404 Errors After Updating WordPress Permalinks

Introduction

After updating WordPress permalinks, pages and posts may suddenly return 404 Not Found even though the content still exists in the database. This usually means WordPress changed the URL structure, but the web server is not rewriting requests to index.php correctly.

Permalink 404s are common after migrations, server changes, HTTPS moves, plugin conflicts, or when Apache .htaccess or Nginx try_files rules are missing, overwritten, or blocked. Fixing the issue requires checking WordPress settings, server rewrite configuration, document root, caching and any migration redirects.

Quick answer

What permalink 404 errors mean

WordPress pretty permalinks depend on rewrite rules that send requests such as /blog/post-name/ to index.php. When those rules are missing or ignored, the server looks for a real folder or file named blog/post-name and returns 404.

Common causes after permalink changes include:

• missing or unreadable .htaccess on Apache
• AllowOverride disabled so Apache ignores .htaccess
• Nginx config without try_files for WordPress
• wrong document root after migration
• permalink structure changed without redirects
• cached 404 from CDN or page cache
• security plugin blocking rewrite handling
• multisite or subdirectory install using wrong rules
• file permissions preventing WordPress from updating .htaccess
• conflicting custom rewrite rules in server config

Why this matters

Because the content often still exists, permalink 404s are usually a server routing problem rather than lost data. That makes them fixable once the correct rewrite layer is identified.

How to check permalink 404s

Test both WordPress admin settings and public URL responses before changing production configuration.

1. Homepage vs inner pages — Confirm whether only posts/pages fail or the whole site is affected.
2. Permalink settings — Note the current structure in Settings → Permalinks.
3. Status codes — Test sample URLs with Website Status Checker or curl -I.
4. Server type — Identify Apache, Nginx or a reverse proxy/CDN in front of WordPress.
5. Rewrite file — Check whether .htaccess exists and contains WordPress rewrite rules.
6. Nginx config — Confirm try_files and index.php routing for pretty permalinks.
7. Document root — Verify the domain points to the correct WordPress installation directory.
8. Plugins and cache — Temporarily rule out security, cache and redirect plugin conflicts.

Common problems

How to fix permalink 404s

1. Step 1: Confirm which URLs fail

   Test homepage, one post, one page and one category URL to define the failure pattern.

2. Step 2: Re-save permalinks

   In WordPress admin, open Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes without altering structure unless planned.

3. Step 3: Restore rewrite rules

   Ensure Apache .htaccess or Nginx try_files rules are present and applied by the web server.

4. Step 4: Verify document root

   Confirm the domain points to the directory containing wp-config.php and index.php.

5. Step 5: Flush caches

   Purge CDN, object cache, page cache and browser cache after server changes.

6. Step 6: Test plugin conflicts

   Temporarily disable security, redirect and cache plugins if 404s persist.

7. Step 7: Add redirects if structure changed

   Map old URLs to new ones with 301 redirects when permalink structure was intentionally changed.

8. Step 8: Retest public URLs

   Use Website Status Checker to confirm affected URLs now return 200 or the intended redirect.

Examples

Apache .htaccess (standard WordPress):

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress

Nginx server block:

location / {
  try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}

location ~ \.php$ {
  include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
  fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
}

Example diagnosis:

Homepage:
https://example.com/ → 200 OK

Post URL:
https://example.com/blog/hello-world/ → 404 Not Found

Likely cause:
Rewrite rules missing or ignored.

Fix:
Re-save permalinks, restore .htaccess or add Nginx try_files, then purge cache.

Frequently asked questions