When troubleshooting a WordPress website, server and WordPress debug logs can provide useful information about errors that aren't immediately visible on the front end.
Siteligent lets you enable WordPress debugging and view the site's debug log directly from the dashboard, so you can investigate errors without needing SSH, SFTP, or access to your hosting control panel.
Enable WordPress Debug Mode
Siteligent can safely enable WordPress debugging through the site's Site Toolkit.
When you turn on Enable Debug Mode, Siteligent uses WordPress's native filesystem functionality to check whether the site's files can be modified and then updates the relevant settings in wp-config.php.
Debug Mode enables:
WP_DEBUGWP_DEBUG_LOG
Both are enabled so WordPress can record runtime errors and warnings in its debug log.
Debug Output is Kept Off the Front End
Siteligent also sets: WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY to false
This is important on a live website because PHP errors should not be displayed directly to visitors.
Displaying raw PHP errors can expose sensitive information such as server paths, file locations, and other technical details that shouldn't be visible publicly. With debug display disabled, WordPress can continue recording errors to the log without showing those details on the website itself.
View the WordPress Debug Log
Once Debug Mode is enabled, WordPress writes its debug information to:
wp-content/debug.log
Siteligent's Debug Log Viewer retrieves the latest entries from this file and displays them directly in the dashboard.
The viewer retrieves the last 200 lines of the debug log, making it easier to review recent errors without having to open the file manually on the server.
This can be useful when investigating:
PHP warnings
PHP errors
Plugin conflicts
Theme problems
Errors that occur after an update
Unexpected WordPress behavior
Trigger an Error When the Log Is Empty
If you've enabled Debug Mode but the Debug Log Viewer doesn't show anything, the issue may simply not have generated a new log entry yet. Open the affected page or perform the action that is causing the problem on your website.
Then return to the Debug Log Viewer and refresh it. This gives WordPress an opportunity to record the error so you can inspect it.
Clear the Debug Log
Debug logs can grow over time, particularly on sites experiencing frequent PHP warnings or errors. Siteligent provides a Clear Debug Log option that empties the contents of the existing debug.log file.
The file itself and its permissions are preserved, so WordPress can continue writing new errors to the same log after it has been cleared.
Clearing the log can be useful before troubleshooting a new issue because it gives you a clean starting point.
For example:
Clear the existing debug log.
Reproduce the problem on your website.
Open the Debug Log Viewer.
Review the newly generated entries.
Use the error information to identify what caused the problem.
Use Debug Logs Alongside PHP Error Monitoring
The Debug Log Viewer and PHP Error Monitor serve related but different purposes. The Debug Log Viewer lets you inspect the recent contents of your WordPress debug.log file, while PHP Error Monitoring captures runtime errors through the Siteligent Connector and synchronizes them with your Siteligent account.
When troubleshooting a difficult issue, using both can give you more context about what is happening on the site.
Turn Debug Mode Off When You're Finished
Debugging is useful while investigating a problem, but it should not be left enabled unnecessarily on a production website.
Once you've finished troubleshooting, turn Debug Mode off from the Site Toolkit.
This helps avoid continuously generating debug logs and keeps your production environment in its normal configuration.