Unable to connect to site and php error

Support
1

I am very new to Local…

I imported an older version of an existing site and manually updated its plugins and theme to their current version (from the current version of the site that works perfectly).

Trying for the first time to access the site on Local, I am completely unable to view both the site and the admin. I am getting either one of the following errors:

  1. “Unable to connect” – from the browser (Firefox, current version)
    OR
  2. "Parse error: syntax error, unexpected end of file in /app/public/wp-content/thesis/skins/pearsonified/custom.php on line 99 "

The error refers to the Thesis theme… However, I do not get this or any other php errors from the live site, using the same version of the Theme, and WP 5.2.

Questions:

  1. My Local installation has WP 4.9.4 I don’t see an automated way to update it… Should I try to update it manually? wp-admin, wp-includes, and the individual files? Or is there a better way? (An older version might be the cause of the theme error.)

  2. Do I need to import or re-setup the WP config-php file on Local? If so, would greatly appreciate a link to the information on how to do it.

The PHP version on the remote server is 7.2.16, and on Local it was 7.3.2. Downgrading it to 7.2 did not correct error #2, above.

Thank you,
Jordan

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2

Hey @Jordan!

Thanks for trying out Local and stopping by the community. Sorry for the frustrations.

Here are some great ideas on where to go from here:

  1. The Help-> Restart Local Machine could perhaps resolve the issue
  2. If not, with the theme having issues, adding wp-debug to the wp-config file. Check here will give you more info on what is going on underneath the covers
  3. Redownload the Thesis theme -> WPContent/Themes -> Unzip and replace there
  4. Another awesome resource -> https://www.wpbeginner.com/common-wordpress-errors-and-how-to-fix-them/#syntaxerror
  5. If the site is custom downgrade PHP to 5.6 if possible.
3

@NathanK

Thank you for replying. Unfortunately, none of the suggestions (including running PHP ver. 5.6) lead me to a solution, and you did not respond to my two specific questions.

To reiterate: this is a properly functioning website, and the theme isn’t the issue; the issue is the local server that is not functioning correctly, or not liking this installation: While the site is reported as “running,” I am unable to view it or view the Admin panel. In both cases, I see blank (browser) screens.

Without receiving direct assistance on these issues, I may not be able to solve these problems and would then be unable to use Local.

Thank you again,
Jordan

1 Like
4

Hey Jordan, can you upload a screenshot of Local?

Here’s another fix that might help:

  1. Right click on Local Site in the left-sidebar
  2. Click export and click through the export steps
  3. Drag .zip export into Local to create a new copy of your Local Site
  4. Verify new site copy is working and delete old site
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5

To verify that the theme isn’t an issue you can switch to a default theme like TwentyNineteen and see if the site works.

It sounds like the theme didn’t completely copy and the file referenced in the error was incomplete.

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