There is no doubt that WordPress has been the most well-known content management system to build your site. It impresses business owners not only with the free cost and but also easy-to-use features.
In spite of its popularity, WordPress sometimes drives you crazy due to common errors. You might get surprised to see a white screen of death without any message or further assistance when attempting to load your site. You can face “Error Establishing a Database Connection” when WordPress couldn’t connect to your MySQL database server too.
It doesn’t just stop there. Another important error you should also pay attention to is “Missing a Temporary Folder”. When this error happens, you’re not able to upload files, update plugins and themes, or even get updated WordPress core versions.
Sound serious, right? But don’t get annoyed easily! There’s always a solution to every problem. In this article, we’ll quickly explain what the “Missing a Temporary Folder” error is and how it affects your site performance. Then, read on to explore how to deal with that issue.
What Causes Missing a Temporary Folder Error?
The temporary folder refers to where WordPress saves your uploaded files or updates plugin and theme data before moving them to the desired location. Without this folder, there is no way that WordPress can make these actions happen.
If you configure PHP settings in the hosting environment incorrectly, the temporary folder won’t show up for WordPress to place new updates. The error also occurs when you accidentally delete it.
As a consequence, it’s impossible for you to upload images, add new plugins, update themes, or even bring up to date the WordPress core. Your WordPress site is no different than a dead one.
How to Deal with “Missing a Temporary Folder” Error
It’s simple to fix the “missing a temporary folder” issue by modifying your site’s wp-config.php file. You’re required to log into your server in order to make changes there. It’s necessary to backup your wp-config.php before making adjustments and fixes, otherwise, you’ll lose important data.
Follow these 3 steps to set up automatic backups in WordPress:
Step 1: Log into WordPress Server
You’re allowed to log into your server via a hosting service like an FTP client or CPanel. The login URL should include the slug /cpanel at the end, for instance, www.mywebsite.com/cpanel. After that, fill the login form with your email and password.
Step 2: Locate and Edit the wp-config.php File
Once logging in, open your File Manager app under the “Files” section.
Then, you’ll see a public.html folder that contains the wp-config.php core file. Right-click and choose Edit to start editing the file.
Find the line “That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging” and enter the following code above it.
define(‘WP_TEMP_DIR’,dirname(_FILE_). ‘/wp-content/temp/’);
Save these changes so that WordPress can begin defining and looking for the temporary folder location.
Step 3: Create a New Folder inside /wp-content/
Now you need to move to the /wp-content/ folder by going back to the public.html one. You need to add a new folder called “temp” inside that /wp-content/ folder.
That’s it! The new temporary folder should work now. You can check it by trying uploading an image to your WordPress media library.
Protect WordPress Folders
After WordPress stores files in the correct folder from the temporary one, you might think of protecting them from unauthorized users too. Some solutions support protecting images, PDFs, or audios right in the Media Library. For files uploaded as submissions through a contact form, you’re required to use the Prevent Direct Access Gold plugin and its File Access Restriction extension.
The plugin enables you to secure files and folders outside of WordPress uploads on your WordPress root directory. Only specific users or user roles have access to these protected files.
The guide below shows you how to get started with these plugins:
- Download and install Prevent Direct Access Gold along with File Access Restriction
- Head to the plugin setting page on the WordPress admin navigation menu
- Open the Folder Protection tab
- Select the folder you intend to protect in the Select Folders box
- Choose the file types
- Set access permission
Iťs Time to Resolve the “Missing Temporary Folder” Issue
Without a temporary folder, WordPress finds no way to store your data before moving it to the desired location. To fix this problem, you need to log into your hosting server and edit the /wp-config.php file. Remember to backup your folders before making any changes there.
Furthermore, you’re able to protect all files in any of your folders with the support from Prevent Direct Access Gold plugin and Access Restriction extension. If you still have a question about how to fix the error or secure your folders, leave a comment to let us know.
