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WordPress error: “Is its parent directory writable by the server?”

WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) by far ahead of its competitors. One of the reasons why it is very popular is that the 5-minute fast installation process. Here is the question: It is fast but is it complete? After the installation for a hobby blog today, I have received this error message while trying to upload an image: “Is its parent directory writable by the server?”.

This error message tells us that there is a configuration setting missed during the installation. Apparently, uploading files and connecting the database don’t always enough for your blog to start running. There might be additional steps to go through.

Error message:

Unable to create directory wp-content/uploads/2019/01. Is its parent directory writable by the server?

Is its parent directory writable by the server?

Are you receiving “Parts of this page are not secure” error in WordPress? Related post: Parts of this page are not secure (such as images)

Fix “Is its parent directory writable by the server?” error

As the name implies, this is an issue of the folder or folder permissions. In order to fix it:

  • Make sure there is an uploads folder in wp-content
  • Make sure the site owner has Write permission on the uploads folder

Setting folder permissions by using an FTP client could get tricky. In my case, I have received this error message while trying to change permissions:

Response: 500 ‘SITE’: command not understood

This error message may refer to several types of errors. In my case, it was because of trying to change folder permissions via FTP client for a site hosted in a Windows server. As soon as I made the same change through the administration panel of my hosting provider, the error message went away.

The way how you set folder permissions on an administration panel depends on your hosting provider. For GoDaddy, please use these instructions.

Are you seeing “Error establishing a database connection” message when you install WordPress? Check this post out.

Ned Sahin

Blogger for 20 years. Former Microsoft Engineer. Author of six books. I love creating helpful content and sharing with the world. Reach me out for any questions or feedback.

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