problem, you can troubleshoot it following some simple methods.
This article is focused on showing you just how to fix this WordPress login page redirecting and refreshing error.
In this detailed troubleshooting guide, we will put you through vital elements that lead to this issue and how you can easily fix it.
With these methods, it should take you nothing more than 5 minutes to sort through the error even without technical assistance.
But before you start the procedure of resolving the redirecting/refreshing login issue, it is extremely important that you create a back-up of your WordPress site.
You’ll definitely appreciate this when you finally gain access to your WordPress page, and you realize that all your data are still intact.
Why the WordPress login page refreshing and redirecting issue?
I know! I know! Being stuck in this looping redirecting and refreshing error can be frustrating as hell especially when immediate access to your WordPress page is needed.
Well, you’ll find it interesting to learn that this annoying problem is mostly caused by problems with the structure of the permalink, a wrongly configured Site URL, or the .htaccess file structure. The problem can be also be caused by your theme files or plugin.
Follow the detailed steps below to resolve the redirecting and refreshing login issue!
Option 1 – Clearing your browser cache and cookies
WordPress, like so many other web-based technologies, employs cookies for session management and user authentication. As useful as these cookies are, they can hinder smooth operation in some unique instances.
The caching mechanism is such that allows the web browser to store web pages in the cache memory, so pages load quicker without having to fetch them from the server.
Clearing the caches and cookies of your web browser will not only improve the overall performance but will go a long way in fixing the WordPress login redirect and refresh issue.
If your web browser is Google Chrome, then you should go to ‘More Tools’ located at the top down menu in the top right option bar and then select ‘Clear Browsing Data’.
Or you can simply type in “chrome://settings/clear Browser Data” into the web browser to get the job done. Other browsers such as Firefox, Safari and several others also provide similar options.
For Mozilla Firefox, you clear the cookies by clicking on the three bars button on the top right of your screen. Select History from the menu then chooses the Clear Recent History option.
Then set Everything as date range, check the Cookies and Cache and click Clear Now. For Safari, click the Safari button located at the top-left corner of the screen next to the Apple Logo.
Select Preferences, choose the Privacy option, click the Manage Website Data button and then click Remove or Remove All
After clearing it, you should restart your browser and then try logging in. If clearing the browser cache and cookies doesn’t work, then you should read further to know how to fix this WordPress redirecting/ refreshing issue.
Option 2 – Restoring Default .htaccess file
It could be that the .htaccess file is the culprit behind your WordPress login redirect loop. The issue can be a direct result of a corrupted .htaccess file, meaning that you just need to remove the faulty version of the file, replace it with a working one to solve the issue.
Removing the existing .htaccess file means opening an FTP client such as FileZilla and then connecting it to your site.
The corrupted .htaccess file can be located in the root folder of the site (normally its public_html). Using FileZilla, you can simply right-click on the .htaccess file and choose the Delete option. Or you can disable the corrupt file by renaming it as, e.g. .htaccess-disabled.
Try logging in again, if it’s successful; it means your .htaccess file was hindering you from logging in. After logging in, go to Settings >> Permalinks to generate a new .htaccess file.
Option 3- Update the Site’s URL
Sometimes, the whole redirect/refresh issue can be as a result of the site URL. Define the site’s URL by logging in to your site through an FTP client and then edit the wp config.php file.
Insert a two-line code in your wp-config.php. Then, replace the yourdomain.com with your URL and add www. Save the changes and try logging in.
Option 4 – Deactivate Themes and Plugins
The main suspect area for redirecting/refreshing issue is the site’s plugins/themes. To make sure that the WordPress redirect loop isn’t connected to a bad plugin, connect to your account using FileZilla and then insert the wp-content directory.
Rename the folder of the plugins to ensure that they are not found by WordPress when you load your site. If the login issue doesn’t persist, it means it was a problem with your plugins.
To find out which of the plugin is corrupted, enable plugins by renaming the folder back to the original plugins and then try disabling each plugin. This can be done by renaming each plugin one after the other.
Also, custom themes can be the cause of the WordPress redirect/ refresh issue. To resolve the issue in this case, change the site to a default WordPress theme. This can be done through phpMyAdmin.
Yes, the redirect/ refresh loop can be a harrowing experience, this guide has laid out sure-fire steps to fix this error by discussing methods such as;
- Clearing the browser’s cache/cookies
- Restoring the default .htaccess file
- Updating the Site’s URL
- Deactivating Themes and Plugins
Drop a comment on which of these simple methods was finally able to resolve the refreshing/ redirecting issue!